7 Ways to Avoid Procrastination

Read it now! Not next week!

Everyone procrastinates. Maybe a little, or maybe a lot, but we all procrastinate.

How to stop procrastinating is a common theme.

I’ve had times of crippling procrastination and times when I’ve methodically hammered through my jobs.

Once in my early twenties, I did a massive sort out of my room, clothes, books, and finances. You name it, I sorted it out. It felt great.

No more nagging thoughts about the same old, yet-to-be-completed tasks. Nothing hanging over me like the sword of Damocles, and no more feeling like a failure.

I had no kids, pets, or partner. I was sharing a flat, but even so, eliminating all those irritating jobs felt freeing.

Fast forward forty years and a lifetime of baggage. Is it still possible to beat procrastination?

I think yes, but we don’t always have to be perfect.

Even while writing today, I went down the rabbit hole. Next, I was boiling all my wooden spoons for twenty minutes because a lady on Instagram told me to (FYI, they came up very clean).

So, like you, I can only do my best.

Here are some things that have helped me procrastinate less:

1. Eat that frog

Eating a frog first thing in the morning is an idea from Brian Tracy in his book Eat That Frog.

The idea is that the worst task, the one you are dreading, is the frog, and you should eat it first thing before you do anything else.

I’ve tried this, and it works for me. I’m rested and focused in the morning, and completing a tedious task gives me a dopamine rush.

Waiting until later doesn’t work. I get tired and distracted, and as the day goes on, the frog gets bigger until it’s a Frogzilla. Then there’s no way I’m eating it, and it goes back on the ‘to-do’ list.

Action point: Do the task you dread the first thing in the morning.

2. Mel Robbins — The Five Second Rule

The 5 second rule is simply counting backward from five and then doing the task.

I’ve been doing a version of this since childhood, counting down from ten, but counting down from five is better — less time to get distracted.

“Counting backwards requires focus, and when you focus, your prefrontal cortex awakens, and by the way, that’s the part of the brain that helps you learn new positive behavior patterns,” Robbins enthuses.

From the moment that you have the idea, you’ve only got five seconds to take action, otherwise it’s gone.” — Make 2023 your most productive year with Mel Robbins’ ‘5 Second Rule’, Marlena Batchelor, www.theceomagazine.com

This one is particularly helpful for getting out of bed or getting up from a break.

Me: “I’m going to leap up and clean.”

My daughter: “Lol, you always say that mum.”

Action point: Be like Mel Robbins, count down from five, and ‘leap up’.

3. The Pomodoro technique

Pomodoroing is a way to make a task seem less scary by only working on it for a short time.

If you procrastinate, set an alarm for 10 to 20 minutes and work on your task. When the alarm goes off, you can stop.

Set another 10 to 20 minute alarm and go and do something else. Then, return to the original task, set your alarm, and work on your job some more.

It’s up to you how long you set the alarm for. Try some different periods and see what works.

My family members with ADHD have issues with executive function and use the Pomodoro technique all the time.

Action point: Try setting your alarm for ten minutes and working on something you’ve been putting off doing. If it works for you, do it again!

4. Limit Your Priorities to Three a Day

Having too many priorities in a day doesn’t make sense. How can something be a priority if it’s on a list with many other tasks?

“If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any.” — Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Other’s Don’t

For each day, week, and month, pick three priorities. From personal experience, I recommend including personal priorities in the list.

That doesn’t mean you neglect your day job, but it does mean that personal priorities linked to health, well-being, and family aren’t neglected.

I’ve tried focusing on three daily priorities, and it works for me. Putting the priorities for the day, week, and month in my Outlook calendar works best.

When you allocate your priorities for the day, week, or month, make them tasks you can control. You can make 100 sales calls happen. You can’t make $10K worth of sales happen.

Action point: Pick three priorities for each day, week, and month and put them in your calendar, diary, or somewhere you’ll see them every day. Make the priorities something you can make happen.

5. Environment

A conducive environment is key to avoiding procrastination.

If you want to run in the morning, have your running shoes and clothes ready by the bed. That way, you are not distracted by fossicking about looking for your gear while you’re half asleep and are more likely to go running.

According to Dr. Benjamin’s Hardy’s book, Willpower Doesn’t Work, we run out of willpower during the day.

Have you ever grabbed fast food after work because you can’t make yourself cook a healthy meal? Even though you have vowed to eat more healthily.

If you arrange your environment to make it easier to do a task than not do it, running out of willpower doesn’t matter. Your environment will guide you to do what you want to do.

Sam Pease also talks about the importance of a supportive environment in her book Eat Less Crap: Lose That Fat.

“If the crap food is above or below your eyeline, you won’t be as tempted, and if it sits on a shelf you can’t reach without standing on a chair — well, at least you’ll be moving to get it.” — Sam Pease, East Less Crap: Lose That Fat

Pease also talks about cutting up fruit and vegetables and putting them in containers. The containers go at eye level in the fridge. Biscuits go on the top shelf. That way, it’s far easier to eat the healthy stuff than the sugary treats.

At work, set up your desk in a way that makes it easy for you to work. Clean up the clutter, sort out your hard and soft files, and find music that helps you concentrate.

Some people like binaural beats . Electro swing, glam rock from the seventies, and Smash Mouth work for me.

Action point: Engineer your environment to help you overcome procrastination.

6. Do the Task or Do Nothing

Author Raymond Chandler had a way to beat procrastination. He allocated time for a task; during this time, he could do the task or do nothing.

Chandler didn’t have to do the task, but he couldn’t do anything else.

No cleaning, scrolling the internet (they didn’t have internet then, but you get my drift), or reading. No Netflix or phone calls. No nothing.

I haven’t tried this one yet, but if I can’t do everything I do when I’m procrastinating, I’ll probably get bored and get on with what I’m supposed to do.

Action point: Try the ‘do the task or do nothing’ method and see if it works.

7. Do things one small step at a time

Having a big project to complete can be overwhelming. To avoid feeling the task is impossible, break it down into the smallest possible components.

A big task is just a lot of tiny tasks done in a specific order. And you only have to do one little part at a time.

To avoid freaking out, think of the first three things that you need to do to get the task done. It may be as simple as scheduling time in your calendar, arranging a meeting, or creating a new project file on your computer.

Each small step takes you closer to the end goal.

Delivering a whole project might be scary, but making a phone call isn’t. I think of it as overcoming procrastination by stealth. Each small step gets me closer to my goal without a hullaballoo.

Action point: Pick something you’ve been putting off and do the first step.

Summary

We all struggle with procrastination to a larger or smaller extent. Managing procrastination and avoiding overwhelm is beneficial for our families and careers.

Try these seven ways to overcome procrastination:

• Do the task you dread first thing in the morning before it morphs into a Frogzilla.

• Be like Mel Robbins, count down from five, and ‘leap up.’

• Try setting your alarm for ten minutes and working on something you’ve been putting off doing. If it works for you, do it again!

• Pick three priorities for each day, week, and month and put them in your calendar, diary, or somewhere you’ll see them every day. Make the priorities something you can make happen.

• Engineer your environment to help you overcome procrastination.

• Try Raymond Chandler’s ‘do the task or do nothing’ method and see if it works.

• Pick something you’ve been putting off and do the first step.

Right, now I’m off to do that pile of laundry I’ve been avoiding…