5 Simple Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Are you trying to get things done, but find procrastination gets in the way?

Maybe you’re struggling to start a new project, take care of day-to-day activities, or finish a task.

While procrastination can be tricky, it’s possible to overcome the urge and stop letting it control your life.

Today I’m going to talk about how to reduce the urge to procrastinate and then give you 5 simple tools to help you get things done.

What is procrastination?

Did you know that procrastination is not about laziness or lack of motivation? It’s actually an unaddressed emotional reaction.

This is why overcoming it isn’t as simple as blocking out your time and saying you’re going to do it. Procrastination is a form of avoidance and avoidance is a powerful tool.

One of the most common causes of procrastination is our fear of failing or doing a bad job. This can cause a lot of anxiety. And to cope with this anxiety, we avoid starting. We immediately feel better because we’ve avoided feeling bad!

It can also be because we’re overwhelmed by the task at hand. Whether it’s an important presentation or a load of laundry, you may have a similar emotional response of “this is too much.”

Bringing your particular emotional response into awareness is an important first step in conquering procrastination’s intense pull.

What To Do First When You Feel Like Procrastinating

what to do when you feel like procrastinating

Starting by doing a quick and easy exercise called Notice and Name. It really is as simple as noticing you feel like procrastinating and then naming it out loud.

“I’m noticing I don’t feel like doing this task. I feel anxious when I think about it.” Research shows that saying how you feel out loud can reduce the intensity.

This helps you pause and gives you an extra beat to get curious. Rather than blindly following your avoidance, you can check in on the emotional response you’re experiencing. What is it telling you?

This also empowers you to make a choice. You get to decide whether it’s more important to avoid feeling bad temporarily and feel worse later (procrastinate) or whether you’re willing to tolerate feeling bad temporarily so you can feel better later.

1. Create an outline instead of a to-do list

Does your to-do list keep piling up? Every time you sit down, you can’t decide what to work on and end up doing nothing.

This could be because your to-do list goes beyond what’s possible to get done in a reasonable amount of time.

It’s probably impossible to get everything done on your list at once, so having a reminder of this impossibility might make it more likely you get overwhelmed and avoid your list entirely.

Try this instead: pluck out only the most important or impactful tasks of the day and write them down on a piece of paper. Then outline the steps to complete it from start to finish.

So instead of “Invoice clients”, you’d write “Open up invoicing software. Go to first client’s name. Type in description of services…” and so on. You’d create a kind of checklist outline rather than an overwhelming to-do list.

You might even find checking off micro-steps builds motivation as you complete each part of your task.

2. reduce distractions even when you don’t want

Giving in to distractions can be its own form of avoidance!

There may be a part of you that wants to be distracted or finds ways to distract yourself because of the emotional response you’re having to the task at hand.

You already know from experience that procrastination a powerful pull that ultimately puts you in a worse spot.

This means being willing to give up a coping tool that helps you feel better. That’s tough! So just know it’s going to feel much harder at first, then eventually get easier.

Every time you feel the pull of a distraction, see if you can pause long enough to judge whether it’s helpful. If you’ve been working nonstop and are becoming distracted and unfocused, then it’s likely you need to take a break. If you’ve barely gotten started, then it’s simply avoidance.

Ideas to reduce distractions:

If your phone constantly buzzes with notifications, set it to airplane mode, keep it in another room, or give it to someone for safe keeping
If people are constantly reaching out to you, set an expectation beforehand that you won’t be answering unless it’s an emergency (clarify what constitutes an emergency)
If too many tabs are open, open up a new window so you’re not distracted or overwhelmed by all the other tabs
If you feel stuck or paralyzed, say out loud what you’re doing as though you’re teaching it to someone else or hosting a show

You’ll start to notice patterns arise that pull you away from what you’re trying to do. Sometimes they might be helpful or make sense, and other times it’s a way to avoid a task.

3. Get an accountability partner

It’s often easier to hold yourself accountable when you know someone else is paying attention. It’s much harder to stay accountable to just yourself because there’s no outside validation or support.

Think about anyone you could partner up with to regularly discuss goals and tasks, so you can keep each other on track.

Try to pick someone who understands what you’re struggling with so they won’t be judgmental.

If you’d prefer to not involve someone you know, or can’t think of someone to work with, you could try a tool like Focusmate. It’s a virtual co-working platform that matches you up with someone to quietly work side-by-side.

This kind of tool can be particularly helpful if you know exactly what you need to do, but find yourself actively seeking out distractions. Your partner can help you stay focused when you really feel like doing something else.

4. Try a simple choice exercise

Tell yourself, “I can’t lift my arm”, then go ahead and lift up your arm. Tell yourself, “I can’t pick up that cup”, then pick it up.

You’ve had the thought you can’t do something, and yet you were still capable of making the choice to do it.

This is because thoughts are just information, they’re not commands.

Our day is made up of thousands of thoughts that lead to choices, many of which are on autopilot.

Whenever you avoid something, pause and ask yourself what are some other choices that are available? You don’t have to pursue those choices, but this will get you in the habit of noticing that avoidance is one choice out of many, rather than the only or best possible choice.

If you’ve got a pile of dishes in the sink, tell yourself, “I can’t do this entire sink right now. I could make a choice to do 1 dish.”
If you’ve got a project you’ve been putting off, tell yourself, “I can’t finish this project in one sitting. I could choose to just open up the software.”

Try it and see what happens!

5. Practice Self-Kindness To reduce procrastination

If you’ve procrastinated, it’s likely you’ve also beaten yourself up about it.

Research shows that practicing self-kindness (also known as self-compassion) reduces procrastination and increases motivation.

This is because encouragement will always beat harsh criticism.

If you were trying to help your friend accomplish something, would you yell at them and tell them they’re useless? Hopefully not! Not only would you feel bad about it, you instinctively know it wouldn’t help much.

Give yourself the same break you give others.

Practice self-kindness every day by talking to yourself like you would a friend. Notice any critical or demanding thoughts and see if you can come up with something more supportive and encouraging.

There are times where you won’t want to do this, because anger can feel invigorating and self-righteous. That’s OK! Just see if you can say exactly what you would to a friend.

That was a lot, thanks for sticking with me ‘til the end! Hopefully these tips will help you overcome the mental blocks that keep you from getting stuff done.

For additional resources, check out my post on How to Be Nicer to Yourself and How to Stop Worrying & Overthinking.