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Week 8: 8 Tips to Stop Procrastinating





Week 8: 8 Tips to Stop Procrastinating

After a lot of thought, I decided this topic would be fitting for the last week of the series.  We all know that when you wait to the last minute to get things done, that's the time when you feel the most unorganized.  

1. Make a List


I've talked about this before, but making a to do list and putting the hardest task at the top is ideal.

2. Imagine the Outcome



Having that big project done feels amazing and gives you more time to enjoy yourself.  Imagine that feeling of accomplishment and freedom you get when you're done.  Just don't imagine for too long...

3. Stop thinking about it, and start the process


So guilty!  Talk about extra worry in your day. The more you think about your task, the more daunting it becomes. All that time you've spent thinking about what needs to be done, your task would have been done.  A two page paper starts to sound like a 40 page paper after a few hours of thinking about it.

4. Set the timer


Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's some of the best advice I've heard.  If you find there is NOTHING motivating you to get started, set the timer for a mere 10 minutes and tell yourself you'll only work for those 10 minutes.  You'll find that after 10 minutes, you're already so engrossed in with what you're doing that you end up working for much longer.

5. Stop multi-tasking & focus

{from article in Real Simple, author of article: A.J. Jacobs}

I recently did a presentation on multi-tasking and spent hours researching why it's beyond harmful, but it's also surprisingly a form of procrastination.  If you sit down to do a project and you're responding to email, answering phone calls, etc. {while you should be doing your project}, your subconsciously procrastinating. Try to respond to emails and phone calls after you're done with your task. 

6. Take away the fun

{love this image from decor 8 }

If you're already procrastinating, the last thing you need is distracting things around you!  Fun things are defined by everyone differently, but as a student, I find just being at my house can be too distracting. It's a lot harder to procrastinate when I'm sitting in a blank cubicle in the school library.

7. Don't let fear stop you from success



There are times in life when incredible opportunities come up, and because of fear {of either failure or success}, we pass on them and procrastinate taking the next steps towards our goals.  A lot people say that fear is the number one thing stopping them from moving forward towards accomplishing their goals. Fear of failure can be scary, but try to face your fear and make that next step. 

8. Reward yourself for completing your task


Sometimes a promise of a reward at the end can give you a bit of an incentive to get going.  This could be something as small as sitting down to read a book, going to a yoga class or maybe purchasing a new pair of shoes {if it's a really big task}.

Wow!  I can't believe it's been 8 weeks since I've started the series and May is approaching us! I've had a lot of fun with the series and have felt motivated to get more organized because of it.  

Here is a recap of the past 8 weeks:


I really hope that some of you have been inspired, and thanks for sticking it out through these long posts!


p.s. Today I'm over at coco + kelley talking organization too!

15 comments:

  1. Just found your blog and it is super cute!

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  2. I love all these ideas, and what a perfect topic for the last week!

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  3. I'm great at planning, it's getting around to doing that's my problem.

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  4. I was going to read this post, but - eh - I'll do it later.

    :)

    I'm so guilty of this. But you know, the timer thing is a great tip and one I use often. It is AMAZING what you can accomplish in only 15 minutes.

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  5. This is a fabulous post. And, that timer trick is genius. I'm going to try it out this minute!

    XO
    Carly

    All this is Grace and Charm
    http://allthisgraceandcharm.blogspot.com

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  6. i love #3 and #4... my dad ALWAYS tells me to "just chip away at it" or "he who has a beginning has half the deed done." it gets repetitive, but it works!

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  7. Wonderful tips. I was on fire this morning organizing my office and giving a designated spot to everything.
    Feels so great and I am so glad I did it today!
    pve

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  8. great tips! I'm not very good at that "be focused" one, I always multitask :)

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  9. I am a BIIIIIG fan of lists :) Good tips!

    Saw your post on Coco + Kelley- awesome job! :)

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  10. I have a huge procrastination problem! With finals coming up, I will definitely be putting these tips to good use...hopefully they will help keep me on track!

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  11. That was a really good list. I especially like the one about multi-tasking because mostly that's exactly what we think we should be doing and then tell ourselves how clever we are that we can! Interesting take on it...like it a lot.

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  12. Totally guilty of multi-tasking....wow, and I thought it was a good thing. Seriously. Thanks for this tip - I need to make lists more often and stick to them!

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  13. an answered prayer. thanks for getting me back to basics. i'm about to reread this post now...

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  14. You've done a great job capturing the need to keep organized with a list of simple and non-overwhelming tips. Well done!

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