How to Avoid Procrastination

Introduction

Procrastination is a major reason behind failure. Most of us find it hard to focus on the work to be done, we have a deadline looming, still, we are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs, and forums. Somewhere in our mind and heart we know we should be working, but just don’t feel like doing anything. This is the phenomenon of procrastination in which we pass away our free time and put off important tasks we should have done by then. And when it is too late, we panic and wish we had done it earlier. The question is, How to avoid Procrastination? or how to not procrastinate?

Steps Regarding ‘How to avoid Procrastination'

1. Break Work to be done into Little Steps:
This is the first step of how to avoid procrastination. We generally procrastinate because we find the work too overwhelming for us subconsciously. We should break it down into little parts and then focus on the immediate phase and get it done to the best ability, without worrying about the other phases.
2. Change Your Work Environment:
The environment around us impacts our productivity a lot. We should always look at our workspace from the view of whether it makes us do work or makes us snuggle and sleep. If it makes us sleep, then we should look into changing our workspace. We should also add things that keep us lively and inspired to our workspace. Follow this step and know how to prevent procrastination?
3. Create Detailed Timeline with Specific Deadlines:
Having just one deadline for the big task at hand is like an invitation to procrastinate. By having one deadline, we keep getting the impression that we have time and keep pushing everything back until it’s too late for us to handle all the work. We should break down our project, create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each small task. This way, we have an impression on our minds to finish each task by a certain date. 

Don't forget to watch the story of Crorepati Chaiwala:

4. Eliminate Your Procrastination Pot-hole Stops:
If we are procrastinating way too much, maybe that’s because we are making it very easy to procrastinate. We should identify our distractions like Facebook, YouTube which take too much of our time, and shift them into a separate folder that is less accessible. We should also disable the automatic notification option on our laptops and mobiles and get rid of the distractions around us.
5. Hang out with the right People Who Inspire You to Take Action:
This is the fifth step of how to avoid procrastination. If we spend just 10 minutes talking to Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, we will be more inspired to act than if we spent the 10 minutes doing nothing or wasting on wrong people. Our environment, our community, our companionships influence our behaviours to a greater extent.
6. Get a Work Buddy:
Having a companion in our journey of work makes the whole process much more fun. Ideally, our work buddy should be someone who has his own set of goals so that both of us will hold each other accountable for our goals and plans. Both of you don't need to have the same goals, it’ll be even better if that’s the case so that you can learn from each other and discover your new dimensions of capability and interests.
7. Tell Others About Your Goals:
This is the seventh step of how to avoid procrastination. We should tell all our friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and family about our projects so that whenever we see them, they are bound to ask us about our status on those projects.
8. Find out those who have Already Achieved the Outcome:
You need to first see that what is it that you want to achieve, and who are the people who have already achieved this outcome? Try to find them and connect with them. When you see the living proof that your goals can be achieved very well if you take action, it acts as one of the biggest triggers for action.

9. Re-Clarify Your Goals:
If you feel that you have been procrastinating for a long time, that means, there might be a misalignment between what you want, that is, your desire, and what you are doing currently. Many times, as we learn more about ourselves, we outgrow our goals but we don’t change them to reflect that. Therefore, take a break and find out what exactly do you want in your life?
10. Stop over-complicating Things:
This is the tenth step of how to avoid procrastination. Most people over-think about various things in life. They create a mess out of simple things and make them even more difficult to handle. They over-think about what could go wrong when it may not even happen in the future.
11. Get a Grip on yourself and Just Do It:
In the end, if you want actual change in life, then take action. All the strategizing and planning can be fruitful only if you take action otherwise nothing is going to change. If you want to get the job that you procrastinate done, you need to get a grip on yourself and do it.

Summary

Thus, following the above-mentioned steps, we can prevent procrastination. We spend years of our life looped in this cycle when we start procrastinating chronically. Procrastination is a bad habit that eats us away and prevents us from achieving greater results and success in our life. Therefore, we must know how to avoid procrastination so that we can achieve our goals in life.
Quit procrastinating today.