Kick Past Procrastination
Let’s start with the definition: procrastination is delaying or postponing something.
We have all procrastinated at some point in our lives. I know I have. The procrastination monster and I are good friends. There is always something more important to do than the task that needs to be done, right? Wrong.
Nothing is as important, more or less important than anything else. It is just the priority we set for things.
So, how do we beat the procrastination monster?
Well, you can’t. We are human and can only win one battle at a time. So, don’t be too hard on yourself. Whether we win or lose, we can be prepared and try our best each time the monster rears its ugly head.
One of the best ways I found to beat procrastination is to make a to-do list.
Hear me out...
Your to-do list is done daily but will be pulled from a master and standard list.
Your master list lists all the projects and tasks you want to do that are not daily or mandatory. For example: Starting a garden, fixing the brakes on your bike, writing a book, planning a family trip, or rearranging the living room.
This master list will also have each of these big items, if necessary, broken up into smaller tasks, such as starting a garden. Task 1 would be planning the layout. Task 2 would be purchasing all the items you need. Task 3 would be digging up the area for the garden, etcetera. Then, you would pull one of these tasks to complete each day or week. Once all the tasks are done for the bigger goal, then you remove it from the list.
In addition to your Master list, you will have your standard list. This list has everything you do each day or week that NEEDS to be done, such as doing the dishes, laundry, dinner prep, working out, taking out the garbage etcetera.
First write it down, every little mundane daily task you must do. Prioritize these first. Get out of the way and done first. You know you have to. We waste so much time dragging out the small tasks.
I try to get all if not most of my daily life tasks done by or before 11 am. Then I have the rest of the day to focus on my master list and be productive. You can modify these lists at any time for any reason. Life is meant to be lived. If you wrote on your list, go for a 2-mile walk because your big goal was to lose ten pounds, but Mother Nature decided to rain all day. Well, you can skip it all together or do a workout inside. Only you can decide if you are or aren’t working toward your goals.
I write my list either the night before or the morning of. If I write it the night before it’s because something out of the ordinary came up that needs to be taken care of, like getting gas, car maintenance, or fixing something. Usually, though, I will write my list in the morning because I already wrote my master and standard lists and just have to pull from those lists what I want to do and/or need to do.
Again...
Life happens, or something may take longer than expected or lead to something else that needs to be done asap. So, if I have something on my list that I intended to do and didn’t, I will add it to the next day.
Remember to prioritize and rank your list times. You can do those 2 ways. One knocks out the easy quick tasks first. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and then work into items that take longer. Two are based on plausibility. For example, if you plan to go for a walk today, but the weather says rain in the afternoon, maybe let’s prioritize that walk in the morning or need to call or go to the bank, maybe knock that out first. You can also group your task. If you have tasks that are all outside the house, work on those together regardless of the time commitment.
Another is riding the high. Some days we do have a lot of energy and on those days. I get done as much as humanly possible. So that on the days that I feel “ugh”, I can get by just doing the necessities or skipping it for the next day. If you have the energy, pull out that list, click open on your phone, and rock and roll.
Procrastination tends to sneak up on us. Sometimes we don’t even realize the deadline is coming up or a lot of time has passed. To combat that, you want to keep a schedule or a calendar to help manage important things coming up so that you’re not caught off guard and end up rushing to get things done.
I put everything on a paper calendar in my kitchen and on my calendar on my phone. This way, I can see it in writing and get notifications as I get close to some event or deadline. In addition to this, use time blocking. Carve out 2 hours at the start of your day to power through your mundane everyday tasks. Or for your special project, block an hour or two of time and dive it. Don’t think or focus on anything else. Trust me, you can get a lot done in an hour on 1 task vs. 5.
Finally...
As your hail Mary, bribe yourself. Reward yourself as particular milestones for the big tasks that you procrastinate on. This can be a coffee when you finish your book or a mini vacation after you publish. Whatever, you need to motivate yourself and hold firm to complete your task before you get your reward. This can also be done for those mundane tasks but lump a buck together. For instance, complete your bathroom cleaning tasks and reward yourself with a bath or a facial.
Those are my methods to help me kick it into gear and get past procrastination.
As a recap:
1. Make lists and check things off
2. Schedule/time blocking
3. Ride the high
4. Reward/bribe yourself
Kick it into gear and get past procrastination. You can beat the procrastination monster and accomplish anything you want, no matter how big or small.
See our other post about planning and getting organized here.
Get kicking and don’t stop until your dreams and your day are accomplished.
