Do you have a habit of putting off important tasks, like spending time with your friends or getting work done? Maybe the idea of doing what’s expected scares you away from actually doing it. Well, if that sounds like you, then I have some good news for you: You can break this bad habit! There are plenty of ways to get control over your life and make your days more productive. In this article, we’ll give some simple tips and tricks on how to avoid procrastination and live a more focused life.
Procrastination is something that many people struggle with—whether it be new year's resolutions or working on an essay for school. But the simplest way to deal with procrastination is by simply making sure you prioritize your tasks. Where are the most important things that need to get done? What matters most should be completed first. Sometimes it's obvious which tasks have to be completed immediately, like going to the doctor for your flu shot or taking out the trash—other times, however, it can be harder to know what should take priority.
Take this recent event at my house: My roommate contacted me a few days ago saying she'd left the front door unlocked and had been robbed of our bicycle lock and a big bag of groceries while we were on vacation. That definitely goes at the top of the list: You can never be too careful about who's going to steal your things! Other tasks, like updating our insurance card or changing the router password, we could reassess in a few days.
Prioritizing helps you make sure that you're spending your time on things that really warrant your attention, but it's also good to have a plan for what comes after you get things done. This way, once you've finished one task, you have something else you can immediately start doing. Think about the planning process as a tree, with your most important tasks at the top of the tree and lower ones branching out from them. By thinking about your work in this way, you can make sure that you're constantly working towards accomplishing your goals.
Going back to my roommate's problems, I don't think our bicycle lock would have been one of her top priorities. It's not a huge deal, we'll just get a new one eventually and it wasn't taking up any space in our apartment. But our groceries were definitely something we needed in order to eat. So once she told me what happened, her first task was to go to the grocery store and replace our lost food. That way she could get back to focusing on the things that really needed her attention. If she hadn't replaced the food, then she would have been distracted from important tasks like schoolwork and art projects, even though just buying a lock probably wouldn't have taken more than an hour or two of her time. And that would have been time wasted!
As much as possible, try not to set deadlines or due dates for your tasks. Deadlines make you feel rushed and can cause you to end up making poor decisions (like doing work very last minute). Because deadlines lead to last-minute issues, they can undermine your ability to complete a task well. I don't understand why people force themselves to do things at such specific times! A good way to avoid procrastinating is by not setting deadlines and letting yourself take as much time as you need to complete whatever it is you're doing. Of course, there will be instances where you'll want to work towards a deadline that's important—like starting an exam or writing a paper that needs answering within a certain amount of time—but it's important for you not to be overambitious about this.
One final point I'd like to make about avoiding procrastination is that it can help you stay healthier, too.
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