This post is not designed to convince you to stop procrastinating. But if you’ve realized that you are putting things off so much that it is beginning to cost you more than it is worth, then this post is for you.

Breaking a habit like procrastinating is hard work. It is not for the faint-hearted. There are no ”silver bullets” to it. But I was willing to invest in the work.

Many of us put off tasks because of the sense of discomfort that arises whenever we imagine doing the task.

These are the 5 strategies that helped me break out from procrastination:

1. START WITH ONE: I had nurtured the goal of starting a youtube channel but the task felt daunting because of the amount of work involved and I wasn’t so sure how to go about it.
So, during the lockdown I downloaded an app called ”Evernote” and it helped me break down my goal into smaller, simple, and easy tasks that I could accomplish daily. It became a daily routine and it felt so stress-free achieving them. I started to achieve them one by one. Now, I can proudly say that my YouTube channel is up and running.

2. BUILD IN ACCOUNTABILITY: I observed that any unfinished task became harder the next day so I made sure I completed any assigned task on a certain day. There were hardly any carryovers. I made sure I checked them off as I completed the tasks. I went as far as setting reminders to ensure I don't forget it. Sometimes, my brain tells me little lies like *i’ll do that in five minutes* after the reminder goes off. I ignore it and complete the task right away. It takes a lot of self-discipline to achieve that.

3. REWARD YOURSELF: I motivated myself with small rewards for completing some vital tasks. I love barbecue fish,chips and cold bottles of Smirnoff drinks. So, it was something I always looked forward to at the end of any vital task.

4. AVOID DISTRACTIONS: It is very easy to get distracted in this age and time. I used to spend a lot of time on Instagram and snap chat before I swung into action with my goals. As I sit here writing this post, I only have my laptop in front of me. My phone notifications are off. My brain has nothing else to pay attention to but this post. Do you know that every time we get distracted, it takes on average 15 minutes to gain back your full focus on the task you were working on because some of the attention is left behind on the previous task? This is something called ”attention residue” Try not to get distracted.

5. START YOUR DAY WITH YOUR IMPORTANT TASK:
I am a morning person. I get more things done in the morning, even before anyone else has hit the snooze button. I do most of my content writing in the morning. Morning productivity yields fantastic results. I am a living witness. I now exclusively do all my important tasks in the morning and save my evenings for downtime and rest.

Change doesn't happen overnight and if you have some deeper reasons as to why you procastinate, it may take longer to break out if it.

It is better to deal with procrastination now than to deal with the negative consequences in the future.

It is not a question of comfort anymore. It is a question of results. What is more important to you?

Watch this video for a full guide on breaking free from procrastination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew3kuue2L3I

Nice write up..... Certainly, I will put them to use.

Nice and I promise to work on it.