5 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination, the silent productivity killer, often stands between us and our goals. Discover five practical strategies to conquer this invisible enemy, enabling you to take control of your time and accomplish tasks with newfound efficiency.

Chronic procrastination is ruining my career plans. How can I change? Signed, Stalled

The key to being productive is to think of yourself in the third person, as someone you need to carefully and deliberately influence.

• There are things you can do to get yourself to the keyboard:

Make Appointments with Yourself

Behavioral economists have shown that making good choices is easy if you don’t have to act on them now

• Hyperbolic discounting: the tendency to overvalue rewards now and undervalue them later
• Trick yourself into making commitments now that you will keep at a set time in the future

Use the Power of the Notepad

Make a list of the five things you want to get done before dinner and draw a little empty box next to each of them to make you feel compelled to get them done

• This will help you not get sucked into something on TV or in your inbox that will sap your productivity

Stop Before You’re Done

Stop your work at a place that makes it easier to pick it back up later

• If you’re in a groove and have a story going, stop before you finish it so you can look forward to jumping back in
• This will make it easier for you to continue on the next day

Reward and Renew Yourself

Don’t burn yourself out

• Allow time for renewal before diving back into work
• Treat yourself as you would a valued employee
• Give lots of praise and encouragement for the great stuff you get done
• Procrastination isn’t insurmountable

Create Satisfying Episodes

Motivation is a finite resource. Focus on some amount of a task that would feel meaningful and satisfying to complete.

• Design your work episodes to maximize your satisfaction, not grind you into depletion.
• For example, if you have four articles to write, but you have only scheduled only two of them into your calendar for this week, design your episodes so that you can get the remaining two on the calendar for next week.

Feel the Endorphins

Busy people tend not to savor the endorphins that come with having completed a task. Develop a habit of stopping and feeling the earned satisfaction from getting a block of work finished. This creates new neural connections that associate productivity with pleasure rather than resentment.

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