Everyone procrastinates; it is a very common thing and nothing to be ashamed of but is something that can be stopped. Learning how to deal with an overload of work or even just doing one assignment can release the stress you get from procrastinating.
Tip #1- To help avoid procrastination is to reduce the amount of decisions you need to make in a day. Everyone is always asking themselves thousands of questions throughout the day. Waking up and thinking “What do I need to do today?” immediately starts the procrastination because you immediately asked yourself a question which leads into more questions which leads to procrastination. Instead you should pick the most important things that need to get done that day and schedule a time for it. Doing this will help you not get overwhelmed and procrastinate but also makes sure you are getting stuff done.
Tip #2 is to finish your day before it starts meaning the night before figure out what needs to be done the next day instead of frantically figuring it out. You can try writing down what you’re doing the next day. My one big thing (OBT) that needs to get done that day, My no matter what’s (NMW’s) , and then anything else that needs to be done. OBT would be a big task, project, or a huge goal and NMW’S would be your non-negotiable daily tasks like going on a walk or spending time with people you love.
Tip #3 the nothing alternative. Either do what you need to do or do nothing. Raymond Chandler used this method for writing. He felt like it was a chore to get up and write a specific word count everyday like most writers so he would set aside four hours every morning and give himself an ultimatum. Write or do nothing at all. Do nothing means, do nothing; you can’t be on your phone, read a book, watch TV, or anything of that sort. It’s either do nothing or do your one most important thing. You can set aside 90 minutes from your morning or night and give yourself that ultimatum to help achieve what you need.
Tip #4 the next action habit. It is normal to feel overwhelmed when having a big assignment due, but when you feel overwhelmed that’s how procrastination starts which ends up making it worse in the long run because it never gets done. Try giving your brain one thing to focus on at a time so maybe you have a presentation due soon, but you haven’t even started it because you’re overwhelmed. First, name the presentation or just add the title slide then you can come back later and do the first slide. You can slowly get things done on your presentation without feeling overly stressed because the more steps you take the more momentum you’ll get.
Tip #5 adjust your environment. In order to focus and get what you need done then you have to be in the right space for it. If you can’t focus with loud noises or movement go somewhere quiet to get it done and vice versa. Another way to adjust your environment would be to remove distractions. Turn your phone’s notifications off and put it across the room where you can’t see it– out of sight out of mind. Some people just need to unplug before they can plug in to focus. “I am a huge procrastinator with everything but these tips seem to be very helpful and I’m also glued to my phone so this tip will hopefully help me a lot.” Carlos Quintana.
Procrastination can be a good thing, allowing an idea to stay in your head which overtime you’ll have new creative ideas which in the long run may help out. Procrastination isn’t always the best thing, it can make you very behind on your work causing stress but using these tips can definitely help you. If you would like even more information here is the article.