We’re all guilty of procrastinating, it’s an easy trap to fall into. We’re surrounded by distractions that can disrupt our focus and throw us into the downward spiral of procrastination. Whether it’s browsing social media, checking your phone, watching videos, reading blogs or fiddling around with things on your desk, these bad habits eat up valuable time and can leave you feeling weighed down.
Here are our top tips to help you stop procrastinating:
Create to-do lists
Writing a to-do list every morning is a great way to keep procrastination at bay. Writing down the tasks you need to complete and having the list in front of you on your desk will help you to prioritise tasks and organise your time accordingly.
Having the list in front of you also serves as a constant reminder of what you need to do throughout the day which should deter you from wasting time and procrastinating.
Take regular breaks
A common cause of procrastination is simply being fed up or bored with the tasks in front of you. Maybe you find the work difficult or you’ve been working on the same thing for a long period of time which is making you want to put off completing the work.
To avoid this, take regular breaks throughout the day to divide your day up into smaller manageable slots.
Use these breaks to get some fresh air, enjoy some healthy snacks or grab a coffee to recharge your batteries so you can come back to your work with a positive attitude and fresh outlook.
Have a change of scenery
Sometimes working in the same office environment can become dull, leaving you feeling down and uninspired.
Different environments can have different effects on productivity, so if you’re starting to associate your desk with negativity, it’s a good idea to look at alternative workspaces.
Does your office have a shared workspace area, an outdoor area or is working at home a possibility? Consider your options and experiment with working in a different environment for a few hours at a time to see if this boosts your productivity.
Save the best until last
Often the reason we procrastinate is because we don’t want to undertake a task, so we waste time avoiding it rather than just biting the bullet and doing it.
Order your tasks so that the tasks you like the least come first so you can get them out of the way rather than if you were to leave them for the last couple of hours in the afternoon.
By getting the tasks you’re dreading out of the way in the morning, you can free up your afternoon to work on tasks that you find easier or more enjoyable to reward yourself.
Get others to help you reach your targets
One of the most difficult things with procrastination is breaking the habit and motivating yourself to get on with your work.
By telling one of your colleagues that you’re struggling to motivate yourself and your upcoming deadlines, they can help you get on top of your work and provide some much-needed encouragement.
Telling colleagues the deadlines you have for specific projects or the targets you have set for yourself is also a great way to avoid procrastination because you’re held accountable.
If you fail to complete a task because you’ve been procrastinating, not only will you feel frustrated with yourself, but others will also start to get fed up with you which should spur you into taking action and stop procrastinating.
