We’ve all been there—sitting down to start a task only to find yourself suddenly in need of organizing your desk, checking social media, or even doing the laundry. Procrastination, while often dismissed as a minor inconvenience, can erode your productivity and well-being over time. The good news is that you can overcome this tendency with a few practical strategies that reframe your mindset and approach to your work.
In this week’s blog I’m sharing with you a 5-step pathway to productivity and peace.
#1 Understand Procrastination
Procrastination is more than just poor time management; it’s often tied to deeper emotional factors such as fear of failure, perfectionism, or a desire to avoid discomfort. Recognizing the underlying causes can help us address procrastination at its root rather than just treating the symptoms.
For instance, if you tend to procrastinate because you fear failure, acknowledging this fear and reframing your mindset around it can be powerful. Instead of seeing tasks as opportunities for failure, view them as opportunities for learning and growth. This shift in perspective can reduce the anxiety that leads to procrastination.
Similarly, when you feel the pull of perfectionism, take a deep breath and begin the task at hand with the intention of making progress, rather than achieving an unrealistic standard of perfection.
If you have a major project, e.g. writing a book, you can even give yourself permission to write a bad first draft! Afterall, it is just the first draft, you know you’re going to be editing it! So take the pressure off, allow it to be sketchy and make a start. This will bring you much more quickly to having a complete first draft and then you are well on your way to a great end product.
The above approach really works with the desire to avoid discomfort also. If you’ve already left yourself off the hook of a first draft being perfect, it greatly diminishes the discomfort of it not being perfect!
✨ To support this kind of reframing, consider using affirmations to reinforce a positive mindset. Try the following or reword them in ways that better capture what works for you:
🚀 "Progress, not perfection, is my goal. I release the need for everything to be flawless and instead focus on moving forward.”
🌟 “Mistakes are part of my journey, and they guide me toward mastery."
Start your day by repeating these affirmations, and continue to use them throughout the day, especially before tackling tasks that feel intimidating.
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
#2 Start with Small, Manageable Steps
One of the most effective ways to combat procrastination is to break tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps. When faced with a large project, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, leading to avoidance.
✨ However, by focusing on completing just one small part, you create a sense of progress and momentum that makes continuing easier.
I really discovered the truth of this step when I was working on a new website a few years ago. I noticed that for weeks on end I had as a task “work on website” and I also noticed that no such work was being done for several weeks on end!
What I came to realise was that the task was both too big and too vague. As soon as I broke it down into smaller steps: get 3 quotes for the work; organize photographs to include in different sections; write the ‘About’ section; create link for my online diary; etc., I started to work through the process in jig time!
#3 Implement Time Management Techniques
Time management techniques like the Pomodoro Technique or time blocking and batching tasks into those blocks can really help to keep you focused and make daunting tasks feel less overwhelming.
✨ The Pomodoro Technique involves working for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break, making it easier to sustain concentration over long periods.
✨ Time blocking and batching like tasks, on the other hand, involves scheduling specific times for different tasks throughout the day, ensuring that you dedicate focused time to complete them. This can work e.g., for batching correcting or providing feedback to students; for managing your finances – personal or professional, on a weekly or monthly basis; for protecting time for writing or exercise or preparation of healthy meals.
Using these techniques can also help you develop a routine, reducing the mental resistance to starting tasks and building some momentum and cadence around task completion.
#4 Develop Self-Compassion
It’s important to be kind to yourself when addressing procrastination. Often, people who struggle with procrastination are also harsh self-critics. This is definitely one that I’ve had to work on!
When we are hard on ourselves in this way, it creates a negative feedback loop where procrastination leads to guilt, which in turn leads to more procrastination. Breaking this cycle requires self-compassion.
Understand that everyone procrastinates at times, and that overcoming it is a process. Celebrate small victories, like completing a task you’ve been avoiding, and use setbacks as learning opportunities rather than reasons to criticize yourself.
Photo by Jovan Vasiljević on Unsplash
Photo by Sydney Rae on Unsplash
#5 Visualize Success
Another powerful tool is visualization. You won’t be surprised to hear me say that! Spend a few moments each day visualizing the completion of your tasks and the positive outcomes that result from it, both in terms of the task itself actually being done and in terms of how you will feel.
✨ Start to five sensorise how it feels now that the task is complete – perhaps you feel energized, more confident, grateful that it’s done.
Now embrace the task from the energy of it already being done and notice the difference it makes. Most likely the end goals will feel more tangible and attainable and you are in a much better frame of mind and energy for tackling the work itself.
Final Thoughts
Overcoming procrastination is not about perfection; it’s about progress. By understanding the emotional roots of procrastination, breaking tasks into smaller steps, using time management techniques, practicing self-compassion, and visualizing success, you can develop habits that lead to greater productivity and peace of mind.