Hugh Culver

Another technique that is very effective for me, is having to be accountable to someone else – eg a having someone coming to visit motivates me to get the housework done.
Telling a friend or relative or friend what I plan to do also motivates me to follow through. Even at 39 years old, the fear of my mum’s disapproval is a great motivator! so I often inform her of my intentions: “This weekend I’m going to clean out the hall cupboard/ go for a 30km ride/do my tax return”. I know it will come up in conversation later, and I don’t want to feel caught having to justify why i didn’t get around to something.

From the queen of procrastination!

If it’s because I don’t want to do something, I figure out a way to reframe it to make it interesting, I hand it off to someone else to do ($$$) or I cross it off my list permanently.

If it’s because of inertia (habit), then I schedule a time when I *will* do it and once I’ve broken through the inaction it’s easy to keep going.

If it’s because of fear (of failure, success, judgment, whatever), then I try to figure out a way to let the fear dissipate or I just do it anyway and tell the fear to keep quiet.

Do the thing that you dread the most first. After that, your day comes up smelling like roses! And it’s such a great feeling!

I have procrastinated for so long that my to do list is actually very, very long – however I have a ‘frog’ every morning… and AMAZINGLY I am getting through that list faster than I ever have before.

What also helps me is to write a list of things I need to do in my planner/calendar. I also make sure I look at this list in the mornings. That may sound obvious, but there are days where I will forget to pull out my list till later in the day, or think I remember everything on there. Even if I do remember what’s on the list, seeing everything in writing and being able to cross things off helps me get to the task!

Depending on the task, also setting time limits (I need to do this for at least 15 minutes) can be useful and also listening to music or trying to make it more fun will help not procrastinate. And finally, if it’s work related, I think about the consequences of my procrastination– will it delay someone else’s work? Will it have an effect that gives my boss an unfavorable impression of me? Will it cause me or someone else more work down the road? I am much less likely to procrastinate work activities than personal activities since there’s a higher chance of having consequence for my actions.

Procrastinating can be bad, obviously, but I wish some of the guilt could be taken away from the word. We’re all human and prone to distraction and laziness, but that’s better than overdoing things, burning out, and never enjoying ourselves.

Smaller, more specific goals. “Eat five servings of vegetables today” Instead of “Lose 100 pounds”

Instead of dreading going to the gym, I just think “getting into the jog bra is the hardest part of the workout” It reminds me of how good if will feel to do the workout.

I like crossing things off my list and I actually draw little check boxes next to the list. I have heard of other people who list the things they DID, and enjoy adding to the list as they accomplish the chores.

Eliminate distractions. If web surfing is calling my name, I take my papers into a different room to work on.

The best trick of all for me is to work on the worst tasks during a time of my best energy level. I think best in the morning, but can do mundane tasks in the evening