It is so easy to get distracted these days. No matter where you are, no matter what you do, you are prone to falling prey to it. You will push your assignments to the deadlines and prepare for your examinations and presentations at the last very minute. This will make things difficult, and the results might not always be to your liking. This will make you feel sick about your life. But you would repeat the same mistake again. Those reels are always calling. The YouTube videos are still there. The latest episode has just dropped. Your notifications will call upon you and you will answer, and your work will keep waiting.
Your work is not going to do itself, so today or tomorrow you will have to get on with it. It is much better to start now when things are easy and your tasks are not a boulder on your back. Procrastination might look menacing - true. But it is not undefeatable. You can get past it. You can get beyond it. You can beat it to get better at things you want to do and get the results you have always dreamt of.
One of the best ways to finish a big task is by cutting it off into smaller, much more manageable, mini tasks. A 2000-word essay might look big and tiresome, because it will have you sit in front of your computer for hours, but once you chop it into smaller blocks of 20-30 minutes of sitting each, you will be done before you will even know it.
You might even use your procrastination to help you out. 15 minutes of work can get you a 5 minute Youtube video, or a quick bite. A lot can be achieved in these short bursts of activity. Since you will be entertaining yourself in your breaks, you won’t tire yourself out, and you will get the work done.
You can even take the help of apps like Habitica, Toggl Track, and Productivity Challenge Timer which can assist you in keeping track of multiple things that you have to do and also track the number of hours you have been working. Visualising your productivity might keep you motivated and help you accomplish more.
The best way to finish a task is to get started. Once the deadline comes closer, you will have to start anyway. So how about you do a little of it now? Make a to-do list. Putting things on paper makes you visualise all the things to do, and makes all those impossible-seeming tasks look possible.
Now categorise all the listed work according to your needs and urgency. Prioritise the ones that need to be done first. Strategise accordingly. Divide the tasks into manageable portions.
For example, if you have the assignment to submit, then you can make tasks like:
The best way to finish a marathon is to take one step at a time, and striking off smaller tasks from your to-do list as you finish them makes you visualise your goal better. If this doesn’t work, then think about why you need to do it. Do you need to perform well in your exams to get better grades, which in turn might help you get a job that pays well? Your reasons can be different, but as long as they keep you on the task at hand, you are good to go.
Other than these, there are some other things that can ensure that you say goodbye to your dear friend's procrastination:
Different things work for different people, true, but the bottom line in beating procrastination is to start working and getting things done. That one thing is common, so these ideas will help you with your studies, assignments, and everyday tasks, and you will yourself see that you get more time to yourself when you put yourself to work.