Eliminating the habit of procrastination

​If you find that you are overcome with the habit of procrastination, then you need to eliminate that habit. As a habit, procrastination is costing you big time. You are getting less done and; less of the important stuff done. In addition, it may be causing you stress which has a wide range of consequences for your health and; it is likely to have a negative impact on your relationships. The habit of procrastination is one terrible habit to have.

​The good news is that you can eliminate the habit of procrastination from your life. If you find yourself procrastinating, try to identify the cause of this procrastination and implement one of the strategies below.

Sometimes it is not important what you do. The important thing is that you take some action and get moving. If you have been procrastinating a job, just pick one ​task on that job and get it done. It doesn’t matter what that task is or how small it is, just get moving.

If you repeat this step a few times, you will start to break down your resistance and build some momentum.

Momentum is a wonderful way to break through the barrier of procrastination; especially where procrastination has become a habit. In these instances, it can help to first smash the habit of procrastination and get yourself accustomed to getting work done.

Once you have gotten into the habit of working again, you can then focus on making sure that the work you are doing is the most important work that you cold be doing.

​If you are struggling with procrastination, Stop Procrastinating will help.

One of the major causes of procrastination is the inability to deal with discomfort. When things get tough, you may not want to know about it. But if you want to improve your life, you have to be able to do things which you’ve never done before and that requires that you step out of your comfort zone.

Just as procrastination is a habit, learning to deal with discomfort is also a habit. When things get tough, just keep pushing through. You will build the mental muscles of perseverance.  

Eventually, you will refuse to even consider the idea of stopping when things get tough. Imagine how much you will be able to achieve then.

I would consider myself to be from the first generation who didn’t have to rely on manual labour for a week’s wages; at least in the Western World. Most modern workers now sit in front of computer, work in a store or; work on an assembly line. I am not trying to say that these jobs are easy but they are not as uncomfortable and stressful as what our ancestors had to endure.

Every element of our lives has been influenced by inventions designed to make our lives more comfortable. There is so much available at the touch of a button that we don’t know what discomfort really is. Even when we want to make a major purchase, we don’t have to sacrifice and save; we can just borrow the money from a bank or credit institution.

When every area of life has become so much more comfortable; is it any wonder that discomfort has become one of the major causes of procrastination?

To eliminate overwhelm, make a list of everything that you need to get done in order to complete the job successfully. Set estimates for how long each task is going to take and arrange the tasks in the order which they need to get done.

Once you have done this, you no longer have to experience overwhelm, thinking about all the work that needs to be done before the job is completed. You can just focus on what needs to get done each day and; get it done. If you keep doing that, you will eventually complete the job.

One word of warning here; sometimes people use planning as a means to procrastinate. They just keep on planning without ever taking action. The purpose of planning is to give yourself an overview of what you need to do to the get the job done.

When you have this overview, there is no need for hesitation. Take action. In fact, you don’t have to have every detail the in plan. Once you have a good idea of the pathway forwards; get started and the rest will reveal itself as you progress.

​Too many people try to sit down and complete big jobs in one sitting. Instead, learn to understand how you work best; about your energy flows and concentration spans. As you do this, you will find that you can arrange your work in a way which maximises your time and energy e.g. you will assign your most difficult tasks to a time where you have most energy and concentration; increasing your chances of getting it done quickly.

Think of a time when you were full of energy. Every task that you took on felt easy. You completed them much quicker than you normally would. You felt invincible.

Now, think of a time when you felt that you had no energy. Every task seemed to last forever, and you didn’t think you would ever get it complete. Your confidence may have suffered as you felt that you could not cope with the demands of your job.

You can’t always have high energy, but you can pay attention to how your energy flows. You can recognise those periods of high energy and schedule your most important work to be completed during these periods. You can then schedule your more menial tasks, which require less energy and attention, for the periods of low energy.

It is not a perfect science, but you will find that both the quantity and quality of your work will improve.

​To learn more about the importance of your energy levels, check out Limitless Energy.

If you have ever used a gym, you will have noticed the large number of people who turn up in January. They have made New Year’s Resolutions to get in shape and they are determined to get it done. Despite the best advice of the trainer, they know that 3 days per week is not enough for them. They turn up 5 or more days and go flat out each day.

What happens then is that their body cannot cope with this new level of pressure and intensity. They burn out within a few weeks and that is the last you see of them.

Don’t be like them. Be realistic about how much work you can get done in a day and base your plans on that. Completing that work each day will build your confidence and motivation while preventing burnout and stress. And, the more confident and motivated you are, the less likely you are to procrastinate.

​Your lifestyle must support your work. If you are constantly tired and worn out, you are far more likely to procrastinate. Take good care of your sleeping habits, your diet and exercise and your general wellbeing. If you take care of you mind and body, they will take care of you and help you to get more done.

Earlier, I mentioned the importance of managing your energy levels during your working day. Because energy is fundamental to productivity and busting the habit of procrastination. If you don’t have any energy, you are more likely to procrastinate.

It is equally as important to manage your energy levels by managing your lifestyle. When you do so, you ensure that you have more energy to bring to your work in the first place. By managing your lifestyle outside of work, you really can improve your performance in work.

When you are organised, you know what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by and, how you are going to get it done. In addition, your life and working environment are set up in a way which supports your productivity. This allows you to avoid overthinking each job and jump straight into taking action.

Just as importantly, when you are organised, you easily identify all the tasks/projects which do not add value to your work. You can then eliminate these tasks/projects, thus reducing the pressure and overwhelm you experience. This makes it much easier to avoid procrastination.

There is also middle ground between tasks/projects that add value and those that don’t. Some tasks/projects do add value, but you are not the one who should be completing them. You can delegate or outsource this work and free up even more time, space and attention in your schedule.

The habit of being organised is one of the best tools for eliminating the habit of procrastination.

​If you need to improve your organisation, check out The Modern Professional’s Guide to Organisation and Focus.

If there are things in your life which you really do not want to do then, why are they in your life? Sometimes, the best thing to do is to remove something from your life entirely. ​

Yes, there are times in your life where you have developed the habit of procrastination because you really don’t want to be in the position that you are in. You may need to make some serious changes to your life to get back on track.

If you are genuinely unhappy with the way things are in your life; you need to make some changes because it is not worth being unhappy. When you declutter or, make drastic changes, you might find that you no longer have any desire to procrastinate.

​For example, you may want to consider the following changes:

​It is not always possible to eliminate these things from your life but if you can, that may be your best choice.

Also, when you remove what you don't want from your life, you make more space for the things you do want.

​If you need to declutter your life, Scaling Back will help.

There is a lot of help available for those who experience chronic procrastination. Don’t sit in silence, reach out for help and support. With some assistance and some clever strategies, you can really turn your life around.

As with many problems, sometimes you are not able to create enough space between you and your procrastination habit to be able to examine it objectively. If you can’t be objective, you are going to struggle to identify the true cause as you are unlikely to properly examine all the possible reasons.

By seeking the help of an experienced professional or, a trusted friend/colleague, you will be better able to look objectively. Also, they are likely to have some helpful observations. Ultimately, the more you understand your problem, the easier it will be for you to find a workable solution.

​If you are suffering from the habit of procrastination, check out Stop Procrastinating.

​The habit of procrastination is extremely common. This doesn’t make it a good thing. If there are things that you really need to get done but you are not getting them done; you really need to take some action. Why should you settle for anything less than the best life you can create for yourself? If you are procrastinating, that is what you are doing. You are delaying your own success; holding yourself and others back. You need to eliminate that habit from your life and there is no time like the present to get started.