7 Ways to Overcome Procrastination – Unleash Your Potential

Welcome back, warrior! This week we are looking at 7 ways to overcome procrastination. Get ready to unleash your full potential and finally set yourself free with these practical tips and tricks on how to stop procrastination once and for all.

‘Stop procrastinating and get on with it’. This certainly is easier said than done.

If you have been wondering about how to beat procrastination no worries, I got you, let’s do this together!

Procrastination…I think we have all been there at some point. And to be completely honest with you, I have been procrastinating over this blog post about procrastination. According to my posting schedule, I am officially one week late.

Sure, sometimes life happens and it gets in the way, but let’s be honest, it’s not always life that happens.

There are also times when we know that we have a deadline coming up and time is running away from us, but instead of getting the task done, we find ourselves scrawling through social media, washing dishes, folding laundry, watching just one more series of our current favorite Netflix show, etc.

Excuses over excuses…

And the next day we wake up and the task is still not done. I mean who else would have done it?

However, when the deadline approaches, we panic and get things done in a rush. We know we could have done better, but with the time left, it was simply impossible to do a good job.

What follows is regret that we did not start earlier and disappointment in ourselves for leaving things last minute and not delivering to the standards we could have.

But then it’s too late…

The reasons I procrastinated on this blog post were perfectionism and overthinking things. I revisited this blog post draft over and over again and made the smallest changes, until this morning when I told myself to let it go.

Let’s take a deeper look at procrastination in general, what it means, potential triggers, and 7 ways to overcome procrastination so that you can develop an anti-procrastination plan for yourself and step out of the vicious circle.

7 ways to overcome procrastination, let’s go!

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What is procrastination

Before we look at the 7 ways to overcome procrastination, let’s take a closer look at what exactly procrastination is.

In short, procrastination is when you keep delaying or postponing a task or an activity until it becomes urgent or even overdue.

Procrastination can show in various areas such as e.g. you are constantly rescheduling an appointment, you keep coming back to the same email several times but don’t respond to it, you keep avoiding a difficult conversation, you find yourself engaging in less urgent tasks, or you keep distracting yourself with social media, etc.

Effects of procrastination

Constantly procrastinating over tasks or things can have a huge impact on your physical and mental well-being.

Below are a few examples of how procrastination can impact your physical and mental well-being.

• Developing a feeling of failure – if you keep procrastinating, it will eventually turn into a feeling of failure and that will bring along negative self-talk e.g. ‘I can never do anything right’, ‘I am such a loser’, etc.
• Lack of productivity – to be really brutal, procrastination is wasted time, and if you keep wasting time, or don’t use your time effectively, lack of productivity is a consequence
• Increased stress and anxiety levels – procrastination often leads to last-minute panic which increases stress and anxiety levels which in turn can impact your physical and mental well-being
• Negatively impact your relationships – if you are working on a task with a friend or a work colleague and you keep delaying the delivery of your part, at some point this will cause tension in the relationship and lead to disappointments; the same if you keep canceling on your friends
• Health issues – we already mentioned increased stress and anxiety levels, but the additional stress can also trigger insomnia, digestive problems, colds, flues, etc.

Benefits of overcoming procrastination

Ok, now, let’s take a look on the bright side and discuss the benefits of overcoming procrastination and what it means to finally step out of that vicious circle.

If you avoid procrastination, these benefits can happen:

• Increase productivity levels – imagine, you are whizzing through your to-do list and ticking off one thing after the other; that is a real motivation booster and will increase your productivity even more – pretty much a home run feeling.
• Reduce stress levels – yes, finally a sense of freedom! You are all up-to-date with everything, no tasks piling up – time to take a deep breath and enjoy a bit of freedom.
• Improve your time management skills – by tackling procrastination, you learn how to best prioritize your tasks, how to set realistic goals for yourself, and how you can most effectively use your time which will teach you a lot about time management and soon you will be a real pro.
• Positively impact the quality of your work – allowing enough time to complete a task means that you can complete a task to your best capability and if your time management was right, you will even have some time for revisions if needed.
• Boost your confidence – each completed task is a real confidence booster and step by step you will find yourself moving away from procrastination and stepping out of the vicious cycle once and for all.
• Improve your well-being overall – by overcoming procrastination, you create a sense of control and accomplishment and this will positively impact your physical and mental well-being overall.

Looking at all these benefits, overcoming procrastination is definitely worth it, but it is and will be a gradual process.

This means if you are looking for how to stop procrastinating right now, I would first encourage you to take a step back, be patient with yourself and understand that it takes time to break a behavior pattern. It always does.

Make sure to allow yourself the time that you need to overcome procrastination and always treat yourself with kindness and compassion along the way.

The 7 ways to overcome procrastination will definitely help you to step out of the vicious procrastination circle, but first things first!

Before we dive into the 7 ways to overcome procrastination, the most important thing is to recognize that you are actually procrastinating.

Be clear on whether you are procrastinating or not

Self-awareness is key within this process and you need to be very clear about whether you are putting back a task for a good reason e.g. when you have to re-prioritize tasks due to timing constraints vs. you are avoiding getting the task or project done. And if you are avoiding, guess what, yep, you are procrastinating.

To make things a bit easier, below are a few signs that you might be procrastinating:

• Constantly delaying tasks for no reason
• Getting easily distracted
• Feeling a lack of motivation
• Fill your time with unimportant tasks
• Wait for the right time or the right mood
• Feeling constantly overwhelmed

Right, so now that you know whether you are procrastinating over a task or not, let’s work out possible procrastination triggers.

And once we have defined your trigger(s) we will dive into 7 ways to overcome procrastination. Stay with me beautiful warrior, we are getting there.

Get to know your procrastination triggers

Always ask ‘why’ you are procrastinating. Knowing ‘why’ will give you insights into your procrastination triggers and will help you to counteract procrastination.

And again, below are a few procrastination triggers to help you get going.

Possible procrastination triggers and possible solutions are:

• Fear of failure – ask yourself ‘why’ you are afraid to fail; what is the worst thing that could happen?
• Lack of motivation – ask yourself ‘why’ you have a lack of motivation; imagine how great you will feel once the task is completed – > will that give you the needed motivation?
• Perfectionism – we will come to that point later on in more detail, but for now, ditch the idea of perfectionism; nothing is ever perfect and at the same time, encourage yourself to trust more in your own capabilities
• Poor time management – be honest with yourself, do you have poor time management skills? If you do, there are ways to overcome this. e.g. work with a planner, set more realistic goals for yourself, allow yourself a buffer, etc.
• Lack of accountability – if you struggle to make yourself accountable, ask a friend to check in with you instead
• Overwhelm – ask yourself ‘why’ you feel overwhelmed; are you maybe overthinking things? What can you do to stop overthinking?

We are all different and the reasons ‘why’ we procrastinate vary from person to person. These are just a few examples and it might be that your reasons for procrastination differ.

Again, use your self-awareness and then ask yourself ‘why’ to work out your procrastination triggers as well as possible counteracts.

7 Ways to overcome procrastination

Whether you are procrastinating at work, dealing with procrastination as a student, or procrastination over life admin tasks, etc. doesn’t matter. As different as our procrastination triggers are as different are the things one can procrastinate about.

The 7 ways to overcome procrastination below are a great way to approach whatever it is you are procrastinating about.

Let’s dive right into it, shall we?

7 ways to overcome procrastination #1: Prioritize your tasks

First of all, write down all your tasks on a sheet of paper.

Once you are done, look at your tasks and start prioritizing.

Start a new list and list your tasks in priority order, starting with the important tasks first. List your tasks from high priority to low priority.

For each task, write down exactly what needs to be completed. Being clear about what needs to be done will help you with the next steps and reduce the overwhelm at the same time.

In addition to this, in case you are working on a larger project, it will help you to understand the project better overall as well as in more detail.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #2: Set a timeline

In the next step, give every task on your list a clear deadline.

Make sure that every task has its own deadline. This way you keep prioritizing.

Be realistic with setting your deadlines. Allow yourself enough time, but also don’t push it for too long.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #3: Set small goals

If you have bigger tasks/projects this can sometimes be overwhelming.

In this case, break them down into smaller tasks or smaller chunks along the way.

The smaller goals will be a great motivation booster along the way, once achieved.

Make sure that each small goal has a deadline. Yes, you know the drill by now. Keep an eye on the deadlines, they need to be logically following up on each other in order to complete a project overall.

Consider setting weekly and/or monthly goals if that helps to break things down even more.

Tip: Getting things done is a great feeling. As a bonus, reward yourself with a nice fluffy coffee and some biscuits, or treat yourself to a nice long walk in nature. Whatever works best for you, but make sure to treat yourself.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #4: Remove distractions and keep your focus

When you are working on your tasks, put your phone away.

Keep your work area clean. A clean/clutter-free environment will help you to keep your focus.

Anything that could distract your mind, make sure to put it out of sight.

If you are working on your laptop, switch off your notifications.

In case you need a bit of de-cluttering help and motivation, check out my blog post How to de-clutter your life.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #5: Ditch the idea of perfectionism

Perfectionism is a real killer. It completely takes away the fun from anything that you do.

As I said earlier, there is no perfect time or perfect moment to get a task done.

If you keep waiting, you might end up waiting forever.

Perfectionism is a very common reason for procrastination. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

As a perfectionist you are your biggest critic, keep that in mind.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #6: Don’t overthink it

I can totally hear ya on this one, but the more you think about it, the more you are likely to step back into procrastination.

Remember when you did your to-do list and wrote down every step that needs to be done to complete the task?

You did all the groundwork right there.

Trust in your abilities and judgment and focus on the execution.

7 ways to overcome procrastination #7: Hold yourself accountable for your tasks

Take responsibility for yourself and hold yourself accountable for your tasks.

Do weekly or monthly check-ins and ask yourself:

• What have I accomplished this week/month?
• Have I met my goals/micro goals?
• If you have not reached your goals as yourself ‘why’ you have not reached your goals?
• What do you need to change in the future to ensure that you will reach your goals?

Be honest with yourself and keep in mind that you are not doing this to punish yourself. This is also part of overcoming your procrastination. The more you understand ‘why’ you are procrastinating, the better tools and strategies you can develop to help you step out of the procrastination cycle.

Tip: If you find it difficult to hold yourself accountable for your tasks/goals, ask a friend to check in on you. Share your tasks/goals with your friend and ask him/her to check in with you on a regular basis. I call this ‘healthy pressure’.

These are the 7 ways to overcome procrastination, but I actually have a few more tools and strategies to help you overcome procrastination. Shall we keep going?

Successful anti-procrastination strategies that will help you break the cycle quicker

Procrastination is a habit and breaking a habit takes time as the behavior is imprinted into your behavior patterns.

But it is totally possible to break this habit. As we said earlier, constant effort and self-awareness go a long way.

The 7 ways to overcome procrastination we just went through will definitely help, but it won’t hurt to have a few more tricks up your sleeve, right?

Acceptance

Be honest with yourself and accept that you have procrastinated in the past.

Then, name all the effects that procrastination has had on your life.

Get clear about ‘why’ you no longer want to procrastinate and promise yourself that you will do your best to break this habit.

Trust yourself

Trust yourself that you can do this and believe in yourself that you have all the skills you need to overcome procrastination.

Remind yourself how far you have come and what you have learned and accomplished along the way.

Positive self-talk

Give yourself a little prep talk, and be your own cheerleader.

Focus on your strengths to give yourself a little confidence boost to get started and remind yourself how good it will feel once the task is completed.

Start using the 2 min rule

Anything that takes less than two minutes, get it done immediately.

This will avoid tasks piling up on you and we all know how quickly small tasks can turn into big tasks.

Apart from that, once done, it is out of your head, aka less stress.

7 ways to overcome procrastination – Questionnaire

How long does it take to overcome procrastination?

Everyone is different, hence it is difficult to put a time frame against this one. But rather than focusing on the time it takes you to break the procrastination habit, focus on the journey. Celebrate small wins along the way and focus on your progress rather than the time it takes to overcome this habit.

What role does self-discipline play in overcoming procrastination?

When we are procrastinating, we distract ourselves. Self-discipline is the opposite, it helps us to stay focused and productive. Hence Self-discipline is really important if you are looking to overcome procrastination. Keep your focus on your self-awareness, consistency, and accountability. As you are breaking the habit of procrastination, you will find yourself cultivating more and more self-discipline along the way, and self-discipline will increase your productivity and help you to develop a more positive approach to life overall.

How can individuals develop better time management skills to combat procrastination?

This is a blog post in itself, but to keep it super top line: set clear goals, work out timings and deadlines, create a schedule, block out time in your schedule to get things done, stick to your schedule, avoid multi-tasking, learn to say ‘no’ to avoid overcommitting and as always, enjoy the process.

Stationary tools to help you plan better and avoid procrastination

I LOVE a good planner! I mean there are lots of digital planners out there, so if this is your style, go for it, but personally, I prefer the old-school planners where you actually write everything down by hand.

When we broke down the 7 ways to overcome procrastination, we talked about giving each task a deadline. A planner is a perfect way to keep track of your tasks as well as timings.

Below are my favorite planners and a few other things that I like to use to brighten up my planning and get some extra motivation.

Weekly/monthly Planners

• Hardcover Planner
• Weekly & Monthly Life Planner Pro
• Classic Weekly & Monthly Planner
• Daily Check List

Motivational stationery

• Multi Colour Pens
• Colored Pens
• Motivational Stickers
• Highlighters

…and just like that, the 7 ways to overcome procrastination got even more achievable with the right planning tools.

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We are reaching the end of 7 ways to overcome procrastination and I am so excited to press ‘publish’.

My main triggers for procrastination are perfectionism and overthinking. Obviously, I am still working on these procrastination triggers, as I am writing this blog post, but every time I make the decision to let it go and just get on with it, it really works. Sometimes this can take me a few days, other days I let it go and get on with it right at the moment.

Overcoming procrastination really is a process but it definitely gets better over time.

How do you avoid procrastination? Do you have any tips and tricks you would like to add to the 7 ways to overcome procrastination? If so, please feel free to join the comments below.

Thank you so much for your time and your space warrior.

Have a magical day and see you next week,

Nicolle

Feature image: Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash