Even the greatest achievers in the world are affected by procrastination and ‘laziness’ at some point or another, so what about the rest of us who aren’t so great? Procrastination is one of the biggest problems many of us face in life, as it has significant consequences for our professional success, personal relationships, and overall happiness. Here are three tips to help us overcome our procrastination:
First, in order to know how to overcome laziness, we need to stop using negative self-talk. Putting ourselves down as ‘not worthy’ or somehow damaged is no way to go about making positive change. Instead, see your actions as simply habits – habits that can be changed with enough effort and practice.
Next, and you’ve probably heard this before, budget and plan out your day. Something I’ve found useful, however, is to plan in your recreation FIRST before you plan in your work. Crazy, right? It may sound nuts, but it’s quite profound when you think about it. Procrastination is often caused by our fear that we won’t be able to have fun again, or that the spontaneity in our lives will be totally annihilated. Thus, we make no plan to do either work or fun, and we leave it up to how we feel at the time. Don’t do this! Make a committment one way or another and you’ll feel more satisfied about your work.
Now that we’ve focused a bit on the big pictures, what about the nitty gritty? One of the most effective anti procrastination tools is an egg timer. I’ve found great success with this myself, as using an egg timer and breaking a work session into thirty minute chunks (followed by 10 minute breaks) is a great way to get focused work done throughout the day. Plus, it breaks down the task into manageable pieces instead of making it seem like a neverending torrent of stress and effort.