“STOP BEING SO LAZY AND FINISH YOUR WORK!”

Odds are, you’ve probably heard this one too many times from people you work with or maybe even ones close to you. But have you ever wondered why you procrastinate? Some call it laziness. But is it really though?  We beg to differ. We believe that while there may be other underlying conditions at play.

Before we delve any further into taking steps to fix the procrastination problem, let’s find out if laziness and procrastination are essentially the same things. We at Zippy Opinion, one of the best paid survey sites will help you in tackling all your postponing issues.

Of Words and Meanings…

Dictionary.com defines procrastination as the act or habit of delaying or putting off, especially tasks that require immediate attention or completion.

This is a stark contrast to laziness, which can be defined as being inactive and just not wanting to do anything on purpose. After all, even perfectionists can be major procrastinators. If something isn’t up to the individual’s expectations, then it is put off by them. You may be one of them.

There are plenty of other reasons as well. Some reasons may be due to anxiety or depression as well and this may just be one of those symptoms. These are more underlying symptoms of potential future mental health disorders. If you want to know more about that you should check out our blog on Early Signs of Mental Illness & how you can prevent them Today.

6 easy steps to overcome procrastination

First things first. Give yourself a pat of gratitude on the back. You’ve already taken a HUGE first step in dealing with procrastination. Why? It ain’t easy to focus when you’re in the spiral of procrastination. You may even be in denial of it. But you took the time to deal with your procrastination problem and are now reading this blog to help you cope and overcome it. So let’s begin!

Follow a schedule 📅

A schedule or timetable is extremely important in ensuring that you stick to your plan of work. Getting your tasks done in a timely manner can make you feel like you’re in control of your thoughts and actions. Start off slow. One step at a time. Make goals for the day and see them through even if it takes longer than necessary. But you’ll have a grasp of how long it takes to complete a certain task. Then continue on this system for a week. Then start planning for your tasks on a weekly basis as you’ll have a better grasp of your schedule. You can take it one step further and broadly plan your tasks on a monthly basis as well. But we recommend that you do this after 3-4 weeks of successful weekly task scheduling. But ensure that you keep tabs on your weekly tasks as we believe it is ideal to plan for the weekdays which takes an hour on the weekend.

Make a Reward system 💎

Treat yourself to something when you fulfill a task that you set out to complete and finish on or well before time. This treat can be various things that you consider a reward. Some examples could be food, a relaxation break, watching a movie, watching a TV show, etc. But no matter what, ensure that you treat yourself only after a task is complete. It is called a reward system for a reason! This is a proven-to-work method as long as you abide by it. For working hard, you get a reward. How simple is that!

Ask for help – Your ‘Pro’ buddy

You are never alone in this battle against procrastination. If you ever feel that all this is too overwhelming, then reach out to a friend or a family member and make sure you tell them that you’re finding it hard to do certain tasks. Approach for help. They may or may not help you. But keep at it till you receive the help that you need.

Another approach to take is by helping someone who has a similar procrastination need. If your friend also has trouble with procrastination as well. Then make sure that you help each other out when one of you feels like putting off work that needs immediate requirement or attention.

Meditation & Discipline

The mind and the body have to work in tandem efficiently and effectively to work together in order for you to stop procrastinating. If you find yourself losing focus too many times. A great way to keep your mind calm and without distractions is to meditate. Meditating is subjective here. It means to do anything that makes you feel composed and warrant discipline. Even working out at the gym will help you in keeping in touch with your discipline.

Set Goals 🙌

Have short-term and long-term goals. Your schedule and goals go hand-in-hand with each other when it comes to short-term goals. It is vital that you follow these self-applied rules consistently without fail. Take this along with your scheduling. Start off with tasks that you haven’t completed yet and are past the due date (Better doing it late than never, am I right?). Then you can go ahead and complete the tasks that you have to currently fulfill and ensure getting these done on time. You can set these goals using any task planner or a to-do list making app.

Time management ⏲️

This is crucial to your goals. Make sure that you keep a tab of the time that you consume to do each task so that you can measure how much time you take to do a certain kind of task. This has a dependency on the scheduling and setting goals tips that we previously gave you.

Some extra tips to keep your procrastination at bay

1.  Get your tasks out of the way early

When you get your things done early, this ensures that you have the spare time to do anything you wanna do. Right from just relaxing without any worry or anxiety of any impending work and tasks to submit. Moreover, you can use this time to be more productive by taking up a new course or acquiring a new skill or even working on your mental health. The idea is, you now have that freedom to do anything you want.

2. Turn your new schedule into a habit

When you’re starting a new lifestyle choice, you may feel like I’s an uphill battle against time and the circumstances around you. Everything may feel like additional weight on your shoulders. But just like any person who has consistently gone to the gym and kept at it, you too will learn to love your new non-procrastination phase. It really does get easier each day that you do it. With every passing day, you‘ll feel a lot better about yourself. Follow your schedule like it’s the law of the land. And over time, that schedule will become familiar to you and become a habit and eventually a lifestyle choice you can be proud to be a part of.

3. Keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this

To become a better version of yourself. That’s why. Don’t ever stop believing that you can get away from procrastination. No matter what, always remind yourself that you’re doing all this to ensure you’re trying not to go back to what you were trying to get away from. Tell yourself that it gets easier with each passing day.

4. Don’t be a perfectionist

Forget being a perfectionist if it gets in the way of you actually accomplishing your tasks and goals. It’s okay to make errors. We are humans, after all. We make mistakes and it is completely okay. What is important is that we learn from them and try not to make them again. You are limitless in what you can do. Don’t let perfectionism bog you down and keep you from attaining your goals.

5. Work on a priority Basis ⏳

Some tasks need immediate attention. Others not so much. So ensure that you set priorities for your tasks. They may vary from being either High priority tasks, Medium or moderate priority tasks and Low priority tasks. Obviously, complete your tasks on the basis of priority respectively in the order we mentioned above. Keep at it and watch as you’ll find yourself feeling more organized than ever before!

To put it all in a nutshell

Follow the tips we gave above judiciously and do not change paths when you are on the right track. Fix a schedule that works for you. Learn ways to make both your mind and body more disciplined. Reward yourself when you complete a task. Make short-term and long-term goals. Ensure that you get things out of the way quickly and work on them on a priority basis. Drop perfectionism and work on the completion of tasks to gain efficiency and then you can work on impact and perfection. While doing all this, ensure that you keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this and pat yourself on the back each time you feel like you’ve made significant progress.

What do you think of procrastination? Do you procrastinate a lot? Do you know someone who might have trouble with it? Share this blog with them if you think it would help. Also, do you think there’s something we missed out on? Something you thought of that would help a master procrastinator. We at Zippy Opinion are always interested to know your opinion. Let us know in the comment section below.