Skip to content
Break Up with Procrastination in 5 Steps
It is the start of a new year! Are you geared up and all ready to complete any task thrown at you? Or do you find yourself struggling to even start on the assignment or project that has been assigned to you on your first week back to school or work?
If the answer is Yes, this is the article for you!
Why Do You Procrastinate?
Before we share some tips on overcoming procrastination, it is important to understand why you are procrastinating first. Although each person has a different reason, there are some common reasons that make you put off the things you need to do.
#1 – Worry about Mistake
Perfectionists are often procrastinating – because they’re afraid of making a mistake. If you tend to take a long period of time to complete one assignment or avoid dealing with the task, which you deemed that you can’t handle well. Then this will lead to a misjudgement of task priority and procrastination.
#2 - Boundless Optimist
‘Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?’
If this is your favourite signature phrase that you use every single day then the reason for procrastination is obviously that you are such a boundless optimist. You believe that your hidden power will be unleashed under the pressure of tight datelines. So, you don’t feel like doing tasks ahead of time!
#3 – Pursue Efficiency
Pursuing efficiency seems to be a good way to avoid procrastination. However, if you were too serious about it, you would put off important task and not be able to make it by dateline. People who pursue efficiency tend to finish low-priority tasks first because it is easy and fast to complete. This leads to insufficient time to deal with high-priority tasks as a result.
#4 – Yes Man
For some people, it’s difficult to say ‘No’ when you are asked to do extra tasks from your bosses or get invited to parties by friends. This is exactly a red flag to lead to procrastination. You’ll end up having no time to do things you need and misjudge the priority of tasks.
How we can tackle procrastination? Here are the 5 steps to overcome it.
#1 – Recognise that You're Procrastinating and Forgive Yourself
First, you need to be aware that you’re procrastinating. However, no worries, you are not the only one – there’re more procrastinators out there than you think. So, don’t blame yourself too much and take it easy!
#2 – Prioritise Your Task
Once you recognise your situation, the next step is to prioritise the things to do. Creating To-Do list sounds quite common and basic way, but it would be a great help to have enough courage to say ‘No’ when your boss asked extra work, or your friends invited you to social events.
#3 – Focus on One Task at One Time
If you can handle a few things at the same time, that’s great. However, this is actually very difficult and normally makes you more confused – that will bring about inefficiency as a result. Keep in mind that focusing on one task at a time is more efficient than multitasking.
Planner – Happy Pastel Tropical
Manage your time with this planner and put it on your desk as a reminder to focus on each task one at a time.
#4 – Tidy Up Your Space and Minimize Distractions
A messy desk is sure to take away your capacity to concentrate. Tidying up your space is very easy but good enough to help you focus on your own task much more!
Madison Garden Collection - Quad Drawer
This quad drawer is useful to store your stuff. It will surely prevent your desk from getting messy.
Also, let’s keep away from any distractions that will interrupt you, especially our best buddy –Smartphone, which may have robbed your precious time more than you think. Stop checking messages constantly and scrolling through social media without any purposes!
Smartphone Stand - Sila Maple
It will be good for you to keep your smartphone at a proper distance away from your reach.
#5 – Recognise the Difference Between Your Worth and Your Performance
This is especially important for all perfectionists and worriers. Do you think that the evaluation for your performance is equal to your own worth as a person? If so, this is such a huge misunderstanding.
Your worth cannot be evaluated just based on external feedbacks such as good grades, praise from bosses, teachers, parents, or other authority figures. So, stop thinking like that! Your own ability and value do not rest on just only one assignment or project.
Meeting the dateline is a breeze now!
Kick off the new year by breaking out of the vicious cycle of procrastination with these 5 simple tips and welcome whatever 2020 brings to you!
For more options of planners and storage products check out our online store and outlets.
Have a wonderful New Year ahead!
Written by Chloe Huang