How many times have you started doing something and never finished it? You will probably take a while to count how many things you just simply gave up on doing. Procrastination is our worst enemy, it ruined many plans, it ruined many activities, and sometimes it can ruin careers.
The thing about procrastination is that we all have it, we all have unfinished tasks, we all have books we never finished reading; so, it is a common problem. If we were to think about it, we would find that we could have accomplished a lot if we hadn’t postponed certain things to tomorrow.
Although this is a worldwide phenomenon, you can still beat it; “how” you ask? By following these simple steps.
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1- The Baby Steps Method
The “Baby Steps” means that you finish one task at a time, or whatever you’re working on, if it’s big, then break it down into pieces and work on one piece at a time. Small tasks can be finished in a little time, so eventually; you will find yourself done with your project without even realizing it.
So, take your time, focus on each small task to finish it, and remember, don’t see the whole picture, just focus on what you’re doing.
2- Organizing and Scheduling
Take a look at the tasks you have and start organizing them from the most important to the least and start working.
Create a timeline, a deadline, and a schedule for each task and start working accordingly. Organizing will help you get everything done in no time; it will even give you extra time to procrastinate without worrying about unfinished tasks.
3- List Your Unfinished Business
Whether it’s work-related, a book, a piano lesson, a book you started writing, or a series you started watching; just finish them.
The idea of procrastination and unfinished tasks was actually represented in a funny advert by HSBC called “The Museum of Procrastination”.
Watch the advert; you might find yourself among these people or it might remind you of something you haven’t finished till now.
4- Challenge Yourself
If you ever found yourself procrastinating, ask yourself this one simple question; what’s the worst thing that could happen if you finished your tasks?
Don’t answer, because the answer is “Nothing”. In fact, you’ll have plenty of time to waste when you finish whatever you’re postponing.
So, challenge yourself and even give yourself a pep talk, always tell yourself that you can do this and believe that you can.
5- Reward Yourself
Setting a reward for yourself every time you finish something will encourage you to get everything done quickly.
The idea of having a reward will excite you; for example, you can set a deal with yourself that when you finish a certain task, you will order your favorite food and watch your favorite movie; this will hype you up to finish.
6- Use Your Imagination
Take a couple of minutes and imagine the things you can do after finishing what you have. Do you remember the feeling when we were kids when we used to finish all of our homework early and we get to watch TV as much as we want?
This is the same feeling you will have when you finish all of your tasks. Imagine this feeling and dive into it… Feels good, right?
Now, get up and finish what you’re working on.
7- Set a Goal and Spread The Word
Whatever you started, you started it for a reason; set a goal and remember what you want to achieve and tell everyone.
The point of telling everyone is that they will keep asking you about the progress you’ve made, so this will give you a push to reach your goal.
8- It’s Not Complicated, You Just Don’t Wanna Do It
We all go through this phase of “This is so hard, I can’t do it”, most of the time, the task seems hard because we’re too lazy to think of a way to get it done.
If you ever catch yourself saying that, ask yourself one question, “Is it really hard or are you too lazy to do it?” If the answer is too lazy then you know what to do.
We all go through these moments when we tell ourselves “I’ll do it tomorrow” because we’d rather spend time on social media than actually finish something, but postponing is never a good idea because you will find yourself loaded with tons of things that need to be finished and you will have no time.