Procrastination might be a tricky spell to break, but it’s a problem that human society has faced throughout history. Historical figures like 16th-century English poet Edward Young described procrastination as “the thief of time” in his long poem “Night Thoughts.” Catholic philosopher Saint Augustine famously lamented that god “has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” The condition was recognized as far back as ancient Greece when philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates referred to procrastination as a symptom of “acrasia”: The tendency to act against your better judgment.
Procrastination might be a curse as old as time, but lucky for us, modern science has given us a ton of methods we can use to manage it. If you struggle to get meaningful work done, it’s time to take action. Below are three simple productivity hacks you can use to break the procrastination habit and keep your deadlines from piling up.
Jump To Section
- Why You Procrastinate
- How To Fix It
- Make A To-Do List
- Learn To Prioritize
- Adopt A Time Management System
- Be Compassionate With Yourself
Why You Procrastinate
The first step in conquering procrastination is understanding why you procrastinate. For decades, researchers have studied the underlying mechanisms behind procrastination. Long story short, procrastination is an indirect response to psychological stressors. Have a look at the following examples and ask: “Which of these most accurately describes how I feel?”
Anxiety
Some experts believe that procrastination may result from anxiety about a future event. For example, you might avoid prepping for an upcoming presentation because public speaking makes you anxious. Maybe it’s time to have a difficult conversation with a colleague or loved one, so you ignore their messages and avoid them all day. Whatever it is, take a moment to ask yourself why you might be breezing through certain tasks while avoiding others like the plague. Are you feeling anxious or timid about essential activities? What might be the root cause of that fear? Facing these fears might not be pleasant, but doing so is critical for managing procrastination.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is the tendency to seek perfection in the activities you set out to do. It can quickly turn unhealthy when it becomes a necessity rather than an ideal. Perfectionists often procrastinate doing specific tasks they feel they can’t flawlessly complete. Many perfectionists also view failure as a tragedy rather than a learning opportunity, which only fuels their procrastination habits. If you’re a perfectionist, keep an eye out for these self-limiting habits.
Attention Issues
Procrastination is rampant among people with attention problems. Children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD or ADHD symptoms often tend to procrastinate. A 2014 study involving 54 college students with ADHD found clear links between inattention symptoms and reported levels of daily procrastination. A more recent 2019 study highlighted a similar connection between attention deficit problems and more frequent procrastination.
The degree of distraction in your everyday life can also play a part in your procrastination habits. Failing to regulate your access to social media, video games, etc., is a surefire way to get sidetracked or lose interest in planned activities. With procrastination rates climbing in recent years, it’s helpful to remember that you’re not alone in this struggle.
Whether you suffer from ADHD or inattention or find yourself regularly distracted during important activities, coming to terms with these tendencies is a must before tackling your procrastination issues.
How to Fix It
Now that you’ve gotten a general idea about why you might be procrastinating, let’s take a look at some ways to break the habit. The following four tips are remarkably easy to follow and implement into your daily routine. With patience and consistency, you’ll be able to master your workflow, hit deadlines, and expertly manage your time.
Make a ‘To-Do’ List
One helpful method for breaking your procrastination habits is to keep a ‘To-Do’ list handy. ‘To-Do’ lists serve as visual representations and reminders for critical day-to-day activities. More importantly, they help clear up any anxiety surrounding your workload by detailing what you need to do, how quickly you should do it, and the steps involved in its completion. By removing uncertainties around your responsibilities, you can better manage anxiety-induced procrastination.
Remember that disorganized or cluttered schedules can sometimes cause more stress, so learning how to prioritize items on your list is another critical step in the procrastination avoidance protocol.
Learn to Prioritize
- Hard Tasks First
The following method will be tricky if you habitually start with simple tasks before moving on to more challenging work. While crossing easy tasks off your list might feel satisfying and boost short-term productivity, research shows that long-term success tends to suffer. This performance dip is often due to the inflated sense of progression people feel when burning through busy work that offers little value to their overall progress.
One reliable way to avoid this productivity trap is to work on challenging tasks before moving on to less energy-taxing activities. Doing the opposite can leave you unmotivated to tackle more pressing assignments and increase your likelihood of procrastinating. The ‘hard-first’ prioritization method allows you to tackle complex activities while you’re still fresh without sacrificing work quality, so consider giving it a try.
- Eisenhower’s Method
The Eisenhower Matrix is a time-management tool that allows you to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. Jobs fall under one of the following quadrants: Urgent/important, urgent/not important, not urgent/important, and not urgent/not important. Based on these descriptions, your work schedule should look something like this:
‘Urgent/important’ Tasks First.
This one is relatively self-explanatory. You should always prioritize time-sensitive and essential tasks first since they require the most attention. Grant applications, bills, sales proposals, and family emergencies are activities you should start with first before moving on to less urgent or important tasks.
Delegate ‘urgent/unimportant’ Tasks.
You’ll undoubtedly come across certain items on your daily to-do list that hide behind a label of urgency to create a false sense of importance. Think back to any time you’ve received a work email with an ‘URGENT’ subject line only to read the first few sentences and realize it can wait. In these scenarios, it’s best to either reschedule or delegate the task to a colleague and focus your time and energy on more meaningful tasks. If your goal is to curb procrastination, wasting finite resources like time and attention on remedial tasks is the last thing you want.
Schedule ‘not urgent/important’ Tasks for Later.
These are tasks that you care about but could probably stand to reschedule. Hobbies, workouts, health goals, side hustles, and personal obligations are prime examples of important, non-urgent activities. Consider setting aside time throughout your week for these activities and hold yourself responsible for their completion by setting realistic due dates.
Delete ‘Not urgent/not important’ Tasks.
Tasks that are neither important nor urgent are not worth your time. Remove them from your agenda and make room for more meaningful activities. Delegating or rescheduling these items is useless since ignoring them won’t incur any positive or negative consequences.
Overview
The Eisenhower Matrix is an awesome tool for any would-be procrastinator to have. It’s great for trimming excess fat off your schedule and allowing you to focus on critical activities requiring the most time and energy. If your procrastination stems from the stress of an overwhelming workload, then this method can be a lifesaver.
Adopt a Time Management System
Time is one of the most valuable yet finite resources we have at our disposal. Learning to efficiently manage your time is crucial for curbing your procrastination tendencies. A time-sensitive schedule can help you get more done and avoid last-second crams. With a stress-free work routine, you’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to feel confident and in control of your workload. Let’s look at two easy-to-implement time management systems you can use to stay on-task.
- Pomodoro Technique
Pioneered by author Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, the Pomodoro Technique involves dividing your workday into 25-minute chunks with five-minute break intervals. The steps are as follows:
- Begin by choosing a handful of tasks to focus on for the day.
Keeping in line with what we’ve discussed above, you should first start with challenging or critical tasks.
- Set a timer for 25-45 minutes.
Keep in mind that the length of time you spend working depends on your preferences. If you can handle longer work sessions, 45-minute blocks are fine. However, if you’re prone to rapid dips in attention, then stick to 25-minute chunks to avoid losing focus.
- Take a five-minute break in between your work intervals.
Now for the fun part. Set a timer for five minutes and take a well-deserved break. You can use this time to do whatever you want, provided you have enough time to buckle back in for the next work block.
- Repeat these steps four to five times before taking a long break.
If you’ve yet to complete your chosen tasks after four to five work-break rotations, take a longer 30-minute break before hopping back into work. Doing so will help you rest, recharge, and maintain healthy energy levels throughout the day.
Overview
The Pomodoro Technique understands the human brain’s tendency to become sidetracked. By setting time-bound work blocks with routine breaks in between, you’ll be able to avoid distractions and commit to your work milestones. Best of all, the Pomodoro Technique also adds a crucial reward aspect to your work cycle that encourages productivity and makes procrastination unattractive. If you’d like to learn more about the Pomodoro Technique, click here for a comprehensive rundown.
- Dave Lee’s System
Think of Dave Lee’s System as a week-long version of the Pomodoro Technique. The system is as follows:
- Choose five focus points for each day of the work week.
You’re not setting specific goals just yet. Instead, you’re prioritizing certain areas of your work or academic life you plan to divert more effort and attention to for better results.
- Set three desired goals for the week.
Once you’ve identified what areas you plan to focus on, it’s time to get specific. Set three clearly defined outcomes you hope to achieve by the end of the work week. What do these outcomes look like? How do you know when you’ve achieved them? Are these outcomes measurable?
- Pick three daily outcomes.
These outcomes should exclusively be related to your daily focus area. For example, if your focus area is ‘Employment,’ your three outcomes might be:
- (1) Submit four job applications by the end of the day.
- (2) Draft a catchy cover letter.
- (3) Message recruiters to gain more knowledge about the role you’re applying to.
- Use a Pomodoro-style daily work schedule.
As discussed above, break your workday into 25-minute focus blocks with five-minute breaks between each block. Remember to take a lengthier break after four to five work block rotations to stay fresh.
- Prioritize your daily focus.
You should dedicate the bulk of your day to your focus area, so try not to get sidetracked by other projects or activities. Once you’ve hit your daily outcomes, only then should you shift your focus onto other things.
- Hold an end-of-the-week review.
At the end of the work week, evaluate whether or not you’ve achieved the three outcomes you set for yourself. If you couldn’t achieve those outcomes, try and determine the issue. Were your goals too unrealistic or vague, or were you sidetracked by other projects or activities?
David Lee’s system is an excellent time management protocol for folks who suffer from perfectionism. It forces you to set manageable goals while providing enough time to fine-tune each focus area. If your procrastination is perfectionism-based, give this method a try.
Be Compassionate With Yourself
No matter how many time management systems or scheduling techniques you try, breaking a habit like procrastination takes patience, time, and self-compassion. Setbacks and pitfalls are inevitable, but becoming frustrated or impatient with yourself is counter-productive.
To avoid this, remember to acknowledge your victories, no matter how small they might be. Reward yourself for those victories and practice recognizing overly negative or critical self-talk to stop it from hijacking your will to act. Doing so will ensure you stay dedicated to your goals and bring you one step closer to lifting the age-old curse of procrastination.