3 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

At times, I tend to procrastinate. That’s what has led to my obsession with reading productivity tips and tricks–to help me bust out of my time-wasting ways and be more meaningful with my time. I’m not perfect, though, and occasionally, I tend to fall back into old habits. When that happens, I use these tried-and-true methods for overcoming procrastination.

1. Focus on the tasks that matter.

Sometimes, I’ll do 10 simple tasks just to avoid the big one. Why? In the end, I just create more work for myself. By wasting time on things that don’t need to be done right away, I’ve wasted valuable time and STILL have to address the elephant in the room. Focus on your priority tasks first.

2. Break big projects down into manageable pieces.

I need to spring clean my home. It is in serious need of scrubbing in every crevice and cranny, and the thought of doing all that is intimidating. But I don’t need to think about the big picture right now.  I need to tackle it one room, one task at a time.

You can break any large task into more manageable chunks. Need to write an important blog post but can’t seem to gather your thoughts? Decide on all the points you want to hit, and write it in pieces. Want to organize your kitchen cabinets and drawers? Work on one at a time.

3. Don’t over-commit yourself.

Recently, a friend and I decided that we were going to write two blog posts every day–maybe even three! Nevermind the fact that we’re just getting into the groove of posting 5-6 days a week, both have jobs and both have families and homes to take care of, too. The mere thought of writing 2-3 posts a day made us dread writing any posts at all, and we found it difficult to even complete a single post each day. We were spreading ourselves too thin.

Do you tend to do that, too? Evaluate all the things you’ve said “yes” to. If you have more on your plate than you can reasonably accomplish in a day or week, let a few commitments go. Try to wrap up any projects or commitments that others are relying on you for first, though.

How do you overcome procrastination? Share a tip with us in the comments!

If you liked this post, you’ll also enjoy this one on taking control of your to-do list!