4 Strategies to Eliminate Procrastination Now
Procrastination is a skill that almost every human being has acquired. Some are true masters of procrastination (wink wink), while others have enough discipline to keep it at bay. For those who want to have better self-control to eliminate procrastination, here are a few strategies that can help.
The 5-minute Plan
It’s exactly what the name implies. Decide what you want to do in the coming 5 minutes. Then, spend those 5 minutes doing what you had planned. If studying for an exam is your goal, you can allocate the first 5 minutes to read the syllabus. After the time is up, you decide what you’ll do in the next 5 minutes. Repeating this process will give you the momentum you need to get started.
Book an appointment
Think of your task as an appointment. Like any other doctor’s appointment, you would open your calendar or scheduler to mark it down. Do the same for the task you need to complete. Dedicate a specific time slot to get it done. Once you mark it down on your calendar, be sure to follow it and be punctual.
You might also be interested in How to Save Your Time with Block Scheduling
Quantity over quality
This is rarely the case. But if your goal is to eliminate procrastination, now is the time to put quantity over quality. You don’t need it to be perfect. Instead, you want it to be as imperfect as possible, for now. Try to get as much done as you can, then come back to refine it.
The hardest part is always to get started. Aiming for perfection from the beginning will only make it harder to start.
Change the environment
Sometimes it’s so frustrating when I want to get something done, but I’m already stuck on the first step. Not being able to gain the momentum I had hoped makes me want to procrastinate and leave it for another day. If you feel the same way, this is a sign for you to change your environment.
As silly as it sounds, after going out to buy groceries, I came back with a solution to my problem. Most people would choose to work at cafes or the library for a change. But if you prefer, even a walk in your neighborhood or a trip to the convenience store can help.
To Conclude
We mentioned a few techniques to eliminate procrastination. But the common key is to make your task small and easy to accomplish imperfectly. That way, you can gain the momentum to start. You can always come back later to polish things up. Good luck with defeating procrastination!