How to Stop Procrastination NOW!
Time management and getting started
Here are some techniques regarding how to stop procrastination fast. These techniques are mainly intended for office work and written assignments, but you can also apply them on other tasks:
Lower your own demands. One of the biggest obstacles for getting started is perfectionism. Perfectionism does not help you on the issue of how to stop procrastination, on the contrary. The perfectionism obstacle has been created by you, and trying to reach the perfect performance was something that your boss never asked for.
Accept the fact that reports and other documents in working life are not academic writings. It is sufficient that you are good enough. The level of judgment is relative and in proportion to the other employees. In a hectic work environment many reports are just quickly being glanced through. The finishing touches, such as pictures, the perfect headers and an extremely logical structure, might well go unnoticed by the recipients, and they would not be able to appreciate it anyway. What the recipients want is to find the most important point of the report. Focus on the point rather than the presentation of it (unless you are a graphic designer or an AD, of course…).
Also keep in mind that a more productive employee is often more respected than somebody who does everything perfectly, but never on time. Employees who often do things in the last minute are doing this because this way they get an excuse to let go of their OWN perfectionism.
A good idea might also be to start of with ‘first versions’. Make drafts. When you are finished, this might be good enough. The first version is pretty much the final version. And that should be good enough for everybody!
Set a fixed, short period for doing (5-40 minutes). Decide on a fixed period (for example 5-40 minutes) to work on your difficult assignment. When you have done it, you can reward yourself with a cup of coffee. When you know that you have a fixed amount of work in front of you, maybe the situation becomes less frustrating. Just let go – only 5 minutes! After the break you might be able to work for 10 minutes. Or alternatively, if you find a good gear during the first five minutes, it is ok to keep working for another five minutes. ‘Law of inertia’. Do not forget the importance of regular pauses!
Fool yourself into doing things. Good aid ideas for fooling yourself into doing something are ‘just a little bit…’ and ‘only a little’. REMEMBER that you can’t accomplish something difficult at once. Just focus on the next step. You can try to fool your mind with the following thoughts:
-I am not really starting anything, I will just open a new blank Word document…
-I am not cleaning my desk, I am just putting some papers into the right piles…
-I am not writing, I will just draft the content…
This way, you will not scare yourself by thinking that the whole report/document/budget should be done in one go. A goal like that might sound too big, and might even prevent you from starting. Just start off with something…
Always do a bit more. Neil Fiorie considers always doing a bit more as a good technique. This is the way it works: If you finish one paragraph, continue with some sentences of the next one, and then keep a break. This way you have already started when you return. You get the beginning of the next phase ‘for free’ out of your previous energy. Always try to exceed the natural stop of the previous work phase.
I hope this will get you started!
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