A full list of chores and laziness dialed up to max.
We all have those days when the tasks at hand keep getting delayed by the hours and maybe even by the day. The little couch potato inside us all just doesn’t get ready to work at times and procrastination becomes the routine of the day.
Days like these can really prevent us from moving forward both in our daily lives and our individual growth. Having a few tricks up your sleeve for the lesser productive ogres inside us is always a helpful way to get through to do the things we should be doing.
Procrastinate Procrastinating
Procrastinating procrastination may not be easy, but it’s simple. You don’t need to buy a product or begin a course. All it takes is to get a little help from yourself.
Gather a little spoon of willpower and a dash of determination and you’ll be there, doing the job you are supposed to be doing. But if you are still having troubles, like we all do, give one of the hacks down the list a try.
The 5 Second Rule
Procrastinating happens when you have a chore at hand, but instead, doing just that, the gratification money in our mind takes over and takes us for a spin on the Internet Rabbit holes and the Netflix Binges.
The trick is to never give the brain enough time to assess the struggles of the task. Being the most conscious beings on the planet, our brain processes the stains of the task in under 5 seconds.
When you have another task to add to your to-do list, you must instigate that task in under 5 seconds. You could kill the never-ending loop of procrastination by not giving the lazy monster inside us, enough time to kick in.
Begin Somewhere
Let’s start somewhere!
The loop of procrastinating begins when we start wondering about the process of the task which makes the beginning of any task very difficult. This is where you could start a Zeigarnik Effect.
What is Zeigarnik Effect you ask?
Zeigarnik effect: A Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, noticed that a waiter had better recollections of still unpaid orders. However, after the completion of the task – after everyone had paid – he was unable to remember any more details of the orders.
Zeigarnik effect will put you in a loop where your mind will automatically keep up the motivation in you until you complete the task.
Don’t let your mind wander about the process but rather only focus on the beginning of the task itself. Once you’ve successfully started something, you will eventually get to the end of it without the collection of pain and regret by not doing it.
Break Down Big Tasks
We sometimes tend to set goals that are sky high to have a sense of purpose in life. Although this gives us a boost of confidence and quite some motivation, it could also bring up feelings of fear and anxiety or simply be overwhelmed by the bars you’ve set.
These feelings can make you shift deadlines and push them further. All you achieve by this is piled up work for your future self.
Break those tasks down! Smaller tasks can be perceived as more doable and we tend to begin clearing them out of our to-do list faster with less hesitation.
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Apply Artificial Deadlines
Use the law of Parkinson’s to your advantage.
The Law of Parkinson’s says “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. The more time you allot to a certain work; it will magnify to fit or even go beyond the deadlines.
Deadlines give a plan and structure to our schedule. Alongside having a to-do list might give you a scope to procrastinate the task. Defining and allotting a certain amount of time to a task tricks your mind to work accordingly and finish the task under the given time.
To finish the work quickly and make it seem shorter to the mind, set shorter deadlines. This will help you work more efficiently and even faster than you would have hoped.
Author
These are some helpful tips! Thank you for sharing this post.
Thank You for reading it 🙂
Yes! I wrote about Parkinson’s law a number of months ago. I absolutely believe it to be true. I also think breaking big tasks into small ones is super helpful. Thanks for the tips!
Thank You for reading. I’m glad you liked it.
Perfect day to read this. I have no concentration at all today! I’m going to try these out right away 😊
I hope at least one of these hacks do the trick for you 😀
I am awful at procrastinating! I think making sure you make your tasks small and manageable is a great tip, thank you for sharing these tips x
Thank You for reading it 🙂
artificial deadlines really work! i give my all to complete it and i usually finish the tasks 2 days before i have to hand it in!
I agree 😀 Thank you for reading it.
This article makes me motivated and giving me positive vibes. Really helpful, thanks for sharing this amazing article.