Beat Procrastination With These 3 Incredibly Simple Steps
W e all do it. There is THAT important task at the top of your “today” list. You decided this is the highlight for your day, your most important task.
You need to get started working on this important task and get it done today. But you put it off. First, you feel you have to clean your office, then wash the dishes and re-arrange the items on your desk. Or watch a YouTube video on being productive during your day.
That is not lazy, right? You are taking action and being busy.
BUT, you are not getting THE most important task done. It gets carried over every day, still a highlight, still not completed.
Over the years, I have learned that there is a clear process to beat procrastination. This process helps me get started on the task I am avoiding and remain focused to complete it.
In this article, I will describe the three simple steps I follow, to beat procrastination and complete my most important tasks every day.
Step 1: How to choose your most important task
On some days, we procrastinate because we have a long list of to-do items. This feels impossible to complete. But only a few of those are important.
So how do you select your most important task every day?
Take out a piece of paper and answer this simple question.
“What is making me most anxious or uncomfortable?”
Write on paper the 3 to 5 things, and no more, that generate the most worry. This list may include tasks you have procrastinated on and moved from yesterday’s to-do list to the next…
Then read your list again and choose ONE task you will work on next. The most uncomfortable task is frequently the most important on that list. To be clear, you will choose just one task to focus your effort, for now.
Here is an example:
For me, there were 5 items on this list in the morning. All of them were on my mind and a few were even transferred from previous days. The most important, though, was writing the script for this video.
By focusing on just one item, by making it your priority, you have better chances of finishing it.
Step 2: Break down the task into its Next Actions
We get overwhelmed when we have a large project that we need to complete. We don’t know where to start.
But remember that every journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. As you take this first step, and then the next, you build traction in completing the large, overwhelming project.
For example, the first step in writing this article was to outline some ideas about the steps I take to fight my procrastination, in a mind map on paper.
So I wrote this down on my list.
Writing this first step gives you a starting point, from which you can keep going.
Step 3: Set a timer for 10 mins and commit to working on the task
This is the secret sauce for me. Usually, the hardest part is getting started.
Once I start working on a task, it’s almost as if I am biking on a downhill — I gain traction and momentum and can keep working on it for 30 minutes or up to an hour.
So I set a timer on my watch and get started. My goal is just to reach 10 minutes of work on the task.
But actually, it’s now been 40 minutes that I am writing this article and I am still going strong. Once the 10 minutes were up, there was a sense of satisfaction and achievement that kept me writing.
Repeat for additional results
These are the 3 basic steps I take whenever I want to bust through a barrier of procrastination.
My goal is to do something, anything, to get started.
And once I get started, the momentum carries me over and I continue working on the task, usually until I complete it or I hit an important milestone.
Later in the day, if I am having trouble starting again, I repeat this 3-step process. I may end up working on the same task, or another task. The point is that I remain productive.
Takeaway | Summary
To do anything, you have to just start. Even though it feels impossible some days, you can complete anything you want every day.
If you plan your day appropriately, using the time blocking method we recommend, and then just focus on starting and working with concentration, you can fight the procrastination cycle once and for all.
Prefer to watch an animated video of this article?
Follow this Youtube link: https://youtu.be/EAXKW2mLGxY
