Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination can be detrimental to every day life. Not only can it lead to a lack of professional advancement, it can also wreak havoc on your home life. Procrastination can even be taxing emotionally. The root cause for its role in your life may be as simple as not wanting to do things because you dread them. Another reason might be a fear of failure. Get more done in your life and find ways to stop procrastinating.

Eliminate Distractions

• One way to stop procrastinating is to remove distractions from your surroundings which allow you to waste time. If you know certain items are time-wasters, such as the Internet or telephone, simply make them inaccessible. If you need either for the tasks, that route may not work. However, if you are able to do so, turn off your phone. If you don't need the Internet for the task you need to do, unplug or disable your connection.

Evaluate

• When you notice a pattern of procrastination, acknowledge it. Take some time to think about how often you procrastinate, and the reasons why it is so common in your life. Make a list of what procrastination is costing you in your career and personal life. If it helps, put it in dollar terms, if money motivates you.

Fun

• Make hated tasks more fun. For example, if you procrastinate about cleaning your house, make it as enjoyable as possible. Blast your favorite music and get started. Buy cleaning products, such as dish-washing soap, in your favorite scents. Also, use supplies with fun patterns. Pour yourself a glass of wine and sip it while vacuuming.

Tasks

• One way to stop procrastination is to break down a task or project into smaller and more defined tasks. Large tasks can be overwhelming, which leads to you putting it off. Breaking it down into multiple small steps, and putting them in the order in which they should be done, makes it much more manageable. Once you complete the first task, you will be far more motivated to complete the rest of them.