5 Ways to Overcome Procrastination

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How can I overcome procrastination? Many people who procrastinate usually do so because they worry about something or have this innate fear. It's possible that you have a fear of failure, or very high standards of performance. You may be a perfectionist, and don't want to make a mistake because it'll ruin what you have started, so you would rather put it off until you feel "ready" to do it, or than when you do so it will be a success. However, you will always have an excuse to not feel "ready".

There will always be some other distraction or reason that will make you put off what you were supposed to do. That's why a lot of people who procrastinate do so, because they think they have enough time to accomplish what they have set out to do even though in reality, they will probably just keep delaying until they have wasted a lot of time focusing on other things without accomplishing their priorities. That's why they cram. That's why we place too much stress on ourselves on the last minute and turn in mediocre work or a rushed piece that we aren't actually satisfied with.

So, we have to tackle the root cause of our procrastination. As I said, there are a few reasons why people procrastinate. We procrastinate because we fear failure or making mistakes, we have set very high standards or expectations on ourselves, we have too many distractions that steal our focus from the main goal, we feel complacent about the amount of time we have left on the project, we can't find the momentum or motivation to get started, or we can't start unless certain conditions have been met.

1. Make a to-do list for the day

I think writing down what you need to do will be a perfect reminder of your progress for the day. If you list them down, at the very least, you won't forget. There is also some psychological pressure that you can benefit from by writing these down yourself. It's something that you have determined personally that you want to accomplish for the day, and so you make yourself responsible and accountable to do them. This can also be the basis for monitoring progress and giving yourself rewards at the end of the day once you accomplish them.

Pressure is not bad. A healthy amount of pressure is beneficial for us. It allows us to activate the glands that produce adrenaline in our body that enables us to exert enough effort to accomplish a task. Too much and it will cause you to have a meltdown. Too little makes you too lax and lackadaisical, not really having enough motivation to do what must be down. There's a sweet spot for pressure, a level that enables you to muster the impetus to initiate something and continue doing it until it's finished.

A to-do list gives us a visual reminder for that. It ticks something in our brain that gives us something to reach. That's why in order to overcome procrastination, one of the best ways is to write your own to-do list. It's best to do it yourself because you will then have ownership of responsibility. It is a personal commitment to do something. These are the tasks that you have identified as necessary to accomplish in your life for the day.

2. Start with the small tasks

Okay, some people might do it in reverse. They might want to start with the bigger tasks so that it will immediately get over with, but for most procrastinators, the reason why they procrastinate is because they don't feel like they will be able to accomplish what they have set out to do. Even when you write down a to-do list, sometimes you might mentally back out from doing any of it because they just seem too daunting and you lose motivation.

So, to remedy that, start with the small tasks. Make your bed. Take out the trash. Feed the dog or walk the dog. These small, menial, non-intensive tasks will give you enough momentum to tackle the bigger tasks that require more mental and physical effort on your part. Once you accomplish these small tasks, you will then find a sense of satisfaction and personal achievement that will give you a boost in confidence to encourage you that you can do all the rest, even the major tasks.

It doesn't matter whether it seems trivial to others, but since it gives you the feeling that you have done something for the day, then it will provide extra motivation. Once you have experienced the satisfaction and emotional high or euphoria from accomplishing something, then it acts like a drug that hooks you into trying to accomplish more things on your list. However, do not overdo it. If you do it in excess, as with anything, you might find yourself becoming a workaholic and putting your body in tremendous stress, beyond what it can bear.

3. Take short breaks in between

It is possible to give yourself little rewards after finishing each task. Maybe a 15-minute break to take a rest and watch a show or video. Play a short game on your phone or chat with a friend. These will help your mind reset and enable you to relieve yourself from the physical, emotional, and mental stress that you have had to tackle while doing your task.

I remember this illustration which I read in the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" I think. There were two woodcutters who were competing to see who would cut more trees, an older, more experienced woodcutter, and a younger, more energetic woodcutter. After an hour of cutting, the older woodcutter took a break and invited the younger one to join him. But the younger one declined and continued to chop trees.

At the end of the day, the younger woodcutter was surprised that the older woodcutter was able to chop more trees than he did, even though he had taken more breaks. The younger woodcutter then realized that the reason why the older woodcutter cut more trees than him was that while he was taking breaks, he was sharpening his axe. It's the same for us. If we're mentally and physically exhausted, we won't be able to accomplish any tasks. We need to refresh ourselves from time to time in order to have a fresh, new sense of vigor and vitality. So, take short breaks in between tasks.

4. Divide a bigger task into smaller ones

Since it's much easier to accomplish smaller tasks than one, whole big task, then it would be more efficient and sensible to cut the bigger tasks into smaller ones. If your to-do list has clean your room as your major task, then you can divide that big task into several minor ones. For example, you can start with vacuuming the floor or sweeping the floor, then another task could be mopping it. Afterward, you can also put organizing your closet or bookshelves.

In this way, you're able to program yourself to find the motivation to accomplish your tasks little by little. Work should be an enjoyable thing to do. Doing chores or errands shouldn't be a burden. It is only when we take on more than what we can actually handle or try to accelerate the accomplishment of tasks when your body can't handle all of it once or given the span of time that we start to breakdown mentally, emotionally, and physically.

We must give ourselves some slack at times and allow ourselves to finish the tasks one at a time. We only have enough capacity to take on a few things at once. So, it's only reasonable to divide our time and our tasks into bite-sized chunks that we can easily accomplish.

5. Don't fear failure, learn from them

At the end of the day, the one major reason why people procrastinate is because they fear that they will fail. So, they won't start doing something especially if it's a big project or a dream that they have been wanting to pursue all this time. Failure is a part of life and we get to learn a lot of things from failing. The best thing you can do is to fail forward and gain insights from what caused the failure. I'm not saying that all endeavors will end in failure, but that it is inevitable that at some point, we will experience some form of setback or failure.

Having the mindset that failures are okay because you can learn from them, removes the hindrance of thinking that you should do everything perfectly on the first try. I mean, unless what you're trying to do is a matter of life and death, then obviously you would have to be very careful and consider all the potential risks and contingencies. But if it's not a life-threatening endeavor, then you can have confidence that you can go right into it and take it where it leads you.

A wise saying by Lao Tzu goes, "The journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step." You have to take one step forward and keep moving one step until you reach your destination. Sure, there may be setbacks that push you back two or even three steps. But that shouldn't deter you from pushing forward. Of course, there are instances when reason dictates that it's a lost cause and you must do away with the project completely. However, for most cases, you just have to start somewhere and keep going.