I’m always trying to find some innovative and easy ways on how to overcome procrastination on the internet but do you know what I end up doing? I end up wasting even more time! In order to save my time and get things done, I don’t get them done at all. This doesn’t mean searching for the solutions on internet is bad but once you find the closest solution possible to your problem, SWITCH IT OFF! What we do is we do all the research and then waste so much time that there’s no time left for the work only.

Procrastination is like that drug that we know is going to harm us but we take it anyway. I know it feels so bad when we put things off knowingly but anyhow we do it. So if you wan to put a stop to this never ending cycle, follow these tips. I’ve started following them too and to be honest, I am seeing a little difference in my habits.

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Science behind procrastination

Around 95% people admit putting off work and I guess rest 5% must be lying. There is no human who doesn’t procrastinate and if there is, I am dying to meet that person.

Procrastination is “a purely visceral, emotional reaction to something we don’t want to do.” According to science there are 7 most probable reasons why we consider the task proscrastination-worthy,

• Boring
• Frustrating
• Difficult
• Ambiguous
• Unstructured
• Not rewarding
• Lacking in personal meaning

Talking in terms of brain, procrastinating isn’t at all logical. We give all the power to our emotional part of the brain when we’re putting stuff off. The logical part of our brain looses the battle and we choose instagram over our homework.

But as hard as it sounds which it’s not, there are actual ways where we can give our logical brain the upper hand and overcome procrastination.

1. Overcome your fear

It’s seen that fear is one of the main reasons we procrastinate. It can be any kind of fear.

• Fear that you’ll make mistakes
• Fear that you’ll fail
• Fear that you’ll succeed
• Fear of task being too difficult

All of this is in your mind. For example when we have an exam, we stress about the difficult questions or the chances of getting failed. But we still go, sit there, write our paper and give the exam right!That feeling of being done with the exam, isn’t it so fulfilling? Always remember that feeling. That’s the feeling of getting the work done. You will overcome all your fears once you stop thinking about it.

2. Make a to-do list

This one’s really really necessary. I know this because I’m a messy and a forgetful person. So when I make a list and allot specific time to each task instead of spending hours on just one task, I get much better results. Sometimes you won’t be able to meet the allotted duration of the specific task but that’s okay. The motive is not to be too hard on yourself but to get things done in as less time as possible without killing yourself.

This also helps me get quality work done. Whenever I’m putting things off and reach the deadline, that task gets so shabby even I won’t look at it. So procrastination isn’t only putting a lot of pressure on you but also degrading the quality of work. When we can do something better and in a more creative way, then why we willingly make it so bad. Ask yourself this whenever you’re going through social media and have a ton of work left to do.

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3. Start slow

When we have a load of work, we start racking it up until we have another load of work over the previous one. And that’s when the cycle of procrastination begins. We end up having so much work that even a lifetime seems less to get it all done.

In order to avoid the above disastrous situation, divide your work into smaller segments. Achieve smaller milestones each day. Instead of getting it all done right before the deadline, get it done gradually in say 5 days. There’s science behind this too. When we start coming closer to our goals, we start working even faster and efficiently. You know that you’ve come so far and the goal is so near and starts to feel achievable. This will really help you overcome that never ending procrastination.

4. Avoid distractions

Distractions are the main reasons we procrastinate. Those social media apps as entertaining as they are, put us far away from getting our tasks done. I open the internet to search for something for my assignment and boom next thing I know I’m sharing memes on facebook. Social media is a trap.

Next time you search something on youtube, close it as soon as you get it otherwise you’d end up looking at funny cat videos. Infact I’d say put your phone or laptop or whatever is distracting you with your mom. Because then, you’re not getting it back before the work is done and believe me, it’s 100% effective.

5. Focus on the result

This one helps me get so much work done. When I see myself with all the work completed in my hands, I know I want that feeling for real. This one’s a really effective way on how to overcome procrastination.

We procrastinate because we are focussing on the short term goals i.e. the difficulties associated with the task. What we should be doing instead is focus on long term goals i.e. why are we even doing the task in the first place. If the task is cleaning your room, don’t focus on how messy it is. Focus on what it would feel to be in a clean organized and decluttered room. I’m actually thinking how beautiful my room will look if I clean it, and I will just after writing this post.

Looking at our goals gives a feeling of accomplishment but only for a brief amount of time. To get that permanent feeling, you’ll have to get the task done.

These were some tried and tested ways to overcome procrastination. Now if you follow these, they can prove to be really effective. It’s not easy to go cold turkey on this habit of procrastinating, but it’s not impossible too. Just take one thing at a time.

Do you procrastinate too? Tell us in the comments below!

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