5 Steps to Crush Procrastination for Good
At times, we are aware of the things that we need to be accomplished, but we just don’t find the energy or a sense of urgency to get those things done right away. It is not exactly laziness, rather it is just part of being human – a push or pull of procrastination.
Procrastination happens to everyone – even to very driven people and intellectuals. All of us go through this stage where we know what we want and how we could achieve them, but we do not take the necessary actions to accomplish those.
Interestingly, procrastination does not just happen to complicated tasks or to workloads that we don’t look forward to. Sometimes these are small important actions, like drinking enough water for the day or going to the gym. It is not because we don’t want to do them, it is because life sometimes gets in the way.
For example, if you were supposed to go to the gym, but your kid needs materials for a school project, you will, of course, prioritize the latter. The next thing you know, you get stuck in traffic and it will be too late for you to go to the gym. You don’t really have to be so hard on yourself. If life and responsibilities get in your way, that’s fine. Everyone can understand that. But if you find yourself procrastinating on things that you really need to get done, and you actually have ample time to do so, then you must listen up to these 5 steps below:
Gain clarity of purpose
Know the whys and clearly, put it in your head. Knowing the reason why we do things is the first step to successfully combat procrastination. Making this purpose very clear and defined in your head allows you to show up each and every single day – already aware of what needs to be done. If you feel like you are slipping back to a moment of procrastination, remember your purpose!
Take it one step at a time
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step – this might sound like a cliché already, but it is still true. That first step is all you need to finally break the habit of procrastination. In most cases, procrastination is not really about not having the drive to get things done, but rather the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Being overwhelmed leads to excuses, and it paralyzes us from doing anything. But remember the first step – gain clarity of purpose. Instead of making excuses, remind yourself of the reason why these things should be done on time.
Stop the addiction to motivation
Professionals do not need the motivation to take action. Watching motivational videos might seem beneficial, but in reality, this is a way of procrastinating. Watching videos or listening to pep talks, of course, reassures you and makes you think that everything is cool.
The goal is to put you into action mode, not to linger on your couch just browsing through or watching motivational videos, memes or quotes. One action is way inspirational than listening to people on how to get motivated. So drop the addiction to get motivated and move!
Execution
Just do it! Take action and keep moving forward. Someone said that if you can’t go in leaps, then do it in baby steps and keep moving forward. Executing something is different and is valuable than just looking at the results. Be obsessed with execution, continuously move forward. Place more value on the execution rather than obsessing for the results – which is coincidentally the fifth step in this list.
Stop obsessing with results
Execute and celebrate consistency. Small consistent steps will bring you closer to your goal. Results will not be apparent immediately, but if you continually take action, you will eventually get there.
Obsessing with results will only make the execution process unnecessarily longer and more tedious. The tendency is, it might burn you out. So just enjoy the process. Results are just the end-game, and you can always review that and take notes for improvement for your next works/projects. Thinking about the results right away can overwhelm you, and this will lead to procrastination again.
In your efforts to break the habit of procrastination, there would be times when you feel like you are slipping back to the abyss of this bad habit. When you do so, remember the first step always. You have to define a purpose for the things you need to get done – because this will be your basic rule. Whether you need to do it to earn incentives, or if you need to finish work to have more time with your family, have a clear purpose. This purpose will steer you clear from falling into the void of procrastination.
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