How I Stop Procrastinating

Sometimes it is difficult for me to get going on something that I don't want to do. Occasionally when this happens, I notice I'm doing something else that isn't very important and then before I know it, a lot of time has passed and I don't have much to show for it. Because I am a very busy person with a lot going on, I can't really afford to procrastinate. All of my time is valuable and I need to spend it wisely. Even just five minutes of my time can go a long way if it is spent staying caught up on homework, cleaning, or spending time with my family. Though I still procrastinate from time to time, I have gotten much better at reducing the amount of time I spend procrastinating. Below are some ways that I get myself to stop procrastinating.

Finish my day Before it Starts

What I mean when I say "finish my day before it starts" is plan out the schedule I am going to follow for the next day. Doing this allows me to determine ahead of time what things I am going to do and in what order so that I don't have to spend any of my time trying to figure out what I am going to do next. If I stop to think about what I am doing next, it frees up time for distraction which can lead me down a rabbit hole of additional distractions. When planning my day ahead of time, I don't necessarily need to plan out the times that I am going to be doing everything. More so, I just need to have a good idea of how the day is going to go. So, for tonight, as I plan out what I am going to do tomorrow I know that I am going to start out my day by listening to a podcast while I clean up the house. Then I am going to take my son, "A," to the city Easter egg hunt. When I get home, I will finish reading a chapter of my textbook for school. Then, I will play outside with A. When we come back in the house, I will read the additional readings for school. After that, I will vacuum my house and do a workout with A. Then, I will do my discussion post for school. After that, A and I will do whatever he wants to do. At the end of the day after A is in bed, I will type up a blog post.

While I will be taking time to eat meals and do other necessary things in my day, I don't feel the need to schedule those into my day as those are things that just happen when they happen. I also don't determine how long I will be doing each item on my list. Homework takes however long it takes and spending time outside ends whenever we don't want to be outside anymore. Each of the items I do throughout the day are considered by me to be productive and beneficial in some way, so I just allow them to get done within a time frame that feels natural. When one item ends, I immediately move on to the next item without any excuses.

Recognize That I'm Procrastinating

When I notice myself suddenly feeling the need to complete a bunch of unimportant tasks or trying to justify to myself taking meaningless "breaks," I know that I am procrastinating. I used to give into these things and then suddenly an hour or so would go by and I would feel so frustrated with myself because I still had the same things to do and nothing purposeful had gotten done. Taking a minute to question whether I actually need to do what I am doing or whether it is a form of procrastination helps me to recognize whether I am procrastinating. Most of the time, I notice that I am using the same methods to procrastinate, so when I catch myself doing those things I know to stop them immediately and continue doing what I need to do.

Focus my Attention

I notice that the main reason why I procrastinate is because what I am attempting to do feels overwhelming and I am not quite sure where to start. If I take a moment to focus on the current step needed to complete the task, it seems more manageable. I do this by focusing on only one step at a time. So, if I were to write a paper for school, I would start by typing up the title page. Writing a paper feels like a big task to complete, but typing up a title page is pretty simple. Then, I might read what information I am required to include in my paper. That might seem like a lot to take in so then I focus only on the first question that needs to be answered. I search the internet for information that specifically answers that question, and so on. By focusing on one detail at a time, I don't feel as much of an urge to escape the situation through procrastination.

How do you stop procrastinating?

• Finish your day before it starts
• Recognize that you're procrastinating
• Focus your attention
• Other

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