Do you ever find yourself in a position where you tell yourself that you want to do something tomorrow instead of immediately?
I know you've read countless of blogs on procrastinating and listened to motivational speakers speak on but it seems harder to put to practice.
I can't tell you how many times I've procrastinated and there are times I tell myself I'm not going to procrastinate and I end up doing it. It is a real problem because there are times we let it control us.
Procrastinating mostly led to my work piling up while my stress levels skyrocketed. The thing about procrastinating is that it takes you to a point where even if you decide to do the task, it would have been too late. Productivity can drop to zero.
There were times I could even say that I'll start the project later or maybe tomorrow finish the assignment but never ended up doing it.
I came to realize how this habit kept me back from reaching my full potential. My objectives went unmet and deadlines were missed most of the times.
But it got to a point where I just had enough of being lazy and pushing away tasks. So I tried making a few small changes to disrupt the pattern. Initially, I sought out precise and attainable objectives. Unlike announcing how I can finish an entire project, i aimed at doing a part of it. This made the job less burdensome and more manageable.
I realized that creating a timetable was crucial. By allocating certain times for various tasks, I became accountable to myself. If it was written down that I would work on something at 10 AM, it meant that this would be done as planned.
I made sure to remove anything that would be a distraction to me. People don't purposely decide to procrastinate but distractions and a feeling of laziness can lead them in this path.
I'm a heavy phone user so it was important to turn off phone notifications and work in a quiet place. This increased my concentration levels by preventing any form of diversion.
At times, completing given assignments called for reward system implementation. So whenever I completed a difficult task, I reward myself by taking some rest or do something that pleases me most especially treating myself to something nice like exotic holiday trips; this way the process becomes more fun and not just another chore.
These little changes I kept making gradually accumulated. I noticed that I was procrastinating less often and accomplishing more. It felt nice to see some progress and finish what I had started.
It’s not easy I'll admit but I believe anyone can stop procrastinating. It's really a matter of mindset. Remember that the dream life you want cannot happen if you keep procrastinating.