Argh, procrastination.
Apparently, our attention span has fallen from twelve to eight seconds in recent years (let’s be honest though, twelve seconds isn’t exactly a jamboree of attention).
We have so many amazing tools to help us distract ourselves now, and it can be easy to let procrastination win. So, how to deal with procrastination?
Here are some tricks and tips!
Block the distractions
Turn off your internet, download an app that blocks your distraction websites (I like the forest app!) and turns off notifications.
If you’re finding yourself constantly distracted by the online world, the only thing to do is to remove yourself from it for that time period of work.
Want to do some research during writing time?
Make a note of how much time you spend doing this, so that you can be hyper-aware it’s not turning into procrastination time.
If you want more information about this specifically – read this post all about Splitting Time!
Hold Yourself Accountable
It can be so easy to allow ourselves to get away with stuff when it feels good. I mean right now, of course, we all want to be a bit distracted – there’s a ton of stuff that we need to distract ourselves from in order to cope. However, if you have a goal and you want to reach it, the way you can do it is by holding yourself accountable.
Set yourself some micro-goals to reach your word count for the day, and reward yourself once you’ve done it. The reward could even be some lovely procrastination time.
The Pomodoro Technique
Break down your tasks into twenty minutes!
This is what I do each morning when the last thing I want to do is get out of bed and work out. I say to myself ‘Right, you can work out for twenty minutes, twenty minutes is nothing at all.’ – before I have a chance to answer myself I jump out of bed, warm up, and set that timer. Before I know it, those twenty minutes are up and I feel accomplished.
Make it fun!
Whatever the task is, there must be a way to make it more enjoyable.
Take me and my working out – now I really never want to do this because I’m a cup of tea, a hot water bottle and a good book sort of person, not a gym bunny. But I know it helps me feel so much better. So, one way I encourage myself to work out every day is by putting on an audiobook for twenty minutes. I love listening to audiobooks, and it makes the workout really fun!
What are your sure-fire tips for overcoming the dreaded procrastination?
