Procrastinating. We all do it. Some of us are worse than others. And procrastinating is okay to a point, but past that it can seriously hinder the way we work and can prevent us from getting everything done (and goodness knows there is always a lot of shit to do).
Though we’re all guilty, it’s essential to know how to stop procrastinating in order to get your shit done. So we’ve teamed up with headspace as part of our I Can’t Even Deal RN series, to bring you some helpful procrastination tips.
Get Away From Distractions
The first major step to doing your work without procrastinating is removing yourself from all distractions possible. That may mean family, friends, phones or televisions. Whatever you possibly can do to stop, even if it means getting up and going to the local library or renting a space at a shared workplace, it’s worth it in the end. It ultimately means that getting your work done will happen a lot faster and you’ll be way more productive.
For example, chuck your phone on airplane mode to prevent those sneaky Snapchat popup notifications from waking your screen up. Working in an environment where everyone else has their head down in productivity means that it may inspire you to do the same.
Break It Down
Something that’ll help you from stopping big time procrastination is breaking your work down into sections. Doing it all at once can be extremely overwhelming and get your brain into a bit of a mush. The better option is to work in time increments or just to break your work into parts. This’ll let you work and focus strictly on small sections instead of getting caught up in the whole thing. Set short and actually achievable goals in these timeframes, too.
Take Timed Breaks
Following breaking down your work into sections, make sure you’re taking breaks in between so that you don’t burn out. 15-30 minute breaks in between your sections are a perfect amount of time to relax, have a snack and a drink, get some fresh air, reboot and start again. It’s important to be taking breaks so that your brain has time to relax and not be working hard all day. It may help to boost your motivation as well as bring some positivity to hard work.
Try and put these as ‘meetings’ in your calendar or phone, so you get reminders to actually take a break.
Don’t Go Overboard
The worst thing you can do is try to get everything done all at once. Burning out from working will only make your future procrastination worse as well as put a big stopper on your motivation. It’ll effect your work ethic, and potentially hinder your ability to work days in a row. If you’re really not feeling working after an hour or so, it is 100% totally okay to stop and start again later or another day. Don’t beat yourself up for not being into it – it’s better be 80% productive for 3-5 hours than 40% productive for 7-8 hours.
Reward Yourself
The final step of attempting to rid yourself of procrastination is REWARD! Treat yo’self friend. Take yourself to a massage, go see a movie, eat some ice-cream. Whatever it is that feels like a reward to you, make sure that you do exactly that after a big day of work. Along with taking breaks, it’ll bring a lot of positivity into your work ethic and serve as a reminder that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Tiny or huge, any reward goes a long way with your work.
At the end of the day, procrastination is totally normal and something we all do. Sometimes we can’t prevent it, but we can do the best we can to try and get around it. Remember not to beat yourself up over procrastination, you can always go back to the dog videos later.
Procrastination is often the worst enemy for many of us, so don’t worry you’re not alone. But when procrastination turns into a habit it can become a bit of a sneaky problem. So when concentrating becomes tough, or procrastination becomes more regular, check out these tips from our mates at headspace to help you deal with tougher days and bounce back. You got this.
