How to avoid Procrastination in 6 easy steps

Procrastination is a productivity robber. It is one habit which if it can be avoided then it should be avoided. Acknowledging it is the first step. Avoiding procrastination and eliminating its impact on your life needs commitment and dedication. 

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Here are most effective tips to avoid procrastination​ :

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1. Write things to be done

You should start writing what tasks need to be done every day or things to be done this week or say in next few months. You can do that using a paper diary, or an app made for this purpose like SmallWins or a general tool like Google Docs, basically whatever works for you over consistently over the course of time. Consistency is the key over here.

 

2. Mark Tasks on completion

Make a habit of marking the tasks as completed, when they are done. You can do this every hour or at the end of the day. Again consistency is the key here. If you are using SmallWins to avoid procrastination, use the mobile app along with web/desktop app for best results. 

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3. Count completed tasks daily

At the end of the day or the next day, count the number of tasks you have completed the previous day. If you are using a tool like SmallWins it will do that automatically. If you are using some other tool for task management, make sure that it does this. 

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4. Observe the unproductive days

You should check every week how your performance was over the course of the week. You will see some unproductive days. Make a mental note of how many unproductive days you had and if there were any reasons for the same.

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5. Try doing better every week

Make a promise with yourself to do better the next week. You should not be very aggressive try to have a reasonable incremental goal. Remember, compounding, 20% improvement every week over 10 weeks means 1.2^10 = 6 times improvement.

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6. Reward yourself

If you have done better than previous week, you must reward yourself with something you like. Rewarding builds positive memories and is an extremely important step to maintain consistency in avoiding procrastination.

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Things which you must not do avoid procrastination :

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1. Just hoping that procrastination will go away

Day dreaming never helps in doing things. Actions are needed to accomplish things. While hoping is okay thing to do, but its not the only thing.

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2. Not making an action plan to avoid procrastination

If you will not make an action plan you will not be able to take steps to avoid procrastination. It is important to make a plan, that you want to do it. Its a promise that you have do with yourself.

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3. Sleeping on the action plan to avoid procrastination

There are high chances that if you are a procrastinator you will do this. This is the most difficult thing, hence the initial requirement of solid commitment. 

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4. Not rewarding yourself 

Rewards are important to make memories, they help in keeping motivation at low times. They help you avoid the sleeping on action plan situation.

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5. Self loathing or hating yourself  

Punishing yourself never helps, its best to have a positive and can-do attitude. Always look forward with self belief to avoid procrastination.

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SmallWins is a tool to help people avoid procrastination. However, the tool is only helpful if you are motivated and committed to get rid of procrastination. In case, you decide, feel free to give SmallWins a try.

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