Tuesday 12 January 2016

10 Ways To Stop Procrastinating!

Hi guys!

So, I've been procrastinating with a lot of things lately, including posting a "December Favourites" post (although to be honest there were some personal matters that distracted me as well) which is still under development. But, in view of the fact that I had planned to post something today, I decided to go for a quick and ready to use idea and basically republish a small part of a much longer post that I had written many months ago. I had long thought that it was too long to read and that my readers would probably get too bored to finish it, so I had wanted to break it down and republish this part for quite a while. I guess this was the perfect time as I was also inspired by my own procrastination habit.

The following guide is part of my post "All About Procrastination", that I had written way back in May 2015, which also included a brief description of procrastination, a list of reasons behind developing the habit and my personal experience dealing with procrastination. If you want to learn more about procrastination and about how it affected my personal life, I highly recommend that you give it a quick read.

Moving on to the main part of this post, I have gathered a total of 10 simple steps to help you stop procrastinating:

Step 1: Realizing the situation
First of all, you have to realize that procrastination can lead to many problems in the near future. Leaving things for the last minute will result in an unnecessary build-up of stress and anxiety and cause your quality of work to decline.

Step 2: Get motivated
Motivation is very important when you need to focus on completing a task, especially if it's something you have very little interest in doing. You need to think of all the benefits that this action will lead to and convince yourself that it is worth doing. Moreover think about your goals and how much you want to achieve them.

Step 3: Minimize your distractions
Let's be honest; When it comes to carrying out a task you don't want to do, eventually you will start getting distracted by literally anything. You'll try to find any excuse to take unnecessary breaks or avoid the task completely. The best thing you can do to prevent this situation from taking place is to eliminate all possible temptation: shut down your phone and computer (unless the task involves their use), hide away all your video-games and comic books etc.

Step 4: Make a "To-Do" List
Plan your day out and create a list of everything that needs to be done. Work through your tasks, checking off each of them once you're finished. A list will not only help you keep track of what you need to do but it will also remind you of what you have already finished and how much closer you are to your goal with the completion of each chore.

Step 5: Do the harder stuff first
If you leave the harder tasks for last it is almost guaranteed that you will start getting tired and give up. However, if you finish them first then the rest of the things you need to do will be much easier to deal with. Also this way you won't have to rush to finish everything at the last minute, but on the contrary, you'll be able to take your time going through your schedule.

Step 6: Break the work down into parts
A reason why we tend to procrastinate is because we sometimes find the amount of work we have to do too overwhelming. Break your task down into smaller units so that it will seem easier to do and won't intimidate you as much. 

Step 7: Change your environment
Changing your work space can have a great impact on both your willpower and productivity. Choose a place that you feel comfortable to work in, but one that is also quiet and peaceful enough for you to finish your work without any disturbances.

Step 8: Take a break
If you can't seem to focus on what you're doing, then it would be a good idea to give yourself a break. It will help you feel more relaxed and motivated to continue afterwards. If you push yourself too much by trying to finish your work without breaks and as fast as possible, it will affect the quality of the outcome/finished product and it will make it much harder to move on to the rest of the tasks on your schedule. However make sure to time your breaks so that you won't be tempted to extend them.

Step 9: Get a companion
Having a friend around will not only boost your mood but it will also motivate you to work harder on your assignment. Getting your companion to help will also result in finishing the task much faster.

Step 10: Positive and negative reinforcement
When you are finished, review your task. If you have managed to finish within the deadline and you are satisfied with the outcome, reward yourself accordingly (for example, treat yourself to your favorite meal or snack). If you are unsatisfied, then decide on a punishment for yourself (for example, forbid yourself from using your computer or playing video-games for a week).

So, that's all the advice I can provide on the matter of fighting the habit of procrastination. I hope that you found this guide helpful.

If you liked this post please share it.
Also, I'd like to know if you have any more tips for breaking the habit of procrastinating to add, so please leave a comment down below about that.

Thank you for reading!

Love,
Stephanie

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