Overcoming Procrastination: Five Top Tips for Success

Overcoming procrastination is a goal shared by people worldwide, because the “P-word” causes so much damage—direct and collateral. Although many of us procrastinate now and then, some people procrastinate so much that it blights not only their careers but also their personal lives. rnLet’s face it: at best, procrastination is unhelpful. At its worst, though, it can be a very destructive habit—stranding you in circumstances that can frustrate and even ultimately hurt you. So, here are a few tips to help you start overcoming procrastination before it trashes your life. rnTip #1: Plan Before Acting One way to overcome procrastination is to plan before acting. In other words, know where you’re headed before you barrel off down the road. Begin with a written plan of action: a simple and easy one that lays out the steps one by one. In essence, you’re creating a map through a metaphorical forest. If you tackle one “tree” at a time, you’ll work your way to the other side. Sometimes it’s the only way to get there. For example, break your day into several steps, or action sessions. Make your first step something you can complete fairly quickly, so you’ll feel productive right away. Then start completing the other steps of the plan. But avoid laying out too many steps for a single day, as this could cause you to procrastinate. At the end of each day, look at your progress and then identify the next day’s steps. rnTip #2: Work in Small Steps Another way to avoid procrastinating is to step down to the “micro” level, separating big projects into much smaller components. So, when making your plan, you might keep the steps under 30 minutes when you can (then maybe an hour, as you toughen up). If the task will take longer, break it into smaller steps—and then do them one by one. Spreading a large project over several sessions of work can help the project seem more manageable, since you’ll continually see progress. Believe it or not, that can sometimes mean the difference between making real progress and just spinning your wheels. rnTip #3: Try to Avoid Perfectionism Not surprisingly, one of the biggest causes of procrastination is perfectionism. To avoid stalling out yourself, aim for progress instead of perfection. Do your best work today, but don’t tinker endlessly in pursuit of the sublime. Instead, simply work steadily toward your goal—step by step by step. And keep going until you get it done. No fine tuning or do-overs until the project is finished. Then, and only then, do you tinker if necessary, but not enough to yank the project back into a work in progress. This is one of the lesser-known tricks to overcoming procrastination partway to the finish line. rnTip #4: Just Get Started Sometimes just doing whatever it takes to get started is the only way to get beyond procrastination. If you’ve got a project you’re stalling one, just go ahead and tackle it. Do even one thing, if only for a few minutes. Forget about planning at first; just get started on the task. By getting the worst part out of the way, you may find it easier to complete the rest of the tasks. Particularly if you plan them out after you get safely started. rnTip #5: Make It Pleasant Finally, add some enjoyment—or at least take away actually discomfort. Play music, have a nice drink, and make sure you have everything you need close at hand. When you set up your workspace to support you, you’ll find that even small positive adjustments can help you beat back procrastination. And get started on the road to your prize, whatever it may be.