HOW TO INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS & STOP PROCRASTINATING?

Did you know that 1 in 5 adults suffer from PROCRASTINATION which is understood as act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or past their deadline. Surveys show that procrastination decrease sense of happiness, increase level of stress, make you feel guilty & intensify self-criticism and eventually decrease effectiveness at work.

MOST COMMON REASONS WHY PEOPLE PROCRASTINATE?

1. AVOIDING NEGATIVE EMOTIONS and SEEKING FOR EMOTIONAL COMFORT ZONE. It’s a vicious circle – our brain looks for instant pleasure - postponing unpleasant things may be a short-term relief. In a fact delaying things will increase the level of stress.

2.  PERFECTIONISM. Perfectionists are more tend to procrastinate, because they are more self-criticized and they experience stronger fear from failure & their perception on their own outcomes are that they are never good enough.

3. PLEASANT ALTERNATIVES around you. If someone is exposed to more pleasant environment while focusing on task completion for example social media, Netflix and other recreational activities, it’s simply harder to focus on the right things to do.

4. SELF-CONTROL. People often experience problems with deferring gratification because it requires abstract thinking and it’s more difficult to imagine results & gratification in-the long term.

MY TOP 6 TIPS & TECHINQUES HOW TO STOP PROCRSTINATING

1. Break down big and complex task/project into smaller pieces. It will be more manageable & less stressful. For instance, organizing a birthday party can be divided into easier tasks as building guest lists, deciding when & where organize the party, making decision on final budget, buying a cake etc. 

2. Decide on the task to be done & just start doing it. Usually, the biggest challenge is with kicking off things, start with 5 minutes and see how do you feel and whether you want to continue. Probably you won't quit. Then try to use for example The Pomodoro Technique that is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by five-minute breaks.

3. Set deadlines & write them down. It will motivate you to act & complete the task. The nearer you get to completing a task, the greater bang for your buck you get for your effort. Deadlines shouldn’t be too distant – it can have the opposite effect and dilute your motivation. 

4. Combine less pleasant activities with more pleasant & reward yourself. Leverage positive reinforcement. For example, watch your favorite TV series while doing cardio on the gym or relax how you like after getting things done.

5. Focus on your thoughts flow in your mind. Notice that you may have tendency to procrastinate. Having the right self-awareness is the solid step for a change. Also don’t judge yourself if an episode of procrastination happens to you next time, try to make conclusions what to avoid in a future, which excuses you used.

6. Take care of your work environment. Reduce the number of distractors while dedicating your time to completing the task. For example, turn your mobile off for a while. Again, reward yourself after task completion.

Last but not least, it’s proven by data that divisibility of attention is a myth (if we are not referring to automatic actions), so it's worth to practice & strengthen our self-control. It's like like a muscle – it can be trained over time & will bring you a lot of benefits & boost of energy and your effectiveness.