Overcome procrastination with 10 incredibly powerful strategies (Part 2)

#6 Pair, pair, pair. Boring tasks need a fun friend

Boredom can kill productivity by draining your energy. Sometimes just knowing that a task is boring can make it impossible to start. If your task is boring, it’s probably not challenging. Use this to your advantage. Pairing your boring task with something enjoyable generates the motivation needed to start and get it done. This simple strategy is incredibly effective and will help you break the procrastination loop. You can stop procrastinating on virtually any boring task once it becomes rewarding to perform. This is a great strategy to quickly build momentum, and you may be surprised by the amount of work you accomplish.

To properly implement this strategy, you have to be honest with yourself about which tasks you can successfully pair together. The enjoyable activity cannot hinder you from performing your boring task. You might find that putting on a movie in the background is exactly what you need to fold three loads of laundry but not to write the abstract of your next paper. Instead, writing the abstract might require having the perfect cup of tea next to the keyboard. Listening to a podcast might be just the ticket to organizing that data that you have been avoiding or to finally running those stats. In my case, I actually enjoyed counting hundreds of plankton samples once I started listening to audiobooks at the same time. Sticking to my plankton-counting schedule no longer felt like a boring, insurmountable task, and I actually found myself ahead of schedule when I finally finished. Such is the power of properly pairing tasks. There is a bit of trial and error involved in task pairing. However, once you become really good at pairing, this strategy will quickly become one of your go-to methods to stop procrastinating with boring tasks.

#7 Workspace reset

Distractions are major triggers of procrastination, and your workspace is a prime location for distractions to accumulate. That being said, your workspace should contain items that support your productivity and mood. Remember that feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, and boredom can all trigger procrastination. Your workspace should be enjoyable while also reflecting your personal threshold for distraction.

Close your eyes and visualize yourself sitting down at a desk and being fully engaged in your work. If you look up, what does the space around you look like? Now, open your eyes and take a look around your current workspace. There are probably many things scattered about that do not reflect your vision and that are actually distracting you throughout the day. It may not be possible to redesign your entire office, but it is possible to create a space around your desk that supports your needs.

After creating this space, you will find that items make their way into your space that don’t belong. This naturally happens over time. For this reason, it’s important to reset your workspace often so that it can continue to support your productivity. I would suggest that you do so at the end of each working day. Resetting your workspace at the end of each day will quickly become a ritual that you look forward to performing. It comes with many unexpected benefits and is one of the simplest things you can do to avoid future procrastination.

#8 Pomodoros

The Pomodoro Technique was developed 30 years ago by Francesco Cirillo. As a college student, Francesco developed the technique to increase his productivity, and it has become a tried-and-true method for doing just that. If you have never Pomodoroed, you’re missing out. It’s a great strategy to use when you are struggling to begin or complete a task because it will immediately end procrastination and allow you to quickly build momentum.

The name of the technique literally means tomato in Italian and comes from the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Francesco used to develop the technique. The complete Pomodoro technique is a system designed to track your productivity. However, I have found that systems that extend beyond the core premise are often counterproductive when trying to overcome procrastination. For this reason, this post only covers a streamlined version of the technique, which is particularly useful when you have to work for extended periods of time on a single, large task.

The Pomodoro technique boils down to committing to 15–25 minutes of uninterrupted focus and work (i.e., a Pomodoro) followed by 3–5 min periods of rest and repeating this cycle 4 times. After which, you take an extended 15–25 min rest break before beginning the cycle once more. Committing yourself to strictly adhering to these periods of work and rest is crucial for this technique to work. You cannot do anything in the middle of a Pomodoro except work. Everything else must wait. Likewise, you cannot ignore your mandatory breaks. You must rest to allow your mind a moment to reset and recover. During your breaks, you can stretch, watch a video, get up to refill your drink, play with the cat, or do whatever you want to do, but you must take them and not work.

To begin, you’ll need a timer. Any timer will do, although I would recommend using a website like Pomodor or Pomofocus or an app for your phone like Pomodoro for Apple or Android to manage your work intervals. When using the Pomodoro technique, you’ll need to get good at shifting your focus to and away from your work to avoid fatigue, which can trigger procrastination. Pomodoros can be an excellent way to power through a work session. This strategy is also a terrific way to avoid procrastinating when you have a lot of work left to complete. You may not want to use this technique each day, but it will always get you out of a bind.

#9 Celebrate each small accomplishment

The days you accomplish large-scale goals are few and far between. Clearly, you don’t graduate or publish a paper every day. However, many of us have been taught to only acknowledge and celebrate large achievements. Moreover, we often focus on the negative and berate ourselves for the tasks we haven’t completed. These negative feelings can grow and trigger procrastination. If you find yourself procrastinating because your negative feelings are controlling your actions, shift your attention away from large goals and focus entirely on acknowledging the small daily tasks that you have completed.

For example, if one day you formatted your paper and added some citations to your introduction but didn’t finish writing your discussion as you planned, you may be tempted to only focus on your failure to complete the discussion. Instead, shift your focus onto your small achievements, which are just as necessary to publish your paper as writing the discussion. Each small task that you complete and acknowledge provides evidence that you are moving forward, which builds momentum. In doing so, you will also generate positive feelings that will help you overcome and avoid procrastination.

#10 Strangers make the best study buddies

Working in a public space where you are surrounded by strangers who are also working can jump-start your productivity to get things done quickly. In part, this is because public places can provide a sense of artificial accountability, which can be a strong motivator to get things done. In addition, your work sessions in these places are time-bound, which will help you remain focused and highly productive. If you find yourself struggling with distractions in your usual workspace, especially if you work from home, then this strategy may be just what you need to overcome procrastination.

Coffee shops and libraries are both great spots to get things done. Both places have tables, outlets, and wi-fi connections and are relatively accessible to all. You are also likely to be surrounded by like-minded individuals in these spaces who are also trying to get things done, which can help you focus on your work. Once you find a place that you enjoy and that meets your needs, this strategy may quickly become your favorite to maximize productivity.   

Use the strategies that work for you

It is absolutely possible to overcome procrastination without relying on the stress of deadlines to get you moving. The trick is finding what works for you. Be honest with what is working and what is not and identify what you need to get things done. We are not all the same, and some strategies will serve you more than others. Don’t force things. Find what works for you.

Be sure to check Part 1 for five additional and practical strategies that will get you moving in the right direction.

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