Who doesn't want to get rid of procrastination? It wastes your time, reduces your productivity, makes you feel guilty, lowers your self-esteem, and damages your relationship with other people.
The problem is procrastination is as difficult to stop as any kind of addiction.
If you want to get rid of your procrastination now and not one day later, the following tips will help you achieve your goal.
* Figure out the root cause of the problem: Procrastination is a problem in itself, but oftentimes, it covers up a deeper underlying psychological or emotional problem.
Ask yourself sincerely why you are procrastinating.
Is it because you're afraid of doing or completing the task? Do you enjoy the task or not? Would you rather be someplace else than inside your room, for example, doing your homework? Once you figure out what causes your procrastination, it will be easier to address the problem.
* Create a productive environment: The place where you do your tasks contributes a lot to your productivity.
If your work area is messy, you'll be tempted to clean it first, wasting the time necessary to complete the task.
Some procrastinators will also use the messiness of the work area as a reason to not put their heart into their work.
The solution is to find beforehand a productive environment where you can finish your task unhindered.
The place doesn't need to be perfect, just enough for you to get things done without distractions getting in the way.
* Challenge your beliefs: Many procrastinators have many beliefs that discourage them from doing a task early or on time.
For example, if you're a student writing a research paper, you might think that you can't start writing right away because you haven't done enough research yet.
Then, you end up spending too much time researching, and not actually sitting down to write.
The truth is though, that even if you spend a whole day in the library, you will never collect all the information for your paper.
Instead of fussing over your resources, start right away with a paragraph or two using the information you have, then add some research later if you encounter problems along the way.
* Break a huge project into smaller chunks: The sheer volume of work that needs to be done is enough reason for many people to procrastinate.
They just want to avoid the image of agony that the pile of work brings, so they put off the work until the deadline.
To solve this problem, try breaking up the work into smaller chunks, and concentrate on one chunk of work at a time.
This will get you moving with the project, and you'll feel more motivated as you finish more and more tasks.
* Talk about your goal: Getting rid of procrastination has a lot to do with focusing on your goal.
It's hard to do this alone because your work attitude is the problem in the first place.
You need outside influences to push you to do the right thing.
In order to stay focused on your goal, always talk about it with your friends, family members, or colleagues.
They may be able to remind you to continue on your objective and help you stay motivated.
* Remind yourself of your work: Procrastination is oftentimes done unconsciously as your mind pushes away the thought of your work to save you from the "pain" of visualizing it.
To counter this, you must always make sure that your workplace reminds you of the tasks that need to get done.
If you're a student, leave your paper, books, notes, and pen on the top of your desk where you can always see them.
It also helps to leave a paper in the middle of a paragraph, so that you'll feel guilty about postponing doing it.