Read Part 1: Procrastination – Confession of A Social Media Junkie
Procrastination has always been the main barrier between you and your goals. It stops you from finishing your work, making important decisions at a specific time, and maintaining your productivity. This type of habit can cause severe consequences in your life that you might not be aware of.
So, it’s vital to actually take steps to overcome procrastination and live a motivated and disciplined life.
In part 1 of this procrastination series, I mentioned this issue from a personal perspective. From how I delayed every task and easily got distracted by social media to the consequences I had to face because of this postponing habit.
So, in this next ‘episode’, we will continue discussing the solutions. Particularly, it is about how to identify the root cause behind this behavior. Especially, how you can overcome it to live more organized and disciplined.
Aware of your situation & identify the cause
The first step is important, as you might want to understand if you are truly procrastinating to find ways to deal with it sooner. Try to analyze the situation.
Are you usually delaying some tasks until their last minutes? Are there signs of you tending to switch focus from completing your work to easier activities (amusing habits like surfing the Internet, updating social media continuously, etc.) even though you really want to work on it?
This might help you understand better why you are acting this way and somehow figure out the reasons behind your avoidance and delaying tendency.
There can be many possible reasons:
- it is likely because of what you fear to think of so you do not want to accomplish it.
- you are following perfectionism and you are afraid that you can not complete it perfectly as you want or the results may not be as your satisfaction.
Some strategies to overcome procrastination
- Clear your mind:
After figuring out the root cause of this behavior, it’s okay to put your mind at ease and calm. Then, write down what-why you fear of it and steps on how you could defeat it.
- Change the words in your mind:
Instead of ‘I need to, I should, I want’, set your thought with ‘I have to’. By doing this, you will find yourself more dedicated and committed to the tasks.
- Create a today to-do list:
Rather than creating a long list of tasks that you expect to accomplish, focus on writing down the most prioritized tasks everyday so you will feel less overwhelmed. For instance, what are the tasks you have to do first and at which time you have to finish them?
- Reward yourself after completing your task:
When you finish something you are committed to do at the right time, it’s time to reward yourself, no matter if it is a big or small achievement. When you do this, you will gain more energy, motivation and enjoyment while working instead of procrastinating.
- Go far away from distraction:
Even though you are so dedicated to completing your tasks, it is possible that something still can distract your focus anyway. It can be smartphones, the Internet, emails and especially social media. They can be a huge source of distraction that you will have to be careful if you don’t want to get lost again.
- Control your time management:
You can arrange the priority of your tasks depending on which time of the day you are most productive to work. You can use some apps to help you focus and set the time for each task. They can be helpful for you.
The above strategies can work for somebody and might not for others. That’s why it’s crucial to try and see which ones work better for you. The important thing is to find the source that causes you to procrastinate. Then, find a way to tackle it, and learn to focus on your goals.
As it is just another type of bad habit, it can take time to completely break it. Just practice those strategies with enough patience and effort, and you can see the results.
Thao Van Nguyen
A passionate content writer and social media enthusiast that loves playing around with ideas and turning them into enticing words. Delivering great and useful content to our readers is what I’m working on.
