Want to Stop Procrastinating? Follow these 7 Steps to Not waste time and be productive
Do you have a hard time managing your time, get distracted with meaningless tasks and end up wasting time, procrastinating and feeling frustrated? Well, you’ve come to the right place! I will show you the 7 Steps to eradicate procrastinating and make your life productive and satisfying.
7 Steps to Stop Wasting Time
Stop Procrastinating today!
Procrastination is something many of us struggle with in our daily lives so you are not alone. It’s the act of postponing important tasks in favor of less urgent or more enjoyable activities, often leading to wasted time and unnecessary stress. Fortunately, several effective strategies exist to overcome procrastination and become more productive. Here are seven practical tips to stop procrastinating and make your life way more productive.
Break tasks into smaller parts
We often procrastinate because tasks seem overwhelming. We put so many things on our to-do lists or have a ton of tasks to accomplish. But is this practical? Not as you will overwhelm your mind even before you’ve started doing anything. Instead, divide your activities into smaller, manageable steps.
This will help you start more easily and give you a sense of achievement as you complete each part. It will be something smaller to check off your list every day and having a lot of checks completed will make you feel accomplished.
Remember, the victory is in the small things.
Set clear and achievable goals
Along with creating small tasks to achieve, creating and defining specific, realistic goals for each day or week is crucial for effective time management and productivity and never again suffering from procrastinating.
When you have clear goals in place, it serves as a roadmap that directs your focus and efforts towards meaningful outcomes. Here’s why this practice is so impactful
To start of, setting specific goals clarifies exactly what needs to be accomplished. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a vague sense of what needs to be done, you have a concrete list of tasks or milestones to tackle.
This clarity reduces indecision and allows you to dive into your work with purpose and determination.
Goals provide a benchmark against which you can hold yourself accountable. They create a framework for staying focused on what truly matters, helping you resist the temptation to procrastinate or deviate from your priorities.
Create a daily schedule or plan
This one I can resonate with as I was all over the place when I didn’t have in place a daily schedule. However, creating a daily schedule will make a 360 difference in your proactivity daily.
So here goes the tip, organize your day by assigning specific times to accomplish each important task, in other words, create a schedule with time blocks. Not familiar with it?
When you are preparing your daily plan, you will specific time for specific tasks that are “Must Do” items. This will mentally help you create a road map of your priorities for the day and set the tone for what NEEDS to be done and what can go into tomorrow’s tasks in case you didn’t get them done.
Setting a schedule helps you prioritize and avoids wasting time deciding what to do next. If there is one I will advise you to follow all these steps, is this one! Just the mere fact of having a personal schedule with our priorities will make you work towards the other 6 steps.
The end goal is to completely stop procrastinating, so start with this one.
Want to read other articles?: Find here how to be Efortlesly Productive
Stay in the loop
Eliminate distractions
Procrastinators like myself, have weaknesses called “distractions” and yes, I am guilty of trying to focus on specific tasks only to get easily distracted by a text that came through, a phone call, or simply just surfing the internet on an off-topic that came to my mind. I am sure you can relate, as this new era is bombarded with non-stop distractions.
So, what can we do?
The first thing is to identify what usually distracts you and remove these distractions during your focused work periods. You can use apps or browser extensions to block non-work-related websites during certain periods.
For most people the phone has become the biggest distraction, so place your phone in a separate room, especially if you don’t need it, or place your phone on airplane mode, so no notifications come through.
If your distraction is something else, find a way to remove it completely from your sight. In the beginning, it will feel uncomfortable and overwhelming, but with time, you will get used to its absence.
And to think that 10 to 15 years ago, we could live without the phone with no problem. ( just a thought)
Practice the Pomodoro Technique
Now this is a technique worth trying! This technique involves working in 25-minute time blocks, followed by a short 5-minute break. After four “pomodoros,” take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. This structure helps maintain focus and combat procrastination.
So you don’t forget to get up and stretch, place a timer that will remind you when to get up. I recall spending hours on end sitting in front of the computer, not eating or moving.
Then I came across the Pomodoro Method and added those breaks for my phone as reminders. You will love stretching and giving your mind a break.
The best part is coming back with a refreshed mind to continue.
Visualize your goals and rewards
Imagine how you will feel when you complete tasks and achieve your goals. Visualizing the end result can motivate you to start and keep you focused on the path to success.
Visualizing success taps into your emotions, allowing you to experience the feelings associated with accomplishing your goals. Whether it’s the satisfaction of completing a challenging project, the pride in reaching a milestone, or the joy of achieving a long-term aspiration, these emotions can fuel your motivation. Imagining these positive emotions can make your goals feel more attainable and worthwhile.
Not to mention that by visualizing the end result, you clarify the purpose behind your actions.
You can see the tangible outcomes that your efforts will bring, which reinforces your commitment and determination. This clarity helps you stay focused on the tasks that contribute directly to achieving your goals, reducing distractions and improving efficiency. It’s a win-win situation when you can use your imagination and visualization to achieve your goals and avoid completely procrastinating.
“On a Side note, I have my Spiritual Channel that in case you speak Spanish, may be interested to see: Simple & Natural
Cultivate healthy habits
Lastly, maintaining a balanced lifestyle that includes enough rest, exercise, and a healthy diet will go a long way toward staying committed to your tasks and priorities helping you ditch procrastination one hundred per cent.
Physical and mental well-being influences your ability to concentrate and maintain discipline. That can usually happen when we are overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, lack of sleep or more.
Have you noticed the lack of concentration you have when you don’t sleep enough or well?
Everything gets tied together and this is why having a healthy lifestyle can improve your proactivity and impact your delivery on deadlines or responsibilities.
In addition to these tips, it’s important to remember that everyone experiences moments of procrastination. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but be aware and work to improve your habits. Practice self-discipline gradually and celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Over time and with practice, you can reduce procrastination and make the most of your time and potential.
Remember, change takes time and patience, so be kind to yourself as you strive for improvement. Start today, and you’ll see how each small step brings you closer to your goals!
You can find more Visual content on my YouTube channel:
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