Ways to overcome Procrastination

1.     Bust your myths

We often make up rules about how we like to work.  For example, a while ago I had a great revelation that, as a people person, I can’t really work from home.  I made up a rule that I have to be near people, particularly people who serve fresh coffee in cafes.  After indulging myself in this myth a few times, the reality hit – I was really just wasting a lot of time that could have been spent working.  What I liked about the cafe was purpose.  I had to be clear about what I was going to work on while I was there.  Bringing this same purpose to my home office (along with a coffee) means I work perfectly well at home and my myth is no longer standing between me and my work.

Needing people, needing silence, needing tidiness, needing variety.  When these preferences become rules we stop being resourceful and ultimately get stuck in inaction.

What myths are stopping you from working?

2.      Set a key focus

Once you know what your focus is for the day/week/hour, what is it you would like to achieve?  Once you have this focus, its easier to prioritise tasks to insure that you hit your goal.  

3.      Break it down

We often get stuck when our goal it too big.  For example, if your goal is having a cup of tea, what are all the steps you need to take to get from where you are to where you need to go.  Break it down as small as possible i.e. Pick up kettle, walk to sink, turn on tap etc.  then decide how much time each part will take and block out time for specific steps or groups of steps in your diary.  If the order of the steps is less obvious, write them on sticky notes and then put them in order.  Once you have organised each step, your brain is free to focus on the tasks, rather than worrying about how everything will get done.

4.     Set yourself timed mini breaks

Writers often struggle with writer’s block once they have given up the day job and are just faced with an empty page and oceans of unfilled time.  Breaking the day up into smaller parts can take the pressure off.  Start to notice how and when you work best.  Maybe taking 2 minutes at the end of each hour helps refresh and refocus you or maybe you like to work intensely for a few hours and the take a longer break.

5.     Do something mindless in the break

Use your breaks, however long or short, to completely switch off.  What can you do in two minutes that takes you away from the screen and out of your chair?  If you use tidiness to come between you and your work, why not take 2 minutes each hour to file, tidy your pen draw and reorganise your space.

6.     Learn when to say “yes” and when to say “no”

Once you have set up your time you can be clear about what to say “yes” to what to say “no” to.  Often when we are really clear with our timetable we are more productive and can create timeslots.  On the other hand, once we have set out our timetable to work for us, we also need to be prepared to say no to less urgent demands if they are going to prevent us from achieving our own goals.

Fiona Monks is a Certified Youth and Business Coach.  You can contact her at [email protected] or on 07943155533