How to Stop Procrastinating in 7 Ways

How to Stop Procrastinating in 7 Ways Were all prone to procrastinating for some reason every now and then, but serial procrastination can have a serious effect on you, from raising your stress levels to decreasing your productivity.What Is Procrastination and How Can it Hurt You?Procrastination means to defer or delay action. You become a serialprocrastinator when youll do anything else than the work you have at hand. A serial procrastinator puts off their work over and over again, and they seldom meet deadlines.Procrastination can hurt you in several ways.Youre less productive.You lose precious time.You could blow opportunities.You could hurt your career when youre considered unreliable.Studies show thatchronic procrastination can make you more vulnerable to health conditionslike cardiovascular disease and hypertension.Research suggests that putting off important tasks can cause stress, and the added stress canpsychophysiologically impact the body and increase your vulnerability to everyday illnesses.Whether youre a serial or occasional procrastinator, check out these seven tips to stop procrastinating and focus on the task at hand.How Can You Stop Procrastinating?1. Use the Two-Minute RuleWill a task take you less than two minutes to complete? If so, just do it First cited in David Allens Getting Things Done, the basic principle here is to train yourself to stop procrastinating on tiny tasks that add up like hanging your bag up when you get home, taking out the trash or dropping your dishes in the dishwasher after each meal.2. Set a RoutineThink about if there is something you consistently procrastinate on like dropping your plate in the dishwasher after dinner, for example and find ways to build that into your daily routine. Start small and only add in a goal or two at a time, and only add in more once your goal has become a habit.3. Manage your EmotionsYou may have just done a double take when I mentioned that managing emotions is key to stopping procra stination in its tracks, but hear me out How many times have you been presented with a task and been hit with negative thoughts, like I cant do this, or this is too hard, or I have so much to do already, I dont have time for this. Called catastrophizing, making a bigger deal out of something that it really does not only encourage procrastination but can also stress you out more and have negative effects on your health.4. Pad Your To-Do ListTheres nothing more satisfying than checking something off your to-do list. Padding your to-do list with simple items like make breakfast or walk the dog can give your brain a shot of dopamine and make you feel like youre on a roll. Here are some to-do lists to get you started.5. Set Self-Imposed DeadlinesThis takes practice, but setting a deadline for yourself is a good practice when it comes to curbing procrastination. After all, if you have a deadline, you cant put it off forever.6. Break Down Your Goals into Manageable ChunksRemember the five- paragraph essay, and how it was the foundation for any paper you wrote be in 1 page or 100 pages in school? Just like this format taught you to break down a paper into manageable chunks an introduction, three points, and a conclusion you can use this same approach to break down any task or project you need to accomplish. Youll likely need to set aside some time to think it through and figure out what micro-goal you need to accomplish your overall goal, but once you do, youll find that your project is a whole lot more manageable and less daunting.7. Find an Accountability PartnerWe need different types of people in your professional lives, and an accountability partner is one of them who can take many different forms. For example, it could be your mom, sister or best friend checking in daily to see if youre sticking to your to-do list. It could also be a co-worker thats willing to sit down with you in a collaborative workspace and churn through projects together. Though you might b e tempted to chat while in a group working session, they also fed off procrastination by providing a deadline and a structured environment.--Samantha Smoak is a journalist turned tech public relations professional based in Nashville, Tennessee. For sports jokes and dog pictures, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at samanthaksmoak.