Avoiding Procrastination: 6 Great Ways To Avoid Procrastination

Before we start, let me point you out the definition of procrastination.

So, what is procrastination?

Procrastination is one of our notorious personality traits of putting off tasks which we can easily do earlier. Everyone does it, including you. There are a lot of reasons why we procrastinate. If procrastination were an Olympic event, you might be the one to win the gold medal!

I’m also a good procrastinator, but I was way better than what I am. In fact, I was so good that winning gold medal at Olympic event wouldn’t have been that hard for me whatsoever! You might be in that position now, procrastinating whenever you want, whatever you want. However, you do know that sooner or later, you’ll have to face the consequences.

The tips I’m about to discuss with you have helped me a lot. Although I'm still fighting against this habit, I managed to bring it considerably under control.

Do not scan this hub. It’s also because you procrastinate. Read this hub altogether. With that said, let’s get started.

Writing down why you procrastinate should be your first step towards avoiding procrastination. Not only does it help to know the reasons, it practically helps find the clues that you procrastinate. Here are the reasons I used to procrastinate:

a) Unimportant Task (There are no such as unimportant task. Of course, one task might be more important than the others. However, every one of them is still important. You have to do it anyway!)

b) Perfectionism (Once again, there are no such thing as perfectionism. It was one of my misconceptions. I know I made a few grammatical mistakes in writing this hub. But that didn’t stop me from writing. We’re human beings. We are liable to make mistakes. But, that is the best way we learn!)

There are many other reasons why I used to procrastinate. Listing those reasons here will make this hub too big. I will discuss it later. (Did I procrastinate this time? You decide.)

Do you think that procrastination will make a task disappear in a puff of smoke? I flunked in mathematics twice when I was in eighth grade for this reason, trying to cram for the exam next morning!

Do you underestimate or overestimate how difficult a task is to complete? Do you take a short break, but let that become a whole night event? 

Once you know how you procrastinate, it will help you to put a stop to this habit.

Underestimating is another one of my personality traits. What I do is that I extend the level of difficulty to a degree I feel comfortable with.

I’m also notorious in my family to turn short break into big ones and ultimately, when I come back I don’t feel like to complete the task anymore. I’m still fighting against this notoriety part in me.

For instance, there’s a big soccer game going on TV in your room. Manchester United vs. Real Madrid! What are you going to do now? You roam around and think, think and think and at last, you come to a conclusion that watching the game is a better choice! Alas! A fully-blown procrastination occurred.

The better choice was that you could have just known the outcome of the match or you could have watched the highlights at your leisure.

Move the things that distract you away from your room. Make it look like an office room and then do your work.

This is your third step.

Who likes to do an enormous task? You know you have to do it, but you don’t do it. But, how are you going to finish it if you think about it this way?

Break down the entire task into bit-sized chunks and you’ll see how easily you get it completed once you start it.

There are times you might not do a task because you hate it, you think that it’s disgusting or it’s too difficult. Change this wrong attitude. Think you can do it and you really can do it. If you don’t know much about how to complete a task, just start off and you’ll learn as you go.

Sometimes, you may not be able to do everything on your own. That’s all right. Ask someone for help. It’s not a sign of weakness whatsoever. It’s probably better to ask someone to help you with your job than procrastinating it.

There are great books out there. The ones I recommend are:

1. "Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It" by Jane B. Burka, Lenora M., Ph.D. Yuen

2. "Beat Procrastination and Make the Grade : A Life-Saving Guide for Students" by Linda Sapadin and Jack Maguire.

Buy one of these books from Amazon.com. I won’t use my affiliate links here. My intention is to help you. Not to make money.

What makes you procrastinate? Do you think procrastination has taken over your life? If yes, read the books I recommended and also watch "Facing The Giants" movie. Never give up. Fight, fight and fight! I bet you're gonna win.

How can I make this hub better? Any feedback is welcome. Otherwise, please express your opinion on this hub.