5 Hacks to Help You Avoid Procrastination
Why do today what you could do tomorrow? Well, there are a lot of reasons, actually: higher stress, less productivity, and less efficient results. When you come home after a long day of work, whether that’s from an accounting firm or a medical center—like Northwest Surgery Center—the last thing you want to do is more work. You want to relax, not write, work out, or do household chores! However, the longer you put off these goals or tasks, the harder they will be to accomplish, and the more stressed you will become. Need help with your procrastination? Here are five hacks to make life a little easier for you.
Cut Out Distractions
We all get distracted sometimes, and while you can’t eliminate every single one that comes your way, there are a few things you can do to actively cut some out of your life. Turn off your phone while you’re working if you know you’ll want to check it. If your spouse is watching TV and you find yourself looking over more than once, move locations. Perhaps the noises around you keep pulling your attention away? Throw on a pair of headphones and put some white noise on!
Set Deadlines for Yourself
It can seem a bit aloof to finish a project or accomplish something when it could go on indefinitely. Instead, try setting deadlines for yourself! This will give you a specific amount of time to get your goal accomplished, which will give you the extra push you need to get it in gear. Make sure this goal is realistic. If your goal is to go to the gym and lost weight, set a goal to lose 5 pounds within a month, not 30, or to write 1,500 words of your novel a week, rather than the deadline of finishing the whole book within such a short period that it is impossible, or so long that creating the deadline is pointless.
Work Your Way Down
Tackling a slew of difficult tasks can often seem overwhelming, especially for procrastinators. To combat this, you may find it beneficial to start with the longest or most challenging task first, then work your way down the ladder afterward. This will ensure that all your effort gets the top priority task completed regardless, and everything else will seem much more manageable.
Create a Schedule
Consistency is the key to success, and creating a schedule is an excellent way to ensure that you stick to your goal on a regular basis. If you can muster enough willpower to do the same thing every day, you’ll find yourself falling into a routine within a few weeks. At that point, it will feel strange not accomplishing your task!
Treat Yourself!
If you have a bad habit of browsing the web, watching TV, or indulging in another hobby before you get your work done, prioritizing your work can actually become quite rewarding. Rather than putting things off until later, get them done before diving into that new episode of your favorite show, then you can reward yourself after your work is done by doing whatever you want! You might tell yourself, “If I finish my work, I can watch my episode,” or, “I can go out with my friends tonight.” Tricking your mind into getting a reward upon completion can propel you miles in terms of productivity.
Procrastination is a very real struggle for many individuals, but by using these tips, you can turn your habits of procrastination around completely. It may not be easy, but if you can just stick to these tips for at least a month, you’ll find that the new way of doing things is far better.
