Overcoming Procrastination: 17 Tips | BRIGITTE.de

Overcome procrastination
17 tips against procrastinating all the time

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Do you want to overcome your procrastination and finally tackle unpleasant tasks? We’ll introduce you to the causes of procrastination and give you 17 valuable tips.

Definition: procrastination

Procrastination means something like procrastination and is used in connection with tasks to be done and a lack of motivation. Colloquially, procrastination is also used. We push them along and keep finding other tasks that we could do faster. Well, is that a to-do already on your mind? There may have been a lot of opportunities to get this job done, but you put them on the back burner. Not at all out of laziness! It’s because something is preventing you from doing your job.

Do the following statements sound familiar to you?

  • “I’m not in the mood for that right now.”
  • “I have other things to do first before I can fully concentrate on the task at hand.”
  • “It makes no difference today or tomorrow either.”

Causes and Triggers of Procrastination

Procrastination has nothing to do with laziness. In the time that we could get the job done, we can think of hundreds of other things that we can do instead – that will go faster. Tidying up, turning on the dishwasher, washing clothes, vacuuming. What these things have in common is that they produce a quick reward. The apartment is tidy and clean in no time, the mountain of laundry has finally disappeared and the crumbs under the table have finally disappeared. Under such circumstances you cannot work at all!

Other causes of procrastination are:

  • Fear of mistakes: People with low self-confidence fear that they will not be able to complete the task to their full satisfaction. Instead of possibly failing, they procrastinate. Then at least they won’t make any mistakes. This does not necessarily have to be a deal. Even important and clarifying discussions are usually postponed for fear of mistakes.
  • Bad timing: A lack of time management quickly leads to getting bogged down. Especially if you have planned way too much for an hour, a morning, or a day. The same applies to planning too many breaks.
  • excuses: In addition to the actual to-do, there are other activities that have to be done around an unpopular task that we avoid. For example, doctor’s appointments have to be made by phone, a doctor has to be found and for that alone we find a lot of excuses to justify our procrastination and lack of motivation.
  • Few visible successes: The hardest thing we do is with tasks that we do without seeing any direct success. Filling out forms or filing a tax return are the best examples. You will benefit from this in the future, but gathering up to work on the scrap of paper is not a priority for you in the here and now and requires a lot of self-discipline.

Overcoming Procrastination: 10 Tips

If you want to overcome your procrastination and quickly get rid of unpleasant expenses from now on, you can benefit from the following 10 tips. You avoid stress and inner restlessness:

  1. Reward your brain: We work most efficiently when we receive a reward at the end of the work. So make sure that you give your brain something to do with tasks that don’t immediately reward you. Cross out to-dos off your to-do list with a big pen, praise yourself and pat yourself on the shoulder. This may sound silly at first, but it stimulates the reward system in you and combines unpleasant tasks with positive feedback.
  2. Make plans: Tasks that you shy away from can sometimes be so huge that you don’t even know where to start. Try to break the project down as small as possible and create smaller tasks that you can spread over your day or week. Nobody writes a term paper in one day, but ten pages a day is quite feasible if you set it as a fixed goal and don’t allow yourself to be distracted. Where we would be at the next point.
  3. Eliminate distractions: Anyone who has the smartphone within reach will sooner or later be distracted by a message. Actively move the phone to another room or switch it to flight mode. Can you think of other things that you can quickly get distracted by? Keep them out of reach until you reach your daily goal.
  4. Use routines: Routines can help you overcome procrastination. For example, reserve the first hour of your day for unpleasant tasks and work through them one after the other. It will feel good to know that you faced unpleasant tasks so early in the morning. It is best to write this to-do in your calendar.
  5. Divide your time realistically: Structure your tasks and prioritize them. The right time management can help you to reach your goal relaxed and not stressed. Chores are certainly faster on the last evening, but is it worth the stress? The same applies to invoices that are paid too late or return deadlines.
  6. Ask friends or experts for help: If it is a task that you cannot do by yourself, ask a friend for help. If the to-dos are beyond your competence, for example with a tax return for the self-employed, seek support from a tax consultancy.
  7. Focus on one task: Do not try to work on several tasks at the same time. So you don’t give 100 percent and the result will definitely suffer. Get down to one task and only start the next once it has been completed to your satisfaction.
  8. Do unpleasant tasks first: In order to start the day with full motivation, we like to do the easy and pleasant tasks first. If the unpleasant to-dos move closer and closer, the energy disappears and we prefer to postpone it until the next day. You will never overcome your procrastination like this. Therefore, start with the uncomfortable tasks first before you deal with the pleasant ones. So the worst is already off the table.
  9. Turn off means of communication: WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype or Teams: What we don’t need when working through unpleasant tasks are small red bubbles that show us unread messages or vibrations that signal the arrival of messages. For more concentration, self-discipline and willpower, mute or even turn off communication tools. This way, you won’t even be tempted to get distracted.
  10. Think about the consequences of procrastination: In most cases, postponing tasks has consequences. What are the disadvantages for you and are you ready to take them on? This way, dunning fees, anger, and tension in the relationship could be easily avoided if you can overcome procrastination.

Overcoming Procrastination: 7 More Tips

  1. Before bed, write a to-do list for the day ahead
  2. Take advantage of productive phases
  3. Work with the pomodoro technique
  4. Say goodbye to perfection
  5. Say “no” to yourself out loud as soon as you get distracted
  6. Talk to other people about your goals
  7. Think positive

Want to read more about how to overcome procrastination? There are a lot Books that also cover the problem and show you how to learn never to procrastinate and avoid triggers again. For example: “Change your habits now: How to develop enormous self-discipline and never postpone your good resolutions again” or “Work more productively from now on”.Bye bye procrastination!

You might also be interested in these topics: Inner satisfaction, strengthening self-confidence and personal development

Sources used: uni-muenster.de, Learn.net

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