How To Beat Procrastination Once And For All

I seriously can’t believe how fast January flew by.  It was a super busy month for me but it feels like I was just wishing family and friends a happy new year.  Today’s post on how to beat procrastination once and for all is very different than my usual outfit post, hair product review, or style how to.  This year I want to talk more about challenges I’m going through and what I’m doing to overcome them.  I want to let you in a bit on my journey of growth.  Right now I’m envisioning blogging about my monthly take aways, struggles, or highlights.  

With that being said, this post is about my struggle with delaying things that need to be done and what I am currently doing to beat procrastination.  I used to be the self-proclaimed Queen of Procrastination.  To be honest for tasks with a deadline, I work really well under pressure so I always got the job done. But why put myself through unnecessary stress?  What if something came up that I didn’t predict and I needed more time.  And if I worked well under pressure imagine what I could accomplish with the proper preparation.  However, if there was no hard deadline I would postpone and kept pushing the date back.

At the end of last year I started preparing for this year.  I also started working with brands more and I needed a way to stay on track and to keep up with everything. So I bought a planner and this my friends was a GAME CHANGER.  Now I know what you’re thinking, this couldn’t be the first time that she has purchased a planner right?  And that’s correct.  I’ve had planners in the past but they weren’t what I needed.  I took my time when selecting my planner making sure it was something I would use daily and that would be very helpful to me.  And just like that, I began to beat procrastination; along with the helpful tips below.

HOW TO BEAT PROCRASTINATION ONCE AND FOR ALL

1.  Break it down.

I often put off big tasks, whether it’s because I don’t want to do it or maybe I feel a bit overwhelmed.  Take that one big task and break it into smaller tasks to be completed over the span of 2-3 days; focusing on each small task one at a time.  I used to also think that if I didn’t have enough time at the moment to complete the big task that I couldn’t even get started.  With that attitude the task will most likely keep getting pushed back.  I learned that when you break the large task down you can at leasts get started.

2.  Plan!

I really started using my planner the end of last year and it has been a real GAME CHANGER for me.  Be sure to look at different styles of planners.  I’ve had planners in the past and they never really worked for me because it was crowded with things I didn’t need.  I now plan ahead days, weeks, and sometimes even months.  For example, since I mostly blog about style I know that I’m going to write about spring trends.  I have already written in my planner when I want to start researching, writing, and publishing the post.  Opposed to in the past waiting until the last minute.

3.  Just Do It! 

Not to sound cliche with the well known Nike slogan but planning is no good if there is no execution.  Get started!

4.  Remove any distractions.

Okay so you’ve broken down your tasks, made a plan, you’re ready to execute but you’re distracted my email, social media, the internet, and sometimes friends and family.  It’s okay to shut everything down to get it down.  Make sure you’re in an environment that will allow you to do this.

5.  Have an accountability partner.

Last year I met a blogger via social media and we really hit it off.  We both had goals of being more consistent and soon became each other’s accountability partner.  We would share our weekly goals and projects with each other and had weekly check ins.  I knew she would ask me about what I said I was going to do so that was more motivation for me to get it done.

6.  Figure out why.

Do you know what’s stopping you from getting started?  If you know what’s stopping you maybe you can take the necessary steps to prevent the procrastination.  I’ve noticed fear is often a big factor in my procrastination.  For example, I consistently put off filming videos for my YouTube channel because it’s new to me.  I’m not sure what angles I should be filming, how to edit, or have smooth transitions.  It’s a learning process for me but because of that, I notice I would rather choose a task from my to-do list that I’m more comfortable with.  I need to break down the tasks it takes to publish a YouTube video and take it one step at a time.

7.  Think about the results

Much like with working out, once you start seeing the results of being productive that will definitely serve as motivation to stop putting things off and to just get it done.

So how do you beat procrastination?