I have a confession to make: I am a huge procrastinator. I always start out with the best of intentions and I always fall just a little short of the mark. It wastes so much time, though, and invariably leaves me feeling stressed out and frustrated because I have so much to do at once. If you have the same problem, check out these tips to keep from procrastinating. They’ll definitely help your life run much more smoothly.
People often procrastinate over boring, tedious, or hard tasks. It’s not uncommon to think about something so much that you just don’t want to start doing it. One of the most important tips to keep from procrastinating is also the simplest: just do it. Don’t think about it so much and just get it done. Don’t try to plan out how you’re going to do something. Sometimes you just need to throw yourself into the task.
One of the worst things you can do is blow a job completely out of proportion and get intimidated. There’s no need to do that, especially since dwelling on the task will make things worse. Don’t overthink things, and don’t make things seem more monumental than they really are. Keep everything in its proper perspective because nothing is that bad.
In any endeavor, large or small, the first step is both the most important and the hardest. You can’t try to peer too far off into the future because that’s going to overwhelm you. If you’re like me, then that’s probably when your attention starts wandering, and you decide to start reading celebrity news rather than doing what you need to do. Just do the very first thing; everything will fall into place from there.
Another good tip to keep from procrastinating is also quite simple: you need to tackle your hardest task first. Put it at the top of your list, because once you’ve got your hardest chores done, everything after will be cake. Whether it’s completely a paper for school, drawing up a presentation for work, or cleaning a dirty bathroom at home, get it out of the way.
To that end, it’s a good idea to create daily lists detailing the tasks you need to get done. You can rank them from hardest to easiest, or you can tackle the ones that take the most time first. Either way, seeing what you have to do and using effective time management skills to get those things done will go a long way toward banishing procrastination from your life.
Giving yourself time limits is a great tip to keep from procrastinating. If you can’t get something done in an allotted time period, it’s okay. The task may be completed well enough. If not, then you can give yourself time to come back to it later, so you don’t get frustrated.
It is when you feel overwhelmed that you are most likely to procrastinate. To keep that from happening, you can break large or difficult tasks down into smaller tasks. Do things one step at a time, and they will be easier to do. They will not seem as daunting, which may even make them more enjoyable.
I hate procrastinating. I know what a negative impact it has on my lifestyle, so I’m hoping these pieces of advice will help me get over this trait. Do you know any other tips to keep from procrastinating?
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