How to beat procrastination?

Many fight against it on a daily basis. Whether it is office workers, artists, or firefighters, we have all suffered it at some point. But what is it really? And how can we beat procrastination?

First and foremost, procrastination has nothing to do with work. This does not arise because you hate working or doing homework that you have to complete.

Procrastination is a mechanism in your brain to deal with stress. Their goal is to prevent you from doing what stresses you out, and to change it into something that makes you feel good.

Faced with a tense or uncomfortable situation, the brain will prefer to do something simple and that makes you feel confident. It will present you with a series of more pleasant options that for a moment seem to be important. Have you noticed that before you get to work it seems like a very good idea to clean your desk? By the time you realize you have cleaned the whole room. What about the famous: I watch one more chapter and I get to work. Or the world-famous: I start on Monday.

But you must not punish yourself. You are not a procrastinator, nor are you lazy, you just have a habit of procrastinating.

How to combat procrastination?

It would be too optimistic to think that we can remove stress from our lives. We cannot control all the external factors that generate it, but we can change our response to them.

Research suggests that the best way to beat the habit of procrastination is to develop a “kick start” ritual. Since if you manage to start something, it is very likely that you will continue without stopping. So, even though it seems weird, you should stop thinking, planning, or waiting for the perfect moment, and start doing. The more you think about doing something, the more you want it to be perfect, you will begin to plan all the details and create excuses for why you are putting it off.

We must also stop having those “big plans” that we never complete in the end. I know it sounds harsh, but let me explain. It is not about stopping having aspirations, it is about stopping being planners and becoming executors. We tend to have great ideas, huge projects that we are sure will lead us to success. These projects are so big and complex that they later generate other ideas, which in turn become big projects. The cycle repeats itself several times before we even take the first step. Many ideas, little action.

Given this, the best we can do is start working on small things. Choose the minimum action that will bring us closer to the objective and complete it. Let's not think about writing a book, maybe it's better to just focus on writing five minutes a day for five days. So the task is manageable and you will quickly know if writing a book is really what you want to do.

Mel Robbins recommends these steps to avoid falling into the habit of procrastination.

1. Acknowledges the fact that you are stressed: it is important to be aware of the source of the resistance you feel before doing a task.
2. Count 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: as the previous post mentionsThe five-second rule can help you jump into action.
3. Break the habit of procrastination: after counting the five seconds, focus on the task you are avoiding, not another one.
4. Work for 5-10 minutes: remember, do the minimum, the important thing is to start. Once you have started it will be more difficult for you to stop.

And voila, four simple steps can make a big difference and improve our productivity.

Procrastination is a habit that affects us all at some point. These tips are helping many people get through it. I hope this information helps you too.