Sometimes people want very touchy-feely solutions to overcome problems. We love when someone comes around and says that it’s not your fault and that your life has been hard, and procrastination is natural. All of that could be true, but dreams don’t give two licks about your hardships. Have you ever noticed how your goals never wait up for you. If you don’t handle your business, opportunities just disappear, and sometimes they never come back. This article is for people who are serious about stop procrastination.
If you don’t handle your business, opportunities just disappear, and sometimes they never come back. This article is for people who are serious about stop procrastination.
Stop Lying
The worst thing about talking to chronic procrastinators is that they can rarely admit that they are. Everyone has procrastinated, but I am not a procrastinator, and when I do, I call it for what it is.
You have to do the same. If you get called out for procrastinating, just admit it. Don’t try and come up with excuses. No one cares that you’re tired or that you had a long day. If there is something you need to get done and it matters to you, get it done.
Find a way.
Remember that there are people out there like Jack Dorsey, that CEO both Twitter and Square. Do you think he is not busy, tired, and having plenty of reason to procrastinate? When you get to his level, you can cry about your life, but just get it done until that point.
Be Hyper Aware
The other day I made some fried eggs for the family, and I sprinkled some Cajun seasoning. My wife was feeding our youngest daughter some eggs, and she said: “your dad put a little something extra on them today.” I had just scarfed down, and the whole egg, and I did not notice. When I took my second bite, I could notice that they were a bit hotter than normal.
If you are going to change anything, you have to be aware of it first. You can just operate on habit and live in automatic mode when you have habits you want to change. You have to make sure that your mind is focused and looking to stop procrastination to call out throughout the day.
If you are going to change anything, you have to be aware of it first. You can just operate on habit and live in automatic mode when you have habits you want to change. You have to make sure that your mind is focused and looking to stop procrastination to call out throughout the day.
Make It Hurt
When you notice yourself procrastinate at all, you can do a few things to get yourself to bring even more attention to the issue.
- Write down what time it is and what you were doing to procrastinate
- Do a pre-chosen number of burpees
- Or you can do both
Here is the win-win of doing both of these things. By writing the situation down at the end of the week, you can look back and pick up your data trends. You can learn more about why and when you are procrastinating in order to stop procrastination.
The second thing you are doing is building your body up by doing something most people hate. I was deeply involved in sports from age 7 -24, and there are not many people who like burpees. If you want to cut out the burpees, then stop procrastinating. If you are going to do it, at least you are going to get healthy.
When you notice yourself procrastinate at all, you can do a few things to get yourself to bring even more attention to the issue.
Write a What and Why Task List
Everyone knows how to make a task list. You should also write down the reason why each task is important. You need to have a deep connection with your work. If you feel like you are working on a task that does not matter, it will be easier to put it off.
No one procrastinates when trying to get out of a building on fire. No one procrastinates son waking up if there is a reward for a million dollars for doing so. Both scenarios present immediate rewards and pain that help you to understand the urgency.
Identify The Consequences
Go into every task, understanding the consequences of putting things off. The reason to stop procrastination is easy is that the consequences are often far away. If you have a month to work on something, why bother to get on top of it now?
When I was a kid, this was the only way I could get the dishes done. I did not want to do them, and I would push them off, and then my mom would come home and just rip into me. I would harness that feeling and remember it, and when my brain would try and get me to do it later, I let those feelings resurface. It was always enough to get the dishes done right away.
Everyone knows how to make a task list. You should also write down the reason why each task is important. You need to have a deep connection with your work. If you feel like you are working on a task that does not matter, it will be easier to put it off.
Get an Accountability Partner
When I was building Habit Stacker, I was the most excited about adding accountability to people’s habits. We act differently as humans when we know another human will understand what we do or don’t do.
Suppose you need to get a task done. Have a friend check in on you. This cant is a normal friend, and it needs to be the person you know will hold you to what your day. They will be relentless and not let you off the hook.
If something is important to you and changing your mindset and stop procrastination habits is essential you will get a friend to help. You are much stronger with others than you will ever be alone.
When I was building Habit Stacker, I was the most excited about adding accountability to people’s habits. We act differently as humans when we know another human will understand what we do or don’t do.
Learn How to Talk to Yourself
The last thing you need to do when all else fails is to learn how to talk to yourself. No one talks about this and its disappointing, but we all talk to ourselves in some fashion. The whole mental health and self-care movement showed me that I could not talk to myself in a loving way and produce results. The reason is positive self-talk al of the time makes me complacent. I don’t have confidence issues, so I just become overconfident if I am just being told great things.
My best self-talk comes from being motivating and hard on myself. I say things like
- Come on Ian
- Stop being a baby
- Get up and stop crying
Now, I realize that this will not work for everyone. If you need to take a more gentle approach, then do that. The point of all of this is that you need to talk to yourself in a way that produces action. It’s your responsibility to get your crap done!
If you can combine multiple or all of the techniques above, you will see success. When you stop lying and become hyper-aware, the problem becomes obvious. When you have a why and you identify consequences, you have a deep reason to take action. When you get an accountability partner, you introduce external pressures. When you learn how to talk to yourself, you introduce internal pressures to take action now!