“Wait, what? Aren’t procrastination and laziness the same things?” – you might think. Actually, they differ. While laziness is an idle state of inactivity, procrastination is working on tasks but rather avoiding (or ignoring) the important ones.
But the main question that interests us is how to overcome them? Let us have a look at 7 tips that will make the things easier when you will face procrastination or laziness:
1. Avoid distractions. Distractions are often the main and biggest cause of procrastination or laziness. These are mobile phones, apps and other devices that constantly demand our attention. The environment, noise, and surrounding people can also be distracting. Therefore, if you are really interested in achieving your goals, you should choose a place to work where there are no distractions, or they are very minimal. It is also not recommended to work at home due to the abundance of these.
2. Look for the causes. In cases where you have eliminated all distractions in your work environment, but you still feel procrastination or laziness. Why? That's something you should ask yourself. Maybe the task scares you? Maybe you don't trust your own strength? Or maybe she is just very boring? Identifying the causes will make it easier to take steps to resolve them. For example, to determine the stages of task implementation, to look for ways that may motivate you to complete it as soon as possible, etc.
3. Set clear goals. One of the common reasons why we lack motivation to complete tasks is insufficiently clear goals or too little knowledge of why we seek them, why are they so significant for us. If you would clearly answer the question why achieving one or another goal is important to you, then the journey towards it would not seem so difficult and long. In addition, the clarity of the goals can also be attributed to a clear deadline by which time you will implement the set goal.
4. Limit the time for the task completion. The situation is not made easier by the fact that often, even with a good plan, we do not set a deadline for its implementation. In this way, the realization of the goals goes from one month to another and from one year to another… In this way, there is a risk that the goals may remain never achieved. Therefore, when setting a new goal, give yourself a limited amount of time to complete it.
5. Use tools that may help you. For example, procrastination solution might be a virtue map, which has the tools to obliterate procrastination, to analyse your procrastination cycle including excuses, triggers and false beliefs as well as to reprogram your mind and significantly boost your productivity. What is more, such apps as online planner might be helpful to see the tasks you have to do in one place and break them into chunks if needed. And of course, it would be unfair not to mention social media blocking extensions that prevent meaningless scrolling. However, not everyone is ready for the latter.
6. Surround yourself with people who would support you. This is especially important when celebrating the small victories achieved on the journey towards goals, as well as when facing setbacks. Friends who are actively pursuing their goals will not only regularly check in on how you are doing and remind you of your commitments, but they will also encourage your creativity and productivity. Furthermore, you may be performing the same mission for them as they do for you – that is a win-win situation.
7. Do your best to avoid both – procrastination and laziness. Finally, sometimes just being aware is enough to avoid procrastination or laziness. When you start to feel that you are going astray – clearly state this to yourself and take steps to change it. Of course, it is also important not to overestimate your strength – to allocate an adequate amount of time for both work and rest.
So, as we've gone through these 7 tips, it doesn't seem so complicated anymore, right? In fact, it is not complicated. However, it must be admitted that it requires self-discipline, persistence as well as the awareness we talked about covering the last tip.