Combatting Procrastination - 8 Advices To Get The Ball Rolling

Procrastination is the counterproductive delaying of completing a task or making a decision. Not only does it prevents us from achieving our goals, from doing what we have to do to doing what we should do to improve our lives, but it also creates unnecessary guilt about it.

There's probably no way around procrastinating once in a while, but we aren't powerless about it. Here are a few tips to fight procrastination:

1. Make one (or many) to-do list: it helps visualize how much work you have to do and checking a completed task gives you a feeling of achievement that will keep you going. You can put them on paper or use one of the many online organizers.

2. It's also a good habit to write down at the end of each day the list of tasks you have finished and those you'll undertake tomorrow.

3. Start with the most annoying tasks first, then move on to easier ones. As each upcoming task looks shorter, you'll feel more compelled to handle it.

4. Have reasonable expectations: some things don't need to be perfect, just to be reasonably taken care of. The more difficult you make it appear, the more likely you won't get started with it.

5. Break down big or annoying items into easier ones. This gives you more tasks to mark down as done, and a greater sense of progressing toward completion.

6. Create reasonable deadlines: not overly optimistic but close enough to remain a firm commitment.

7. Make it a routine: if you have to do it regularly (ie: laundry, paying bills, compiling sales statistics), set yourself a regular date to get it done.

8. Force yourself to deal with incoming stuff right: of course it's easy to pile up incoming mail and defer the moment you have to sort it out, but the bigger the pile the less likely you'll do something about it. It's better to actually tackle every mail or item as it arrives.

By: MartiCode

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Use a free online organizer to manage your to-do lists effectively.