We all procrastinate from time to time and avoid doing the things that we should be doing. But is there a way where we can catch the procrastination stage early to prevent us from wasting time and getting stuff done?
I have put together 7 tips that I hope will help you when you find yourself scrolling endlessly on social media instead of completing your assignment.
Tip 1 - Commit to a Task
Last thing before you go to bed, think about what goal or task you are setting yourself to complete the following day and then follow through with this and complete it. You could do this before you finish your days work as well.
By setting your to do list or tasks the night before you are saving yourself the time in the morning as you're not being indecisive thinking about what you're going to be doing. Also, I find setting my to do's the night before more motivating as I already have a clear action plan for the day when I wake up.
Tip 2 - Break it Down
The last thing you want to be doing is overwhelming yourself with lots of things to do (this could be one of the reasons why you are procrastinating.) Therefore, either set yourself 3-5 small tasks or have one aim for the day and break it down into smaller chunks.
(It means also that you have more things to check off your to do list which in itself is motivating!)
Tip 3 - Remove Distractions
Take away as many distractions as you can think of so you can have some focused time to smash out your goals. Remove notifications on your phone, put do not disturb on, listen to white noise instead of the radio. Do anything you can to limit the amount of distractions coming your way so you can have some more focused time.
Tip 4 - Accountability
When you're having your cereal in the morning speak to your friends, partner, family etc about what you are going to do today. Once you share your to do's with someone it will make you more accountable and you will be more inclined to do them so you can review at the end of the day and say that you achieved them.
Tip 5 - Reward Yourself
Oh we do love to be rewarded on this blog! :D If you've had a hard day of studying or you've been boggling your brain over an assignment then reward yourself with a bubbly bath or one of your favourite Netflix shows. By giving yourself small rewards for working hard and achieving your tasks you will be more inclined to do the same the next day and the day after etc.
Tip 6 - Chunk Your Day
It's impossible to be able to focus for 8-10 hours a day on work, study or whatever your tasks are for the day so break your time up into manageable chunks. Try focusing for 45 minutes and then taking a 15 minute break to grab a drink, go on your phone for a little bit etc then get straight back to it for another 45 minutes. Doing this repeatedly will signal to your brain that if you do a time chunk of focus you can then have a small time reward to do whatever you want.
Tip 7 - Tick Off As You Go
I absolutely love making lists and would highly recommend them if you have tasks that you're wanting to get down throughout the day. The best thing about making lists is that you can tick off as you go along and instantly receive that positive reinforcement to build the motivation up to keep going.
So there were 7 tips that I use when I want to focus and avoid procrastination and I hope they help you also! To help you plan your day and to time block I have created a template which you can download here
This blog post is Day 27 out of the January Series where I will be uploading 31 blog posts to help you kick start your 2021 in the right way and to help you become the best version of you.
Leave a comment below if you have any blog post ideas that you would like me to do in the future
See you tomorrow for another blog post! :)
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