How to Beat Procrastination
Does perfectionism cause you to procrastinate? A lot of the time, we know what we need to get done, but experience resistance in taking the first step and following through.
Procrastination can be a never ending cycle if we don’t have tools for identifying and overcoming it. While it can often feel like a never-ending struggle, here are tools for getting past it:
The Five Second Rule
Author and motivation expert, Mel Robbins has become well known for her five second rule. Have a new idea? Count down from five in your head and act on it right away. If it sounds too easy to be true, try it for yourself! You may be surprised by the results.
“Counting backwards requires focus, and when you focus, your prefrontal cortex awakens, and by the way, that's the part of the brain that helps you learn new positive behavior patterns,” Mel shared with The CEO Magazine.
We often expect a lightning bolt of motivation to strike us into action — but a lot of the time, it’s nowhere to be found. The logic behind Mel’s five second mind hack is that if we don’t act immediately, our brain will rationalize away our decision, moving us back into the grips of procrastination.
Honestly Examine Your Current Habits
Sometimes our habits become so ingrained that we are unaware of them. Therefore, understanding where and how you are procrastinating may be helpful in turning the tide.
In which areas of your work-life are you procrastinating and why? Write it down.
What activities do you engage in that contribute to your procrastination?
Write down the actions you need to take to get yourself moving in the direction you want to go. Better yet, put it on a calendar.
Determine Ways to Address These Habits
Address the activities that get in the way. If responding to emails keeps you from focusing on a project, try time-blocking your day. Set a specific time to check emails during a part of your day that allows you to focus on your priority project. Address your emotions: If feeling overwhelmed halts your progress, break large projects into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Schedule these smaller portions into your time-blocked day. Assess the intensity required: If a project requires a lot of energy or mental concentration, focus on its components during the first part of your day. If you push these tasks until later, when you are lacking focus, it will be easy to delay them to the next day.
Celebrate Wins
Bask in some extrinsic motivation in addition — after you excel at sticking to your time-blocked schedule for the week, reward yourself. These steps help us rewire our brain out of an anxiety loop and instead associate the hard tasks we need to to do achieve our goals with positive thoughts.