8 Proven Strategies to Overcome Procrastination Today

Stitch in time saves nine – This proverb is so apt to express the procrastination. One of the factors that take you away from reaching your goal is procrastination. We often tend to push the things because of various reasons which result in the piling of the tasks in the to-do list. A simple example is arranging the cupboard or office bag. Be it related to your personal life or professional life, most of us find it boring to be organized, and because we have not organized it neatly we don’t find the thing we want at the moment when we need it the most. These 8 simple ways will certainly help you to stop procrastinating.

Why we procrastinate?

There are literally ‘n’ number of reasons. I have therefore covered a few of them in this blog post. Let’s check out!
You might feel that all the reasons are not relevant to you however, you might find that some of the reasons are fairly applicable in your case as reasons may vary from person to person and situation to situation.

1) Laziness

Even though we know that day after tomorrow is the last date to pay the bill, car/bike servicing is due, some electronic gadget in the home is not working, still, many of us try to push it until last day. Why? Maybe because it’s not urgent and important? Maybe because you didn’t factor that expense in your monthly budget? It’s always better and recommended to do it whenever it’s due as it may collapse your next month’s budget.

2) Distractions

In today’s world there are many distractions. Did you guess them?

2.1) Social Media – Big time distraction

Well, I am not at all saying that using social media is not good. What I am trying to say here is, we need to have some control over time we are using it. Many college students spend literally hours and hours on social media.

2.2) TV Shows / Web Series

TV Shows and Web Series are addictive. These days people are setting the trend of doing a binge-watching. In simple terms, watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession / in a single stretch. It consumes a lot of your productive time.

2.3) Computer Games / Playstation

Computer Games / Playstation keeps one engaged so much and makes you push the things. This is where a habit of procrastination starts. I strongly recommend avoiding it as it not only a time-waster but also gives a lot of strain on your eyes.

3) Lack of confidence

Have you ever noticed, we tend to postpone the thing if we are not confident about it? Maybe because we think about failure rather than success.
Mirror work is one of the best ways to boost up the self-confidence.

8 Proven Strategies to Overcome Procrastination Today

1) Get rid of laziness

If we set up a perfect morning routine, we will be active and productive throughout the day. Read: How to be productive? – Start your day right.

2) Limit Social Media Usage

These two simple hacks can help you to ensure you are not wasting your time on social media. Trust me it will surely reduce the time you spend on social media.

2.1) Disable the notifications on your mobile phone.

Do you like getting disturbed during an important meeting / any important work you are doing? No right? This simple trick can make your life easy. Disable the app notifications. There is no harm if you don’t get notified when someone has commented on your post. There is no harm you don’t get notified about those good morning messages in your WhatsApp group. If there is an urgency, a person can call you directly.

Go to Settings ➥ Apps ➥ Select the App for which you want to disable the notifications
Navigate to App Settings ➥ Notifications ➥ Look for Show Notifications option and set it to Off.

2.2) Set the timer

Another alternative is you can set the timer. It will alert you when you exceed the timeframe set.

2.2.1) How to set a reminder to know time spent on Instagram App?

• Click on the three-bar option at the top right corner.
• Tap on “Your Activity” from the list.
• Click on “Set Daily Reminder” and choose the amount of time you want to use the app and tap on “Set Reminder”.

2.2.2) How to set a reminder to know time spent on Facebook App?

• Click on the three-bar option at the top right corner.
• Tap on Settings & Privacy.
• Click on “Your Time on Facebook”
• Click on “Set Daily Reminder” and choose the amount of time you want to use the app and tap on “Set Reminder”.

3) Tie yourself to a goal

Set the stretched goal which will make you come out of your comfort zone. Write your goals in a journal and read at least twice during the day. Make sure that the goals you are setting are realistic and SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based).

“self discipline will get you farther than motivation ever will”

4) Apply Pareto Principle also known as 80/20 Rule

I read about this technique in the book, “Eat That Frog! – 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time – by Brian Tracy”.

The Pareto Principle is named after esteemed economist Vilfredo Pareto.

It states that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input. 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. 20% of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales. 20% of your products or services will account for 80% of your profits, and so on. 80/20 split is not fixed or might not apply in every situation.

4.1) Pareto Principle – Real-life examples

Checkout these real-life examples.

• 80% of your social media feeds are from 20% of folks on your list.
• You listen to 20% of songs in your playlist, over 80% of the time.
• 20% of electronic gadgets at home, contributes to 80% of the electricity bill.

The split ratio may vary but it can be considered as a guideline to identify a sustainable solution for 20% which will contribute to the remaining 80%

5) Prioritize the Tasks

You must have heard about, How to eat an Elephant?: One bite at a Time
Divide the larger tasks into smaller ones. Look for low hanging fruits and quick wins, that will keep you motivated. Use Mindmaps to jot down the tasks.

6) Do what you love and love what you do

If you love your job, you will never feel bored. Search for your passion and follow it.

7) Look for a buddy / partner

This is very useful while going to a gym/study at times. Sometimes we need a company. But make that you choose the right one 🙂

8) Set a reminder in your cell phone / Mailbox

we often push the tasks to do it later as we are busy with some on-going important work but later forget to do it and it piles up the list. Honestly how many of us use the reminder feature available on a smartphone? Quite a few. If you are not using this feature then start using it so that, you will not miss any event in the near future.

Images Courtesy: pixabay.com

Power is gained by sharing knowledge, not holding it 🙂