We’ve heard it before: “I just don’t have time!” It’s the excuse people use when they haven’t accomplished something they should have, or the excuse we use when we’re trying to justify our lack of productivity. Is there anything we can do to make more time? Not really. The only thing we can do is find ways to get the most out of our time, and I’m going to show you how!
Let’s hack your procrastination by destroying all the habits that are weighing you down!
Habits of the Procrastinator
I’m no expert on time productivity. I have, however, had to meet deadlines and make sure that the quality of my work lives up to the standard of the rest of my colleagues. I’m also self-employed part time, so I’ve had to be my own boss and my own employee. When you’re self-employed, you very quickly gain the desire to figure out how to make the most of your time. You also quickly find out that you’re constantly at work. You’re always “on call” or “on email” or “on texting.” You get the idea. So basically I have no business procrastinating. Every minute is precious. So I had to figure out some ways to focus and get stuff done!
As a professional long-time procrastinator, I’ve observed some things I regularly do that keep me from the task at hand. Here are a few things I catch myself doing when I slip into procrastinating mode, and what can be done about them.
1. Procrastinators lie to themselves.
This is probably one of the least detectable traits of the procrastinator, because it’s happening in the mind. It’s our way of justifying our misbehavior and slipping into what’s familiar and comfortable. Such lies include:
- “I can get that done tomorrow.” But you can’t really get it done any better tomorrow than you could today.
- “I don’t know all the steps yet, so I shouldn’t start until later.” Part of the journey is learning the steps by falling down and picking yourself up.
- “I deserve a good long break.” Everyone needs rest, but probably not as frequently as you think. You deserve exactly what you get as a result of your actions.
Don’t lie to yourself. Watch your thoughts. Recognizing that you lie to yourself about your procrastination is the first step to achieving a more productive lifestyle.
2. Procrastinators don’t practice the power of focus.
Have you noticed that during commercials the scene or angle of the camera changes every few seconds? Why is this? Do you know? I bet it has something to do with capturing our attention. If the scene doesn’t change every few seconds, we become bored.
Media has trained us to want to be constantly entertained. If something is static, it’s boring to us! So when it comes to focusing on our work, if it’s not constantly changing, we become bored by it!
Practice the power of focus by setting a timer. Try focusing on something for 10 minutes. If you complete this, try 20; then 30. You get the idea. I’ve also found that intentionally sitting down and reading a book can help with your ability to focus.
Practice your focus, and you’ll be more productive in everything you do.
3. Procrastinators get discouraged by their own procrastination . . . and procrastinate some more.
When work stacks up, it can be easy to procrastinate some more. The pressure of mounting work chains your hands from doing anything about it. If you’re discouraged by how much work you piled up, try putting all your work in a literal cardboard box (write tasks on sticky notes and throw them in the box if you have to) and reach in and pull out one task at a time. Work on only that task until you’ve completed it, and move on to the next.
Why does this work? It’s because oftentimes procrastinators get consumed about what is “highest priority” and freeze when they try to determine what to do next. You know what I’m talking about, and I’m sure you can think of a time where you were frozen by the options of what you “should do next.” Many times, in reality, there is no such thing as a task that you “should do next.” You should simply just grab a task and do it!
What’s Your Productivity Hack?
We can learn from each other. What’s your productivity hack? Which of the above habits do you have to destroy, and how do you plan on overcoming these obstacles? I’m sure I can learn so much from all of you out there, and would love to hear about your struggles and successes.
Meet me in the comments: what’s your productivity hack?
Image by marekuliasz/Shutterstock
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! This is me to a “t”! Ouch! Definitely something I need to work on! Thanks for the reminder!
I’m a big fan of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.” It helps you think about things in smaller parts, then focus on those parts.
I also reward myself. I do that a lot with homework, if I finish a certain section of my paper I’ll play a couple games of Halo or something.
I think labeling people as a procrastinator isn’t helpful. That’s like labeling someone a Lucky Charmist because you eat that for breakfast every morning. Don’t pidgeon-hole people like that. We aren’t all good or all evil, we are a mix of tons of both. Maybe the thing to look it is what needs to be done, why, and should we even do that thing at all. Most people tell themselves they will do XYZ and then put it off forever because they don’t want to do it and don’t need to do it, but they haven’t thought about it or really been honest with themselves. This is highly subjective of course. What I’ve seen is people either do a thing when it becomes socially or emotionally painful enough to force action, or there is a real desire to do it deep down driving them forward. No amount of blogging or prodding will force anyone to actually do something. All of us put things off, all of us are lazy, and yes there are some people who are ALWAYS lazy. Why? I am one of those people who can’t stop doing 24/7. Is that better? You’d think so, but it’s not. What I wonder is why does it matter what is and isn’t done? Should we do everything right? No. Failure is a major part of life, and any major creative work WILL NOT HAPPEN with tremendous amounts of fail. Should we do everything when it should be done? No. A good percentage of the time, things you do end up not being the right thing to do, and patience is in order. Life is not so cut and dried. Just because the utilitarian taskmasters in the world have told us to be perfect doesn’t mean that they aren’t the ones with issues. The “must be productive” thought-line is so counter-productive to actual life being done. We need less people all up in arms about “what I should be doing” because it doesn’t help them get any closer to done. Your post could come from many self-help books but doesn’t address real life. Willing yourself to focus isn’t the answer and doesn’t work for most people.
Arwhy, I’m not trying to label people. I just think it’s longer to say something like: “the man who routinely wears red hats” instead of “red hat man.” I think you get the idea.
Interesting thoughts on the rest. Yes, life can get in the way of our desire to be productive, and we need to be flexible for those occasions.
Willing yourself to focus works for those who care about the project they are working on. For those of us who don’t care about the project we’re working on, I think we have to ask ourselves why we’re working on that project in the first place!
Thanks for commenting! Interesting stuff!
I find what helps me is to:
1) Make a to do list for each day of the week (Monday – Sunday)
2) Review my DAILY to do list first thing in the morning, & refer to it throughout the day, editing it as necessary. (I actually have a notebook specifically for my daily lists)
3) Eliminate known distractions until my daily tasks are complete.
I’m definitely a ‘professional long-time procrastinator,’ and this system is working for me
Being “focused” has been one of my biggest challenges. I’ve learned that I work best when I set aside a block of time for me to focus on specific tasks or projects.
Thanks John… I like the card in a box approach, I think I’m going to try that with weekend house projects.
I can’t believe I’m procrastinating by reading an article on procrastination! LOL The best cure for me is to actually blow off the to-do for a bit until I feel like I’m sufficiently relaxed, then hit it hard with my nose to the grindstone until I’m done.