A Creator's Kryptonite. How to Stop Procrastinating.

A Creator's Kryptonite. How to Stop Procrastinating.

Most of us procrastinate. 

It's human nature to put things off until later. The problem is when you wait longer, it becomes that much harder to change your habit. You end up putting off things you should be doing today or tomorrow. Procrastination, if left unchecked, can cause problems. Here are some tips to help you fight procrastination once and for all.

Reduce the Number of Decisions You Need to Make Throughout the Day.

Procrastination is a disease of our time. The average worker now makes between three to seven decisions per hour. And it's getting worse.

A study by Stanford University and Cornell University found that people who procrastinated had to make an average of 9.7 decisions per hour compared to the average of 8.9 decisions per hour for those who didn't procrastinate. And that was just during the one hour of testing.

For creators, procrastination can lead to missed deadlines and even lost dollars. This is why it's crucial to find a way to eliminate procrastination as a habit.

Be aware of your emotions.

Procrastination is an emotion. The good news is that you can control it. The bad news is that it's a difficult emotion to overcome.

When you procrastinate you're likely doing so because you feel anxious, uncomfortable, or stressed. If you're procrastinating on a task that's important to you, ask yourself these questions:

* Do I need to be doing this?

* Is it worth the stress of completing it?

* Am I doing this for myself or for someone else?

If you answer no to any of those questions, you probably should stop procrastinating and start working. There's a big difference between deciding you need to do something and actually doing it.

Do the hard things first.

Whether you’re a freelance creator or a business owner, the truth is that you have a lot going on. And no matter how many hours you put into your work, if you don’t stop procrastinating, there will always be more.

The reason we procrastinate is that we don’t know what to do next. Or, we’re afraid of starting. Sometimes we fear that starting is too big of a deal. In fact, when we procrastinate, we often take the wrong steps to solve our problems.

If you want to stop procrastinating, you’ll need to identify the root of your problem and stop trying to solve it at the source. Instead, focus on your goal. Get rid of distractions, so you have time to think about what you need to do. 

Change Your Environment

If you’re struggling with procrastination, your environment could be the reason. A cluttered desk might lead you to think you’re going to waste time by trying to find that pen you last used to write down that brilliant idea.

One study showed that people were twice as likely to complete tasks working from home with fewer distractions. This doesn’t mean that clutter is bad, but it does mean that we should keep the physical space we use for work as clean and orderly as possible.

The Next Action Habit—focus on something doable.

There are two things I want to leave you with today.

First, I’m a firm believer in the importance of the Pomodoro Technique for productivity and efficiency. This technique has a simple premise: break your task into “Pomodoros” of 25 minutes.

 

After each Pomodoro, take a short break and then repeat until you have completed your task.

I find this technique to be incredibly effective at keeping me focused. And when you’re not able to focus, it’s nice to be able to return to a task and continue working.

Second, I want to talk about the concept of the next action habit.

This is a concept that I learned from Daniel Pink, author of Drive, a book on motivation and productivity. He has done a lot of work on this subject and has written extensively on the topic.

Pink argues that human beings have a natural tendency to procrastinate. The reason we procrastinate is that we are so busy and distracted thinking about the next thing that we need to do that we don’t actually get anything done.

In the end, he says, procrastination is a symptom of bad planning, poor decision-making, and lack of focus.

In other words, you might be procrastinating because you don’t know what to do next.

Closing

Procrastinating is a result of wanting to achieve a goal out of your comfort zone, meaning that you have to remember to be easy on yourself. If you would like to watch more of my thoughts on Procrastination, you can check out the video below.

How To Stop Being Lazy Forever. 10x Your Creative Genius.

Until Next time,

Douglas