Things You Can Do to Stop Procrastination

The urge to put off something unpleasant, like homework or a business project, is just too strong to resist sometimes. This is procrastination, the habit of delaying an important task and focusing on unnecessary yet more enjoyable and easier activities instead. When you let procrastination take over your life, it can be the cause of a lot of stress and anxiety. So, here are some things you can do to avoid procrastinating.

Plan ahead
Many people procrastinate not just in aspects like school or work, but also in their daily lives. But, simply deciding to stop worrying and just start doing what you have to do is not going to work. What you should do is to focus on getting a routine and schedule working in your favor. By planning it, you can make it happen in a much more organized way and you’ll be able to establish time restraints in your work.

Reward yourself after everything is done
Don’t forget to reward yourself after finishing your work. This is a good training for your brain to think that it’s better to do things earlier than putting them off for later. It doesn’t have to be big and grand too, simply eating out or watching movies with your friends would be good ways to do so. If you’ve just finished a job with a heavy workload, take a nature hike at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or do something that you can relax with!

Make a list of the things you have to do that day
On a journal or piece of paper, write down all the important things you need to do for the day. This helps you map out your priorities and focus on them. For example, you’ve written two important things to do, and one is your business proposal. You Break this down to smaller parts, do the introduction, then take a break without being distracted by unnecessary things, then move to the statistics, and so on. Remind yourself that you don’t have to do it all at once – tackle it a bit at a time and get your work done slowly but surely.

Stop trying to make things perfect
Let’s say you want to ask a girl out on a date but you delay it worrying about the things you should do after asking her. You then start saying, “I’ll just do it tomorrow” or “I’ll wait for the right time”. By doing this, you’re putting more stress on yourself by imagining a “perfect” scenario where nothing goes wrong. If you have anxiety about getting started, just accept that feeling rather than using it to delay your plans. You should understand that getting things done is a way to help get rid of the stress that’s building up on you.