[Updated for 2020]
Normally, I’d start with an intro but in this case, I’ll leave Tim Urban tell you about his fight with procrastination. After all, this is my favourite TED talk; it’s not like I can start otherwise!
Procrastination is one of these things you have to find a way to beat to have the life you want. If not, you’ll never be able to do what you REALLY want to do in your life.
Yes, I said it. You have to do it!
And by you, I mean everyone – me, for example.
I was supposed to write this article two days ago. But what was I doing that day…? I was watching useless Youtube videos.
Procrastination is on the top of my things-to-overcome list. However, the last few years, I’ve done some progress. I’ve come to understand procrastination better and I’ve learned more about it.
And… I’ve discovered a few ways to fight procrastination. Wanna learn about them?
Why We Procrastinate
Before we start, let’s talk first a little about why we procrastinate.
What I didn’t understand at first is that not everyone does it for the same reasons. And not every time you procrastinate, you do it for the same reason.
The most common reasons for procrastinating is:
- Fear of failure
- Perfectionism
- Bad planning
- Laziness
- Lack of motivation
How To Fight Procrastination
Each reason needs a different approach, and believe me, at least one of them will make you say: “Yep, that’s me!”.
Cause #1: Fear of Failure
Failing is always a little intimidating. But:
Everything is a matter of perspective.
So let’s look at this from a different angle.
Failing is an incredible opportunity for improvement.
And yes, it took me years to accept that. But the truth is you can learn more by failing than you can learn by succeeding.
Success leaves you where you were before; failure can get you further.
But let’s say you don’t get anything useful from failing, all right? If you don’t try, you’ve already failed. How does this help you?
Not trying means you’ve already failed anyway!
Obviously, we don’t fear failure per se. Otherwise, we’d try our best not to fail. We fear that we’ll get rejected. That someone else will judge our work – or even us – and find us lacking.
And now’s the time for the million-dollar question:
Whom do you try for? Them or you?
How To Fight It
Change your mindset!
Yes, it doesn’t sound very easy, but this is the way to go. You have to change the way you think of the next project, the next challenge.
It’s all up to you!
Stop thinking of the excuses you’ve used so far because you’ve been afraid of what the result may be.
Learn to fail.
I know it’s a terrifying concept if you haven’t failed big in your life yet, but no matter what, you’ll fail eventually at something. The best you can do about it is stand up and get stronger.
Learn from your failures and move on!
Cause #2: Perfectionism
A lot of people don’t realise this, but if you’re a perfectionist, you’ll get it. It’s difficult to start something when you’re trying for perfect.
- How can you do something perfect?
- Where do you start from?
- When can you stop trying to improve it?
Perfection can be very intimidating. And when we’re talking about creative projects, there’s always room for improvement.
Let’s say you want to write your next article. You write it, you edit it and you believe it’s ready. If you give it to a thousand people, you’ll get 1000 different opinions about it. Some good, some bad. But all of them different.
What you have to realise is: There is no such thing as perfection. You can always improve something. Make it a little bit better.
So, aim for something great, but learn to accept something that is good enough to meet your standards and/or the standards of your client/boss – if you work for someone else.
Because when trying to be perfect obstructs you from completing or even starting your current project, then something’s very wrong.
Never forget that done is better than perfect!
Never!
How To Fight It
I don’t think I’m a perfectionist, but I do tend to expect from myself more than I should.
So how do I deal with this?
I’m saying to myself:
This is not the final version. You’ll change it later.
Even though, I know that I won’t – for a while, at least – it does work. At least, it works enough for me to start the task.
After starting, things seem easier. The task is ALWAYS easier than I thought and the work is more fun. But it looks like the more I wait, the project looksmore difficult. However, after I start, everything seems easier.
Cause #3: Bad Planning
Or no planning, at all. I’m not even sure which one is worse.
Let’s say you have something to do – a project of some sorts. It’s a lot of work and you don’t know where to start. So… what do you do?
You sit watching TV or… doing housework or… deleting spam emails or… anything else so that you won’t have to start the project. Usually, it’s the second for me. My house has never been cleaner than when I have to start a new project!
But, there are two things wrong with this way of thinking and acting. First, you’ll have to do the project, eventually. And when you start, you’ll have less time until the deadline, so you’ll do a sloppy job – or at least not as good as you could have done.
Second, all the time you spend procrastinating, you’ll be playing in the “dark playground”. (Reference from the TED talk above.)
How To Fight It
The problem here is that the project seems enormous.
But what if it wasn’t?
Grab a notepad and break into simple steps the task you have to work on.
For example, let’s say you have to write your next post. In this case, I’ll break it into 4 steps:
- Research
- Writing
- After Writing
- After Publishing
Then split each step into smaller ones.
Research
- Find the topic.
- Make a first plan of what you want to write.
Writing
- Outline the post.
- Create a first draft of the post.
- Write the post.
- Edit the post.
- Check for spelling or grammatical errors.
After Writing
- Add images.
- Create a Featured Image for the post.
- Add a video if you find – or create – something useful.
- Find the title.
- Add any relevant links.
After Publishing
- Share it on social media.
- Put it on the menu – optional.
- Submit it to Google and/or Bing – so that it gets indexed faster.
Yes, now it may seem more work (from one task, now I have 15), but most of the steps are easy to do.
And when you make your plan, you can use it every time. You don’t have to redo the process for repetitive tasks.
Also, this is a checklist, so you can put a check next to each item when you’re done with it so that you can see your progress while working through your project.
Talk about motivation!
And you don’t have to limit yourself to these two phases. Split your steps as many times as you want. Try to keep each step small enough to be completed in 10-15 minutes.
By the way, this is not my full checklist. Just a small example to show you how I do it. If you’d like to, check out the full checklist.
Cause #4: Laziness
In my opinion, this is the worst kind of procrastination to defeat. When you have something specific to fight, it’s easier to do it. But what can you do when you just don’t feel like doing anything?
First, you have to make sure it’s laziness. Not tiredness, not sleepiness and definitely not a breakdown. If you have worked like crazy for the last months with 4-hour-per-day sleep breaks, then suddenly not wanting to do anything could be your body telling you to stop.
However, if you’re sure it’s laziness – you can be sure it’s laziness when you start watching random Youtube videos you’d never watch if you were to go on vacation tomorrow – there’s one thing you can do to overcome this.
You need to strengthen your self-discipline.
Easy-peasy, right? 🙄
How To Fight It
It’s not easy to master self-discipline but it’s definitely worth the time to do it. What’s cool with self-discipline is that it’s like a muscle. The most you exercise it, the stronger it becomes.
And you can start from little things. Don’t start with huge tasks. For example:
- Refuse a dessert next time someone suggests it.
- Get up the moment the alarm clock goes off.
- Start exercising.
- Start a hobby you’ve wanted to start for a while and stick to it.
Here’s something that may help you!
Now, why is self-discipline important?
Because you won’t always feel motivated. You’ll have to learn to be disciplined.
A small exercise that helped me WAY MORE than I thought it would – when someone first suggested it to me – is getting a plant. A plant you’ll have to water every day.
I could tell you the benefits but I guarantee you won’t believe me. Just get one, make sure to water it every day, and see what changes in a year!
Cause #5: Lack of Motivation
Sometimes, we don’t want to start something because we don’t feel it’s worth the effort. The satisfaction of doing it is… Just. Not. Enough.
You won’t be rewarded if you clean your house so why do it? In any case, it’ll be dirty after a couple of days, right? What does it matter?
This usually applies to these little tasks we keep putting off. Cleaning the house, throwing away old clothes, chasing a dream…
Yes, even pursuing a dream offers little reward when you don’t have a plan to make it true. But that’s a topic for another day…
How To Fight It
Create a reward for the task you want to do. For example, if you clean your house today, you’ll have the rest of the day off. Or you’ll treat yourself to something. Maybe, you’ll buy something you’ve wanted for a while.
It doesn’t have to be something huge; just something to make you get up and do what you have to do.
Do this for each little – or big – goal you want to accomplish and you don’t feel like starting it. It’ll create extra motivation for you to do it.
Final Thoughts
Procrastination can be the source of a lot of stress and misery in your life. That’s why finding a way to get rid of it is essential.
This doesn’t mean it’s easy or that you’ll find a way to do it fast. But little by little, you’ll get better and even if you don’t overcome it completely, you’ll find ways to work around it.
So… what do you think about procrastination? Have you found a way to beat it?
If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer! Any suggestions are always welcome, so tell me about topics you’d like me to write.
And if you liked this, check out how to get rid of stress. Procrastination can cause a lot of it, right?
See you next time!
Procrastination they say is a thief of time. I could remember when I started my website. It took me age before I could drop contents on my blog. This was because I was afraid it might be rejected being the first time I will ever blog about my interest. After dropping a content, I felt disappointed seeing extremely low engagement on my blog. This discouraged me from dropping further contents because I want to build rapport with my colleagues. This went on for like two month without positive results. That’s another cause of procrastination .This was how it wasted my time until I was able to put my thoughts together and strive hard to attain success. Friends was also behind my breakthrough in attaining success. All thanks to them. Do you also believe that lack of focus can also cause procrastination ?
Yes,
Watching Youtube videos, when I should be writing an email campaign, is one of my time wasting activities.
At the moment I have set a goal to write a certain amount of comments each day. It is harder and more time consuming than I think. I am averaging only 10 a day even though I can type fast and the sentences just fly from my mind to the PC screen.
I wouldn’t say I am lazy, just need to keep to the written tasks I have set myself.
Thank you for inspiring me to goal set in detail and stick to them with the help of a timer!
Timely article Jenny!
I’m in front of my computer right now and I haven’t even finished the same paragraph I was working on since an hour ago. I keep finding excuses to take my attention away from work by playing mini-games, god I feel like such a fool after reading your article. Thanks for the motivation injection! Time to get to work! 😀
Good afternoon Jenny,
That TED talk of Tim Urban was fun, well explained and to the point. My monkey is very small thank God.
Reading the many reasons for being a person who procrastinates I came upon the part where you talk about planning. I love planning, always have and well in advance. Like for making lists when going on an overseas trip, like that I do not forget anything important when the big day arrives.
Your break down of all the steps needed when writing a post is very good. I do it in a very similar way. In the beginning, some years ago, when I started writing it would take ages. Now it goes a lot faster thanks to more experience and also as I stick to a system. That reminds me, I have to start writing my new post today.
Regards, Taetske
Hello, and great post. I needed to read this blog like yesterday. I too know a lot about procrastination, I believe I am the queen of procrastination. Sometimes I will say to myself, especially if it is early in the morning “oh you have a few minutes to play a game or to go through Facebook feeds.” instead of just diving in to my work. Nonetheless, I will try to improve the way I use up my time.
Thank you for this post.
Procrastination no doubt is one of the major challenge most people face on a daily basis including me. This challenge of procrastination has caused more harm than good to a good number of people.
I love your article becaus, not only did you sight a problem rather you provided an indepth solutio to it. I read through and did find my own reason for procstinating which is the fear of failure. The way you explained both the cause and how to fight procastination was truely amazing and this is indeed a motivational post.
Thanks for sharing such an informative post. I surly will come back for more of this.
Cheers!
Procrastination can be a difficult thing sometimes, especially after a long week of work when we are tired or once the passive income generates and we sit back on our loins. It’s tough to get caught up in things like YouTube videos because they lead you on what seems an endless trail. I agree with all the popular causes of procrastination. Fear of failure and perfectionism are two of my vices when it comes to this. I agree that failure is an opportunity for improvement, and many of the world’s most successful people have failed at least once in their life. I agree with you that procrastination can be conquered. Great post!
Great post – I recognize all of these causes of procrastination in myself at times. I think most of the specific causes for procrastination that you outlined could be described in a general sense as “getting in our own head.” Most of us have talked with a friend or family member who is in that situation and is feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and defeated. Typically, we try to calm them down and make the task seem more manageable by brainstorming ways to divide it into smaller pieces, reminding them to focus on the process and not the end result or approval from others, etc.
So, when I find myself procrastinating, I try to remind myself of the advice I gave someone else. I don’t know why, but knowing that I gave that advice to someone and fully believed that it would help them somehow makes it harder for me to ignore that advice when I’m the one procrastinating – like a Jedi mind trick.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this – thank you!
Hello, I was so happy to see this blog. I do have procrastination issues and it was refreshing to see your steps and ideas to push through them.
Not only is it procrastination but it’s mom I need this done….. mom I need to go here…… mom is the pool ready?
It always seems like me setting things aside has a reason behind it.
Now it is time to go through your steps put up a Do Not Disturb sign and GO FOR IT.
Thank you again for the motivation that I needed.
My number 1 cause of procastination would be lack of motivation. I find it hard to start working in the morning. Then i get sleepy and tend just leave my tasks and get back to it in the afternoon. Sometimes I can finish the task but in some days, I haven’t been productive at all. Along with it is bad planning. I know I have to set my priorities like what’s important, what’s urgent, and all the what nots. The ending would be, looking for other things that I enjoy but is not really helping at my job.
I must say you gave the right suggestions for every cause of procastination. A person should be open minded to do even half of these because it’s for our own good. We will benefit a lot from being productive in both work and home tasks. I personally like the way you explained about discipline. It’s one of the hardest values to achieve because it requires strength to overcome temptations.
I am so thankful for this article. Sometimes, we all need this one little push from somebody to get back on the game. Let us all remember that the greatest reward in beating procastination is feeling proud of ourselves. It feels great when you finish something and knowing you work hard for it.
Hi Jenny!
What a helpful and motivating post! I think I really needed to read this right now, I was procrastinating and avoiding to study, so I was procrastinating looking for ways to stop procrastinating.
As I was reading your post, it feels like it is much easier to say than to do what you suggest. I will try to follow your advice and maximize my time as much as I can. Making a plan is something I have been trying to do, but sometimes new things come up and I cannot follow the schedule I planned. Any suggestions?
Besides that, I really like that you included those two videos. I have watched the first a few years ago and I found it really interesting, but I guess it’s time to rewatch it.
I really like your blog’s niche, I am starting a blog myself, so I hope I find more helpful tips in your other posts.
Best,
Mariana
This is just what I needed today! I think you wrote this post for me!
Like you, I was supposed to have written many articles already and I have definitely procrastinated in actually writing those. But, I have been collecting the data and images and info for them, it’s just getting around to creating the page / post and then publishing it.
What I liked about your solution was the Checklist you made. I believe this will benefit me in the long run and I can tick off each task as I progress and that way I will have goals to achieve every moment that I am tempted to procrastinate!
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to put this together for me! Much appreciated.
Hi Jenny, thanks for this motivational blog. I needed to read this as I do go through stages of procrastinating. I think my biggest issue used to be fear of failure, and it took me some time, and some very scary failed attempts at setting up my own internet business, to realize that I was actually learning each time I failed. Working off my laptop at home can easily lead to procrastination, especially if you are not feeling too motivated and it is a lovely day outside, there are so many other things to do. You advice to plan is great, as well as offering yourself a reward.
Wow, reading through my comment I think a few of each of your procrastination excuses apply to me. Thanks, I have some planning to do. Denise.
You’re welcome!
Hello, I agree with you about procrastination! This article is excellent and the treatment you like.I want to say that I agree with you about cases that procrastinate a problem or a job. Although we are different from each other procrastinate is in human nature.
The most “popular” causes you have identified I think are right.
Afraid of failure, perfectionism, bad planning, laziness and lack of motivation.
No one can be perfect, but it’s true that some people are investing their lives to be perfect. Thank you I wish you great success!
ArtianB
Thanks a lot. I wish you all the best!
First of all, thank you for this great article! This is so true!
We all have this in common, and it is kind of a daily battle with ourselves against this might enemy “procrastination” that have the power to beat most people, even in the long run. This is an important topic and needs to be talked about more.
Personally, I have found that the best way, at least what works best for me, is to have a daily “to do list” that I write the day before, then simply knock out each of the tasks one by one, until I’m done, no matter what… It was hard in the beginning, but once you get into the habit of it, it becomes easier… and when I some days not manage to get them done, I feel very bad… So that makes me more eager to not procrastinate… as I know the feeling of regret is the worst one…
thank you again for talking about this, it is a very important topic and I hope as many people as possible get to see this as most need too.
/Sincerely
I’ve tried this way sometimes, and it’s so hard. I’m glad it actually works for some people – and that it gets easier.
I’ll try harder this time. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this piece of information. Procrastination is one hell of a challenge that everyone must thrive to overcome in life.
We all have been faced with the challenges of Procrastination at one point or the other, especially as a youth. Most people procrastinate because they always there is still time.
The tips for overcoming Procrastination listed in this article are very good and helpful.
Thanks so much for this piece.
You’re welcome! 😀
I could not agree with you more. procrastinating is one of the biggest issues in many people life. I have two children and I live by example and try to teach them not to let fear or other excuses stop them from doing what they want or need to do.
Procrastinating will make you lose your chances when they come in life and let opportunities slip away just because you were there procrastinating instead of taking action
You’re so right about this!
My Achilles heel; procrastination.
The bad part for me is that it is usually some combination of laziness and lack of motivation if I’m being honest! Sure I come up with all sorts of other excuses, but you hit the nail on the head with this article.
Also, cool video, thanks for sharing it. I want to say that I feel personally attacked…but only in a good way, lol. I definitely have the “instant gratification monkey” in my brain! Anyway, before I ramble on, I just wanted to say that I appreciate your post. Now it’s time for me to get to work!!
I love this video. I feel like he’s in my mind when he talks about procrastination.
This is a great article and I loved reading it from start to the finish, No Procrastination there.
I get your point which you are making and that you also see the different causes for procrastination, very important since so many people have a rigid mindset saying procrastination = laziness. However, this isn’t true at all.
In my case, the cause is Lack of Motivation or, to be more correct it would be, too tired. See, I am the sole caregiver to my elderly husband and when he needs, wants, even doing something, like going out just to see different scenery, I will do it.
I like to work the best in the morning or early afternoon. However, sometimes I only can find time in the evening and by then, my concentration is closer to zero.
I have now an arrangement with my husband that I do need, at least, 2-3 days in the week to work on “my stuff” in the morning, so far it does work well.
Thank you for all the information, appreciated.
You’re welcome. I’m glad your schedule works for you, now.
I work better in the early afternoon, as well. Not in the morning, though; I’m more like a zombie, then.
I will agree with you. That is a very big problem that needs to be solved so we can move on with life.
Procrastinating does not help anyone in any way but only pull you down when you need to be doing great things that will push your life into the next level. Fear is the best friend of procrastinators and the reason they always find an excuse of not doing things.
I agree, procrastinating can make you lose many opportunities. And fear of failure doesn’t help at all.
Thanks for your answer!
I had to laugh when I read the title. I love it! I’m a procrastinator. There are a couple of items I have to add to. In the laziness category, people also need to make sure it’s not depression. I’m not sure the checks for that, but depression can make it impossible to do anything.
I like your advice to do some of a task to get you motivated. I’ve always linked that to one of the Laws of Motion: “An object in motion will stay in motion. An object at rest will stay at rest. Unless acted upon by another force.” That force has to get active has to be our will power. I agree that once I start getting productive, it’s easier to keep going. The hardest part is getting started sometimes.
Yep, they definitely have to check if it’s depression. Thank you for your answer. 😀
Hi Jenny, I can see myself in a few of these categories and even making excuses as i was reading it!!
Going onto the fear of failure, from an early age most of us are taught that failure is not an option, in school you are taught thtat good grades are what you need, bad grades are not. But not everybody learns the same way or over the same time. So there will be failures along with successes are you taught how to deal with it – no, only the successful ones are rewarded.
Laziness, are you ever doing nothing? It may appear as if you are just sitting there, but you are thinking about something. If you could talk fast enough you could describe your thoughts, but most of us see fleeting images which are gone before the next one comes along. Your subconscious is always working on what you tell it to do, so if you say this job is difficult – then it is. if you say the same job is easy and I can do that in a jiffy – then you will. So a lot of procrastination is you telling yourself that you won’t do it and then finding excuses not to do it. Telling yourself and seeing youself completing the task will allow your brain to find a way to help you accomplish the task. So positive thinking works(ish) for me as long as I want to do the job. But giving yourself a reward for completing the task allows you some enjoyment for completing some of the most mundane tasks, but you must stick to the reward only if you complete the task.
Thanks for the post.
You’re welcome!
I believe that fear of failure is underrated. A lot of people think of it just as stress, but it’s a legit reason why a lot of us don’t pursue our dreams.