Hi there, In my last post, I showed you what the 5 types of procrastinators are. I hope you’ve figured out which type(s) you are!
Because today, I’ll show you how to tackle them.
Perfectionist
For Perfectionists, Re-Clarify Your Goals.
Often, our procrastination tendencies form because we’ve outgrown our goals. Our desires, wants and needs change as we get older, and as we progress in life. So look at your current goals and ask yourself if they’re still relevant.
Ostrich
For Ostriches, Do the Difficult Tasks First.
Even if you feel you’re not a morning person, the beginning of the day is when your brain is most productive. So use this window of time to get the more difficult stuff out of the way.
The longer you delay or drag on the difficult tasks, the more likely you’ll put it off because you’re tired and lack motivation.
Completing simple tasks at the beginning of the day such as reading all the new emails only gives you a false sense of being productive.
Self-Saboteur For Self-Saboteurs, Write out a To-Do (And a Not–To-Do) List Each Day.
Writing down lists has been psychologically proven to increases your need to get things done.
Each day, make a habit of creating a list of the tasks you know you’ll try and avoid. By doing this, it brings these ‘difficult’ tasks to your mind’s attention instead of keeping them locked away somewhere in your avoidance mode.
Think about how satisfying and productive it will feel, to check off a completed task!
Daredevil
For Daredevils, Create a Timeline with Deadlines.
It’s common to have a deadline for a goal which seems like a good idea. But this is basically an open invitation for procrastination.
If it’s a self-created deadline with no pressure, we tend to justify pushing it back each time it comes into sight and feel we haven’t yet done ‘enough’ to get there.
So create a bigger timeline within that, and establish deadlines along the way. The beauty of this comes when each deadline completion is dependent on the next. It keeps you on track and keeps you accountable to be aligned with the overall timeline.
Chicken
For Chickens, Break Tasks into Bite-Sized Pieces!
Often, procrastination comes from overwhelming thoughts.
If something feels too big to tackle and we don’t know where to start, it feels like a struggle. This is also true if our goal is too vague and lacking direction.
Break down larger tasks into smaller ones, and turn them into daily or weekly goals. Smaller steps may seem like the slower approach to achieving a goal, but it often leads you to your goal quicker due to the powerful momentum you have going.
I hope you now have a better idea of what type of procrastinator you are! This is a good first step to overcoming procrastination.
But that isn’t enough.
You now need to know how to overcome your specific procrastinating habits.
