Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute. Why does it happen?Either the task is boring or very difficult or you are just busy with something else.The Procrastination CycleYou decide some tasks for the day - You get distracted- You put off some tasks for later - You promise to do them tomorrow - That tomorrow never comes - You realize that you have wasted your time - You regret - You are sad the whole day thinking about it - You waste the whole day mourning your wasted time - You realize you have wasted another day - And it goes on forever

Procrastination - The Thief your Time

<ol><li>Identify what causes you to procrastinate</li><li>Once you have identified WHY you procrastinate, don't think too much about it. This will cause you to regret and waste your present time and the cycle goes on.</li><li>Use the 2-minute rule - If you feel the task can be completed within 2 minutes do it right now. If the task is longer just do it for 5 minutes. (basically, just start)</li><li>Set goals and deadlines</li><li>Avoid distractions</li><li>Make the task easier and more attractive</li><li>Reward yourself</li></ol>

How to stop procrastination?

You can break any task into 3 parts. Pre-task, Task, and Post-task.Pre-task: This includes the work you do before actually starting the task. For example, it could be getting up, opening the laptop, getting the required notebooks, etc. These are easy tasks. Whenever you feel you are procrastinating, start with small steps, tell yourself that you only need to get up and open the laptop, that's it. This could prevent you from procrastinating.Task: The actual taskPost-task: these could include cleaning up the table after use or keeping back notebooks at the place, etc.

Break larger tasks into smaller ones

By what right do I, who have wasted this day, make claims on tomorrow?

Procrastination is a thief of time. These ideas could help you overcome procrastination and lead a productive life.

Learn everything you need to know about why you procrastinate and how to stop doing it.

How to Stop Procrastinating: A Guide for People Who Want to Overcome Procrastination and Start Getting Things Done

If you’re reading this, you’re probably struggling with procrastination in some form.

Whether your procrastination is a minor issue that’s simply hurting your productivity, or a major issue that’s preventing you from achieving your goals, you’ve probably tried to overcome your procrastination on your own before, and saw that this can be difficult to do.

Furthermore, you may have looked for advice on the topic, and saw that there is a lot of information out there about how to stop procrastinating, but that most of it is either partial or ineffective.

This guide is meant to be a definitive source, that will help you solve your procrastination problem once and for all. It is based on <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-research/">decades of scientific research </a>on the topic, and contains a systematic approach that you can implement in order to beat your procrastination, together with a comprehensive list of anti-procrastination techniques that you can use.

The guide is quite extensive, since procrastination is a complex problem, that requires a thorough solution. However, don’t let that discourage you; feel free to skim through everything here , especially when it comes to the list of anti-procrastination techniques, and focus on the things that you feel will help in your particular situation. Furthermore, if you just want a summarized version of this guide, you can simply scroll right on to the next section .

This guide opens with an introduction to procrastination, together with an explanation of why we procrastinate, as well as scientific evidence which shows that you can learn how to stop procrastinating. Then, we will see an outline of the approach that will allow you to beat your procrastination, followed by a list of the anti-procrastination techniques that you can use, together with tips on how to make this process as effective as possible.

While reading, keep this in mind: procrastination is a tough issue to handle, but if you take the necessary time to read this guide and formulate a valid plan of action, and if you then follow through on this plan, you will  have an excellent chance at overcoming or reducing your procrastination.

How to stop procrastinating: the short version

This section contains a summarized version of the full guide.

First, here is what you need to know about procrastination:

<ul><li>Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions. </li><li>You procrastinate because factors such as anxiety or fear of failure outweigh your motivation and self-control. </li><li>You can successfully overcome your procrastination by implementing techniques that allow you to deal with the issues that cause you to procrastinate in the first place. </li> </ul>

If you need basic advice on how to stop procrastinating right now , here are some things you can do:

<ul><li>Make your environment as conducive to taking action as possible. For example, you can remove distractions from your work environment, even if you’re not yet ready to get started on your work. </li><li>Arrange some immediate reward that you’ll receive if you manage to get started. This reward can be relatively small, but the important thing is that you’ll receive it in the very near future. </li><li>Ask yourself “if I were to take action right now, what’s the smallest possible step I could take?”. Then, tell yourself that it’s okay if you just get started on that single tiny step, and try to do it, even if your work isn’t perfect. </li> </ul>

In addition, you can also ask yourself “what’s causing me to procrastinate?”, and then think through the cause of your procrastination and try to resolve it. For example, if your issue is that you’re afraid that you won’t be able to handle the task well enough, you can tell yourself that even if you make a mistake, that’s not the end of the world, and you can correct it later on.

If you want to understand how to stop procrastinating in the long term, here is the systematic approach that you should use:

<ul><li>Figure out what your goals are , and make sure that they’re clearly defined, possible to accomplish, and significant enough to allow you to achieve meaningful progress. </li><li>Figure out when , how , and why you procrastinate , by examining situations where your tendency to postpone things is preventing you from achieving your goals. </li><li>Create a plan of action based on relevant anti-procrastination techniques , while taking into account both your goals as well as the nature of your procrastination. </li><li>Implement your plan and monitor your progress , while making sure to refine your approach by figuring out which techniques work for you and how you can implement them most effectively. </li> </ul>

Finally, here are some of the top anti-procrastination techniques you can use:

<ul><li>Break large tasks into small, actionable pieces. </li><li>Set concrete deadlines for yourself. </li><li>Eliminate distractions from your environment. </li><li>Count to 10 before indulging the impulse to procrastinate. </li><li>Get yourself started by committing to work for only 5 minutes. </li><li>Mark streaks of days on which you complete all your tasks. </li><li>Reward yourself for your accomplishments. </li><li>Give yourself permission to make mistakes. </li><li>Visualize your future self. </li><li>Focus on your goals instead of on your tasks. </li> </ul>

The main goal of these techniques is to help you deal with the reasons why you procrastinate in the first place. For example, while ‘break large tasks into small, actionable pieces’ is generally seen as a time-management technique, its main goal here is to help you transform overwhelming projects into something that feels manageable, which will prompt you to stop procrastinating on them and start taking action.

Overall, this approach for dealing with procrastination is fairly intuitive, and you can implement it based only on what you’ve read in this summary.

However, you will significantly benefit from looking through the full guide, which explains all the small details that will help you implement this approach as effectively as possible. This includes, for example, how to set good goals for yourself, how to identify the nature of your procrastination problem, and how to pick the best techniques for dealing with procrastination in your specific situation.

If you don’t feel like implementing the full system right now, you can still benefit from just picking a few relevant anti-procrastination techniques listed here, and implementing them whenever you can.

Nevertheless, if you want to have the best chance that you can have at beating your procrastination, you will benefit more from using the full system and reading this entire article, even if it takes you some time to do so.

Note : if you don’t feel like dealing with all this right now, but you do want to improve your ability to stop procrastinating in the future, you can <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/subscribe/">sign up here </a>to receive occasional tips on how to stop procrastinating.

Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions.

If you struggle with procrastination, know that you’re not alone; procrastination is a widespread phenomenon, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65">around </a>20% of the adult population and 50% of the student population say that they procrastinate in a serious and chronic manner. Furthermore, even people who aren’t chronic procrastinators still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65">struggle with procrastination </a> from time to time, and suffer from it to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2015.1059353">various degrees </a>in their everyday life.

In addition, as you’ve likely noticed, procrastination is a serious problem, which can lead to a <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-dangers/">wide range of issues </a>. Accordingly, it’s not surprising that procrastination is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0033294115626825">worse grades </a>in school, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12048">lower salaries </a>in the workplace, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12048">higher likelihood </a>of being unemployed, <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/stress/">increased stress </a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.028">higher rates </a> of mental health issues, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00326-4">higher rates </a> of physical health problems.

If you’re a procrastinator, you’ve probably asked yourself some variation of the following question in the past:

“Why do I keep procrastinating even though I know that it’s bad for me and even though I want to stop?”

People often assume that they procrastinate simply a result of laziness or a lack of willpower, but the real answer is much more complex than that, and has to do <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/">with the cognitive mechanisms </a>that we use in order to self-regulate our behavior, in our attempts to bring ourselves to take action that is in our best interest.

In short, when we need to perform a certain task, we usually rely on our self-control in order to get ourselves to do so. Furthermore, our motivation , which is based on the desire for some reward which we will receive as a result of completing that task, can provide a helpful boost to our self-control, which helps us act in a timely manner.

However, there are various demotivating factors , such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-012-0143-4">anxiety </a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0153-9">fear of failure </a>, that have an opposite effect than our motivation, meaning that they can make us more likely to postpone our tasks unnecessarily, instead of getting them done in a timely manner.

In addition, there are also various hindering factors , such as mental exhaustion or distracting environments, that interfere with our self-control and motivation directly, in a way that also makes us more likely to procrastinate.

Whenever these demotivating and hindering factors outweigh our self-control and motivation, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011">we end up procrastinating </a>. We then have to wait until the balance between them shifts back in our favor before we can get started on our work, which can sometimes take a very long time.

However, as you will see in this guide, by using the right techniques, it’s possible to actively shift this balance in your favor, sooner rather than later. This will allow you to take control of your life, and enable you to get your work done when you want to, rather than when your procrastination says you can.

Note : if you want to learn more about why people procrastinate, take a look at the <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/">dedicated guide on the topic </a>.

Research shows that you can successfully reduce or overcome your procrastination, by using the right techniques.

For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980309600625">studies show </a>that learning how to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2014.899487">manage time effectively </a>or learning how to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.10.001">regulate emotions better </a>, reduces people’s tendency to procrastinate.

Furthermore, research shows that self-guided, internet-based training <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000023">can be effective </a>when it comes to overcoming your procrastination. This type of training, which is used in the present guide, involves learning to understand your procrastination problem better, and then learning how to solve it by applying techniques that allow you to deal with the detrimental patterns of thoughts or behaviors that cause you to procrastinate in the first place.

Moreover, research on the topic also shows that these improvements can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2016.1236287">maintained in the long-term </a>, both when it comes to reducing your tendency to procrastinate, as well as when it comes to reducing the severity of secondary issues that you experience as a result of your procrastination, such as anxiety and stress.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that online self-treatment is always guaranteed to work. Furthermore, in many cases, you could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2017.08.002">benefit more </a> from pursuing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12243">other types of procrastination treatments </a>, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.09.002">in-person cognitive behavioral therapy </a>or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-013-0165-0">group therapy sessions </a>conducted by a professional therapist, either in addition to this approach or instead of it.

However, the existing research on the topic does indicate that for many people, an online, self-guided plan can be effective when it comes to reducing their procrastination problem. Since this approach is the most accessible one, and since it’s not mutually exclusive with pursuing other treatment plans in the future, it’s worth giving it a try, especially if the alternative is doing nothing at all.

In order to stop procrastinating, you first need to set your goals, and then identify how procrastination will prevent you from achieving them. Next, you need to create a plan of action based on this information, and then implement this plan, while making sure to refine it as you go along.

In the following sections, you will learn more about each of these steps, so that you will be able to use this approach as effectively as possible.

The first step to overcoming your procrastination is to set your goals.

When you do this, it’s crucial to make sure that your goals are as clear as possible, since you are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9280.2008.02240.x">more likely to procrastinate </a>when it comes to goals that are vague, compared to goals that are clearly defined.

For example “be more healthy” is a relatively vague goal, and you are therefore more likely to procrastinate when it comes to pursuing it than you are when it comes to pursuing a more concrete goal such, as “drink only water and avoid eating fast food for the next month”.

Similarly, a goal such as “start exercising” is relatively vague, and is therefore more likely to lead to procrastination than a goal that is more concrete, such as “go to the gym 3 times a week, and work out for at least 30 minutes each time”.

In addition, when setting your goals, you also want to make sure that those goals are achievable and meaningful :

<ul><li>‘Achievable’ means that your goals should be realistic enough that you can actually accomplish them. </li><li>‘Meaningful’ means that your goals should be substantial enough that they lead you to make notable progress. </li> </ul>

For example, the goal of writing 5,000 words for your thesis each day is meaningful but is generally not achievable, since most people can’t write at that rate, which is why such a goal should be avoided. Conversely, the goal of writing 5 words each day is certainly achievable but isn’t meaningful, since it will take you too long to finish your thesis at that rate, which is why this type of goal should also be avoided.

In comparison, the goal of writing 500 words per day is both achievable as well as meaningful, which is why it represents a good goal to set for yourself.

Of course, different people might choose different rates of progress, and there isn’t a single rate of progress that works for everyone. As such, the most important thing is to find the rate of progress that works for you , in your particular situation.

Overall, the first step to overcoming your procrastination is to set your goals. These goals should be clear , achievable , and meaningful , which means that they should be well-defined, possible to accomplish, and significant enough to help you make notable progress.

Once you set your goals, you can move on to the next step of this process, which is to identify the exact nature of your procrastination problem.

If you want to successfully solve your procrastination problem, it’s important to first understand the exact nature of the problem that you’re dealing with.

Specifically, there are three main factors that you should consider when assessing the nature of your procrastination:

<ul><li>When you procrastinate.  This involves asking yourself in what situations do you procrastinate. For example, do you tend to procrastinate more when you’re working from home compared to when you’re working in the library? Do you struggle to finish tasks after you’ve started them or do you struggle to get started in the first place? </li><li>How you procrastinate.  This involves asking yourself what you do when you’re procrastinating. For example, do you browse social media, play video games, watch TV shows, go out with friends, or find small and unimportant tasks to complete? </li><li>Why you procrastinate. This involves asking yourself what’s causing you to procrastinate. For example, do you constantly find yourself being distracted, or do you feel so overwhelmed that you don’t know how to get started? </li> </ul>

For an example of how to consider these factors, imagine a scenario in which you’re taking a class where you need to hand in a series of assignments throughout the semester.

Each time you get a new assignment you sit in front of the computer in your room (the ‘when’), but instead of working on the assignment you find yourself wasting time on the internet (the ‘how’), because the assignment is so boring that you can’t find the motivation to start until shortly before it’s due (the ‘why’).

It’s important to note that, in this situation and in similar ones, you might often end up promising yourself that you’ll get started soon, or that next time will be different, despite the fact that the same thing happened in the past, and that you never really did anything significant to change your behavior. The main reason why this happens is that people wrongly assume that procrastination is just about willpower, while also wrongly believing that next time they’ll be able to exert more willpower and change their behavior, despite the evidence to the contrary.

However, by taking the time to clearly identify the nature of your procrastination problem, you can then figure out a valid way to deal with it, instead of just hoping that things will be different in the future.

Note that a tool that could help you figure out why you procrastinate is <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/">the guide on the psychology of procrastination </a>, which contains a comprehensive list of the reasons why people procrastinate, with the most notable of these being the following:

<ul><li>Rewards that are far in the future. </li><li>A disconnect from your future self. </li><li>A focus on future possibilities, together with an unjustified optimism about the ability to achieve them. </li><li>Feelings of overwhelm. </li><li>Anxiety. </li><li>Perfectionism. </li><li>Fear of evaluation or negative feedback. </li><li>Fear of failure. </li><li>Self-handicapping. </li><li>A perceived lack of control. </li><li>Lack of motivation. </li><li>Lack of energy. </li><li>Task aversion. </li><li>Prioritization of short-term mood. </li><li>Distractibility. </li> </ul>

If you’re not sure why you procrastinate, then you should <a href="https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/">read the guide on the topic </a>and identify the reasons for procrastination that describe you the best, and then return here and figure out how to build a plan of action that takes these reasons into account.

Once you’ve set your goals and identified the nature of your procrastination problem, you can create a plan of action that will allow you to stop procrastinating and start getting things done.

To create a plan of action, you need to figure out which anti-procrastination techniques you should use, and how to use them. These techniques, which are listed in the next section, fall into two main categories:

<ul><li>Behavioral techniques. These techniques involve directly modifying your actions, by helping you instill positive behaviors and avoid negative ones. Examples of behavioral anti-procrastination techniques include breaking large tasks into smaller ones and removing distractions from your work environment. </li><li>Cognitive techniques.  These techniques involve directly modifying your thoughts, by helping instill positive thought patterns and avoid negative ones. Examples of cognitive anti-procrastination techniques include visualizing your future self and focusing on your goals instead of on your tasks. </li> </ul>

Some techniques can involve a blend of behavioral and cognitive aspects, and it’s not crucial to understand the distinction between these two types of techniques. Rather, the important thing is to understand the general idea behind anti-procrastination techniques, and specifically that you can overcome your procrastination by instilling positive behaviors and thought patterns while eliminating negative ones.

In general, each technique is likely to help you accomplish at least one of the following things:

<ul><li>Make it easier for you to get started. For example, leaving the document that you need to work on open on your computer before you go to sleep will make it easier for you to start working on it once you sit down at the computer the next day. </li><li>Make it easier for you to keep going once you’ve started. For example, putting your phone on silent mode and out of sight reduces the likelihood that you will be distracted by notifications while you’re working, which will make it easier for you to focus on your work. </li><li>Make it harder for you to avoid working. For example, turning off the WiFi on your computer and phone removes the temptation to procrastinate on social media instead of writing your paper. </li> </ul>

You can use any combination of techniques that you want, and you should pick the ones that fit you best given your particular situation, since different techniques will work differently for different people, and will even work differently for the same person in different situations.

As such, make sure to identify the nature of your procrastination problem before figuring out which techniques you should use in order to solve it. As you go along, try to see which techniques are working for you, and then eliminate those that don’t, while experimenting with other techniques that you haven’t tried, in order to find new beneficial approaches.

Finally, keep in mind that if this all feels like too much at first, remember that imperfect action is infinitely better than no action at all .

As such, if you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, just pick a single technique that you want to work on for now (if you’re not sure which one, go with the first one on the list: ‘break large tasks into smaller ones’).

Later on, once you feel more comfortable with the situation, you can choose to implement additional techniques if you’d like.

Breaking large tasks into smaller sub-tasks can prompt you to take action, by making large tasks feel less overwhelming, and by allowing you to experience a continuous stream of rewarding progress. Furthermore, doing this also benefits you from an organizational perspective, by helping you identify what exactly you need to do in order to achieve your goals, and by enabling you to make plans that include a high level of detail.

For example, if your goal is to write a paper for a class, you can break down the large task of writing the paper into an ordered list of subtasks that you need to perform. This list can include subtasks such as “decide on a topic”, followed by “collect a list of relevant sources”, “write the introduction”, and so on.

When using this technique, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

<ul><li>You can break tasks apart as much as you want. A good rule of thumb is to create subtasks that take no more than a single session to complete, meaning that you can finish them before you need to take a break. </li><li>If it helps, start with a small first step. Some people find that it helps to start with a small first step, in order to make it easier for yourself to get over the initial hurdle of actually getting started. </li><li>You don’t have to outline the entire project from the start. If you’re dealing with a big project, you don’t need to start by outlining all its upcoming steps, and doing so can even be counterproductive. Instead, it’s often preferable to start by figuring out only the next few steps that you need to handle, and then add new ones later, once you’ve made sufficient progress. </li> </ul>

Prioritizing your tasks can help you figure out which tasks you need to work on and when you need to work on them. This will ensure that you don’t end up procrastinating by wasting time on trivial tasks while neglecting important ones, and will also help you avoid situations where you feel overwhelmed because you’re not sure where to start or which tasks you should be working on.

Two common methods for prioritizing your tasks are the following:

<ul><li>The Ivy Lee method. This method involves preparing a to-do list at the end of each day, and writing down a list of six tasks that you want to complete tomorrow, ranked in order of importance. </li><li>The Eisenhower Matrix. This method involves categorizing each task that you have based on whether it’s important or unimportant and based on whether it’s urgent or not urgent, and then prioritizing your tasks based on these criteria. </li> </ul>

Overall, there are many methods you can use in order to prioritize your tasks. Don’t waste time over-optimizing your prioritization method or getting stuck figuring out which one to use; just pick one to start with and then try different methods until you figure out which one works best for you. If you’re unsure about this, simply go with the Ivy Lee method, which is explained above.

Different people have <a href="https://doi.org/10.3200/genp.135.3.228-240">different cycles of productivity </a>, which means that different people are productive during different times of the day. For example, some people might work better in the morning, while others might be more productive at night. Similarly, some people might be the most productive after they eat, while others might be more productive when they’re hungry.

A good way to reduce your tendency to procrastinate is to identify your peak times , which are the times of the day when you’re most productive, and then plan your schedule so that most of your work is scheduled for those time periods.

In addition, you should also identify your slump times , which are the times of the day when you’re least productive, and then plan your schedule so that only your breaks or most simple tasks are scheduled for those time periods.

Bite-sized knowledge
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A Guide for People Who Want to Overcome Procrastination and Start Getting Things Done – Solving Procrastination

Procrastination - The Thief your Time

How to stop procrastination?

Break larger tasks into smaller ones

ALAIN FOURNIER

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Psychology and Causes of Procrastination – Solving Procrastination

Psychologists On Why You Procrastinate - And How to Stop | Time

17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks

It's time to

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A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

A Guide for People Who Want to Overcome Procrastination and Start Getting Things Done – Solving Procrastination

Procrastination - The Thief your Time

How to stop procrastination?

Break larger tasks into smaller ones

ALAIN FOURNIER

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Psychology and Causes of Procrastination – Solving Procrastination

Psychologists On Why You Procrastinate - And How to Stop | Time

17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career