This is the Best Way to Stop Procrastinating

How to stop procrastinating? It’s the age old question…

Quite frankly, it’s impossible to be 100% productive, 100% of the time. Occasionally, we all need a break from that intense concentration, a few minutes (or hours if you’re not careful) to simply let our brains wander.

Procrastination is a massive part of everyone’s life, whether you’re studying, working or just putting off your chores around the house. It’s unavoidable.

So, with a realistic mindset, let’s take a look at how we can use that inevitable truth to our advantage…

Table of Contents

Realise that procrastination is the result of something deeper

*opens laptop to start studying

Your brain: I’m hungry

*walks to the pantry…

*opens the pantry door. Stares into the abyss for 5 mins. Takes nothing. Proceeds to walk back into room and sit down.

Don’t even try to tell me you haven’t been there. I don’t believe you!

Let’s analyse:

Why do you think we get that urge to simply do anything other than the task we should be doing?

Is it because we aren’t interested in the task? Or is it that we just can’t be bothered? Maybe we get scared that the task is going to take too long?

Whatever it is, that urge is telling you something. It’s saying that you aren’t ready to actually complete the task at hand.

This isn’t a bad urge! It’s a reaction that you should be listening to…

From now on, whenever you feel that urge to not do what you have to do, I want you to think about why that’s coming on and then do something to stop it.

For me, whenever I feel myself reaching for my phone, or heading to the fridge for absolutely no reason whatsoever, I usually find that it’s because the task in front of me is a really big and one that I don’t want to start just yet (because it’ll have me locked in for hours).

The other important thing to remember is that some types of procrastination are actually productive! For example, putting off a task until closer to the deadline can sometimes force you to produce higher quality work in a shorter time frame.

The Action: Be conscious of when you feel an urge to procrastinate and try to verbalise why you feel that (write the reason down somewhere).

Address the deeper issue first

Now that you know what’s actually causing you to put off a task, let’s consider how to change that train of thought…

With my “task is too big excuse”, I find that the urge goes away if I break everything down into smaller, more manageable sections.

This way I can complete the task step-by-step rather than feeling like I have to do the whole thing in one go.

I’m able to finish a section and then have a little break. I use Instagram and food as my motivation to finish each section.

This small change allows me to shift my thinking from:

“I’m gonna do whatever I can to avoid starting this massive project”

To:

“I’m gonna finish this small section so I can then scroll for 10 minutes“

It’s made such a huge difference to the way I procrastinate because it forces me to be productive before I’m allowed to be unproductive.

The Action: Make some small adjustments to the way you approach a task and see what difference it makes. Try a few different strategies before you settle for the best one.

Use procrastination as a tool to encourage productivity

Procrastination isn’t as bad as what everyone thinks. If it’s used in the right way, procrastination can be an awesome task incentive!

Like I mentioned before, I use the idea of mind relaxation as a motivator to complete the task at hand.

If you can shift your thinking from “put off the task at hand for as long as possible” to “complete the task at hand and then relax“, you’ll be so much better for it.

Let’s take a look at how to do that:

Snack Points

Rather than avoiding something you have to do by mindlessly eating crap food, consider using that food as checkpoints throughout a task.

For example:

Open a box of your favourite snacks and put them on your desk.

Now, think about the important milestones in the task at hand (i.e. for an essay it would be: write an intro, write para 1, write para 2, write para 3, write a conclusion)

Now start working towards the first milestone. After it’s finished, set a timer for 5 mins and eat your heart out until it goes off.

Then repeat for each milestone.

This strategy takes some legit willpower and definitely requires practice before it starts working really well. But, when it works, it truly is an awesome motivator.

Because you’re reading this post, I reckon you’d love this read as well:

How to study less and get better results

If all else fails, banish the temptation

For some things, it’s super hard to use them as motivation to complete something. In those instances, we gotta just get rid of them!

Set app limits

The Instagram urge is by far my most common procrastination place. It consumes my entire being for what feels like a few minutes but quickly becomes a few hours.

Instagram is dangerous. Tik Tok is even worse!

I’m yet to find a way to use Instagram and Tik Tok as motivation to study (because as soon as I open it, I can’t stop scrolling!)

So instead, I have to get rid of them completely. To do that, I use my iPhone’s ‘Screen Time’ app limits.

This allows you to set certain limits on your apps. That way, I can scroll Instagram until my phone locks me out.

Or, I can choose to just do the task because I want to use Instagram later. The timer will lock you out for the whole day, so you don’t wanna use up all your minutes before lunchtime!

Here’s how to set an app limit:

Open settings
Scroll down to ‘Screen Time’
Click ‘App Limits’
Turn it on
Click ‘Add Limit’
Set yourself a limit on all the apps you procrastinate with
Sit back and procrastinate until you can’t do it no more

Don’t study at home

Whilst I didn’t really use this advice much during my HSC, I still think it has a lot of value for most students (my girlfriend, Sarah, used this method pretty much every day. She graduated with an ATAR above 95…)

Instead of going home to study, stay back and go to the school library, a classroom, or the public library.

This forces you to get stuff done because you’ll just want to go home the whole time. The more productive you are, the quicker you get to leave.

The key is to walk into that study space with a plan. Know what homework you have to complete, what tasks you have to make a start on or get finished, how long it should take and who to ask for help.

Once you’re in there, throw the headphones on, listen to some Lo-Fi beats, and get cracking!

The only reason I didn’t take this option was that I couldn’t concentrate anywhere other than in my bedroom.

If I wasn’t at home, I was too busy listening to other people chat, feeling anxious about how hard everyone was studying, and a million other things. Yes, I’m a stress head…

If you’re unlike me though, studying somewhere else is the easiest way to minimise distractions.

Lock that phone away

You have two options here:

1 – Download the Forest App

This app stops you from going on your phone while you study! It forces you to keep the phone off until you complete your tasks.

Basically, the longer you stay away from your phone, the more trees you grow, and the better your forest looks!

2 – Buy a lockbox for your phone

A time-locked box is ideal for beating procrastination. Simply put your phone in the box and study away – you can’t touch it until the timer is up!

Final Word

Here’s a breakdown of what you need to take away from this post:

Don’t wonder why you procrastinate. Instead, figure out what you’re avoiding!
Implement small changes to make those tasks seem more enjoyable.
Use your most common forms of avoidance to your advantage by using them as rewards for finishing the task.
Focus on being productive before being unproductive!
Remove any distractions that can’t be used to your advantage.

Looking for more value? Check these out:

Talk next week,

Uncle N.

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