Snapzu, how do you beat procastrination?
The summer-holidays have just begun and I have a gigantic To-Do List to work off. But everytime I want to start working, I just can't stop myself from browsing Snapzu/Reddit, making myself coffe (I'v had like, 3 cups. I'm not even tired) or postphoning work in other ways.
Does anybody have some advice/tricks for me?
8 years ago by spoderman
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My friends see me as a productive individual, but deep down inside I'm incredibly lazy. This is how I do it:
Whenever I'm tempted to do something later instead of now, I imagine the "Later Me" reacting to my laziness. I realize how annoying it will be to Later Me that Now Me didn't do what needed to be done earlier. So what I do is, I do it for that "someone else" I will become. This means I consider Now Me's feelings and Later Me's separately.
So, in essence, I try not to be an asshole to Later Me.
The beauty of this approach is, whenever you do do something early, when Later You turns into Now You, you'll feel genuine gratitude for that "other you" that saved you the trouble.
Get started. Seriously, so many times that's all I have to do and I'm going.
When that doesn't work? I'll be keeping an eye on this thread... (Now it's time for me to get back to work.)
I think this is it. Once you get going in an activity, it's pretty easy to keep that momentum. For me the biggest hurdle is diving in. Once I'm neck-deep in a project, I can stay focused for hours.
1. Making a to-do list is great, but actually scheduling to-dos has really helped me out. If I have a specific time I'm supposed to do something then I'm more prone to get up and take care of it. 2. Break up larger to-dos into smaller ones. Marking things off your to-do list is very therapeutic and will help you feel like you're making progress. You can also plan out how to take care of a big task by scheduling when to take care of each step. How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time. 3. Reward yourself after finishing a task. It can be something small like a piece of candy, or it can be something big like actually taking a few guilt free hours to play a video game. It's all about programming yourself to associate a physical reward with taking care of things off your to-do list. It also helps pace yourself. These three tips usually help me become more productive.
Concerta followed by excercise! If those two aren't part of my morning I can very easily spend the day in bed. If they are my day is super productive.
Decide that you are only going to work on it for five minutes. Doesn't matter what you have to do just tell yourself "five minutes and I'm done". You will often find that after you get started on a task, even knowing you will only be at it a short time, that you build a momentum that propels you forward. Then when you are done with five minutes or the whole task reward yourself. It can be something small like 10-15 minutes on snapzu or another cup of coffee.
I really like pomodoro timers. I usually use just a simple timer app and set it up myself, but there are some great apps to automatically switch between the times. Basically you focus on your work for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. Do this two times and then make your break 10 minutes. Then back to 5. It really helps me focus seeing the timer and thinking "hey, I can survive anything for just 25 minutes!"
Also I like Forest.
And also blocking out exact times throughout the day. Like I'll put it in a diary that from 6:00 to 7:30 I'll work on one project, 7:30 to 8:00 breakfast, 8:00 to 9:30 a different project, etc.That usually helps me stay focused and keep the bigger picture of my productivity in mind instead of just wasting time trying to work on one project all day and getting burnt out.
Mornings. For me, the procrastination begins when I tell myself that I'll do it later in the morning. You start earlier, you don't get distracted.
Honestly, I'm not very good at beating procrastination at all. But at least when you know you're a chronic procrastinator, you can take measures to trick yourself.
- If you need your computer to work, install a browser extension that blocks sites like Snapzu and Facebook during certain work hours. I'll still find a way to waste time if I put my mind to it, but it helps to get the most addictive ones out of the way.
- Find something you enjoy listening to and only listen to it while working. So if there's a new episode of my favorite podcast, it almost feels like I'm excited for work, because work and the podcast always go hand-in-hand.
- If possible, go to a cafe to work. None of your stuff is there to distract you, and it makes you feel more purposeful. I sometimes talk myself out of this to save money, but it helps to think of that coffee / snack as "work tax" that I pay for accomplishing things that I wouldn't at home.
- On your to-do list, write down how long you think each task will take. Sometimes it's easier to get started on something if I can see it will only take a half hour and then I can check it off. If the times on your list are too daunting, break them down into smaller tasks.