Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

Here is a quick guide to overcoming procrastination that you can use to get yourself out of the cycle and on the right track.

Overcoming procrastination is difficult. I know because I was a chronic procrastinator myself. It took a lot of persistence and learning for me to eventually overcome procrastination but you can do it.

Procrastination develops and becomes a habit. In fact, most people don't even realise they are doing it until they start to become conscious of it. It is only then do they realise what they are doing is in fact procrastinating.

The first thing people try to do when they want to overcome procrastination is try to use will power. But many will find it just causes an internal struggle and does not help in overcoming procrastination. Therefore what is needed is a proper plan. For best results, get a pen and piece of paper to jot down the key actions from this guide to overcoming procrastination.

Overcoming Procrastination Action 1

Write down when you procrastinate. You see, most procrastinators only do so during certain tasks. For example they might not have any problems at work but when it comes to doing the ironing, the problem arises.

Think through your day and week. Do you procrastinate on your house hold chores? DIY that needs to be done? School work? Own ambitions and goals? Social meetings? Tax returns?

Overcoming Procrastination Action 2

Once you know when you procrastinate, write down what you do when it happens. For example, when you can't get yourself to do the task you want to do, what do you do instead? Watch television? Surf the web, watch youtube? Tidy the desk? Go to sleep? Eat food?

Overcoming Procrastination Action 3

Write down the excuses you give yourself. Do you say to yourself.......I'm too tired now? I'll do it tomorrow...? I've got plenty of time...? I don't have the equipment I need so I'll do it later....?

Knowing and identifying when you procrastinate and what you do is half the battle to overcoming procrastination.

This action of writing it down already awakens your brain to see what is happening and creates a trigger for you to think when the events happen.

The next step is to "undo" the procrastination. Like we mentioned before, will power by itself does not work because the procrastination is developed in a deep psychological habit, so you need to reprogram yourself.

Overcoming Procrastination Action 4

Use visualisation everyday to reprogram the mind.

Think about the times you procrastinate and what you do then imagine the same situation but with your desired outcome instead. So with the three actions you wrote down before, you are now going to change the scene, just like a movie director changing the storyline. When you visualise the new positive action, try to use a first person perspective rather than third person. This will enhance the wiring into your brain.

For example, if every time you want to iron your clothes but end up going to the fridge and eat some food instead, visualise yourself wanting to do the ironing then you telling yourself to do it and feel with your emotions the achievement and pleasure you get from completing the task. This will cause an imprint in your subconscious to wire positive feelings to the task and help you mentally to choose to do the task over doing the procrastinating.

Use visualisation every day. Set time aside. It only takes five minutes but the results will surprise you. Trust me, it works. It's best to visualise when you are relaxed, so be in a place where it is quiet and comfortable and clear you mind.

As well as visualisation, you also need to organise your time better by setting goals that are clear and have action steps that are non ambiguous. You also need to learn to chunk your time i.e. split a big task into smaller chunks so you won't feel overwhelmed.

These areas are specific to the task that you are procrastinating over and there are way too many different scenarios to cover in the purpose of this page. However, the four action steps described is universal and helpful for all procrastination. So try it and you will see the improvement within a few days if you really try!

If you are serious about a guide to overcoming procrastination, here is an excellent resource.