Surely, we have all left an important task in our work day for later and ended up missing the deadline.
Not having enough time, or having something unforeseen, and procrastinating on one task or another is normal. But when that attitude becomes routine and affects job performance and It’s a habit: procrastination.
Unlike choosing to prioritize responsibilities within a plan, in this case it is a decision that is made despite knowing that it will bring negative consequences.
Maybe it has happened to you too and that is why you are reading this post. Do you want to learn how to stop procrastinating? Then join us!
What is procrastination?
Procrastinate basically means to postpone, to postpone.
who procrastinate avoid fulfilling their responsibilities dealing, instead, with simpler or more pleasant things that do not mean such a great mental and emotional effort.
At first it may seem like a much easier and more comfortable path, but the truth is that procrastinating involves feelings and emotions such as guilt, frustration, anxiety and stress.
I give you some examples that may be familiar:
- You have to structure a complex and important work task to but whenever you are about to start you feel like going to prepare something quick to eat;
- Do you have a business idea to finally but every time you go to start it you start watching videos and your time is up;
- When responding to an email for a client who has had a problem and requires an explanation, you organize your inbox and eliminate spam;
- You want to update your resume to try the job of your dreams but “there is never enough time”;
- The day has come to reduce the amount of coffee you drink in the office but you have many tasks to do and you feel that it is fair to drink as much as you want.
These are just a few examples that do not exhaust all the possibilities that exist. If you have already been through at least some of these situations, even in a similar way, keep reading this post and understand how to overcome them!
Why is procrastination so common?
If you have identified with the above list, you have to know that you are not the only person who goes through this. The habit of procrastinating is more common than you think.
The causes can be many and are generally related to individuality, that is, to our personality. They can be innate or acquired throughout life.
Characteristics such as excessive perfectionism, distractibility and can lead to these habits and should definitely be enhanced for increase your quality of life.
When we feel anxiety we have a hard time controlling our thoughts and staying present, that is, really connected with what we are doing at that moment. That is why we look for other simpler things that serve as escapes.
The calls they can play a decisive role, in the end procrastination is constantly avoiding facing what implies effort and requires us to leave the comfort zone.
Why is it important to stop procrastinating?
As we have already said, procrastinating frustrates us and leaves us anxious and that same anxiety causes more procrastination. That vicious cycle must be broken to prevent the situation from snowballing.
Changing the behaviors that prevent us from growing and leading a healthier life has a great impact on our day-to-day life and, consequently, on our plans for the future.
Surely, you do not want one day to look back and feel that you have lost valuable moments and opportunities for something that you could work on and overcome.
for those who want it is essential to be able to fulfill responsibilities by themselves. Only in this way will it be possible to travel the journey towards the.
See what is the relationship between taking care of your mind and body and the successful management of your business.
abandon the And it starts with small actions. Then take a moment to rest stop to recognize each goal you have reached. This will help you keep the .
How to stop procrastinating: 7 tips
Like any habit change, overcoming procrastination It will happen little by little and not overnight. For this reason, we have separated 7 suggestions to improve your!
1. Identify a pattern and create strategies
Identifying what makes you procrastinate is the first step in breaking that habit.
make one : watch your routine notice when you look for excuses to procrastinate and also point out the times of the day in which you are most productiveeither. Take notes and understand what types of tasks give you the most pleasure and why.
Then analyze and create strategies to decrease bad habits to make room for good ones.
2. Meditate and control your thoughts
Meditation is an important ally to overcome this bad habit. As we have said, anxiety is related to . By controlling them, you will defeat a part of the process. The mindfulness technique helps understand feelings and focus attention on the present.
By making connections to activities, the body stops operating on autopilot and performs tasks with more quality and insight.
3. Do one thing at a time
Many people believe that multitasking is synonymous with. But that can also be a sign of procrastination.
By doing many things at the same time, you procrastinate the delivery of allace and you don’t finish any with good quality. Therefore, it is best to divide large tasks into small parts and create a goalyes para each of them.
For example, if you need to create an annual content calendar, start by creating due dates for the month, quarter, or semester. At the end of the period, you will have completed all the work without suffering through the whole process.
4. Don’t beat yourself up for procrastinating.
Worse than missing a delivery deadline is blaming yourself for it.
The more you blame and punish yourself for mistakes, the more anxiety you’ll feel about the next task because of the responsibility you attach to that action.
Forgiving yourself sincerely and not feeling guilty is essential to be able to overcome the habits that impede our personal development. What you should not confuse is forgiveness with excuses.
Be kind and generous to yourself but never feel sorry for yourself, as this will make you unable to leave the place. Remember that you are capable!
5. Use time management techniques
Many times we don’t know and of the and we finished being unproductive. Therefore, using management techniques can be important.
The It consists of working in separate periods of 25 minutes, in which the professional needs to focus totally on the task, without external interference, such as using the cell phone, talking with other people or watching television.
After 25 minutes, it is necessary to rest 5 minutes and repeat this cycle 4 times. After the entire cycle there is a pause of more than 30 minutes.
There are other techniques and applications that they help with that. The important thing is to understand that there are times when your mind needs to be .
6. Make plans contemplating contingencies
A big problem that procrastinators face is the unforeseen. They do happen, but they only cause problems for those who don’t plan ahead.
Leaving tasks for the last minute is very risky, because it causes dependency on external factors that are not only managed by you.
You can get sick, there may be no light, the Internet may stop working, a family member may need you and the task will be left for later.
7. Prioritize what you have to do
Understanding the importance of each task and the responsibilities that they entail makes us procrastinate less on ordinary tasks. A can help you not to overlook any task.
The importance of sending an email on time may seem small, but when we stop to think that it is part of our work and that it involves activities in other people’s lives, that work becomes more important.
We are cogs in big machines and by doing each small task with quality, the whole process works better. Remember the saying: You reap what you sow.
Stop procrastinating is possible
It’s not always easy to find the way to know how to stop procrastinating, but with discipline and , you will start to see the changes.
In addition to the suggestions we gave you here for your personal change, you need to analyze other external factors, such as the and the context in which you live.
This will help you understand what you can and cannot change in order to move forward and be successful. Having the support of your environment is very important.
And now that you understand it, if you work with someone who has this habit, you should also put your for that person to continue to grow. Without a doubt, this will bring many benefits to both of you.
Now that you know that it is possible to stop procrastinating, don’t leave this opportunity for later:see how to succeed with these tips!
Good luck!
This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated to contain more accurate information.
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