Many of us are feeling stressed out and so overwhelmed lately that it’s affecting our productivity, creativity, and happiness. Procrastination is often a result of this mental state. And it can be hard to get out of the rut and move forward. Even accomplishing the most necessary and basic tasks can be a challenge if life starts to seem monotonous . Part 1 of this article will cover some practical suggestions you may find helpful, as I have, to accomplish more tasks and minimize how often you find yourself procrastinating. Part 2 of this article is designed to address more of the mental and emotional blocks many of us face that cause us to procrastinate, and to help motivate you to continue trying your best at self improvement and getting things done, while remaining reasonable and balanced.
**Note: None of these tips and suggestions constitute professional medical advice. Please reach out for licensed help if you are experiencing signs of depression or thoughts of hurting yourself or others.
Have a goal AND a why
Procrastination can stem from feelings of pointlessness; It’s easy to feel stuck when we do the same things every day, every week, and ever month. Humans are dynamic we desire the satisfaction that comes from learning and trying new things and having fulfilling work to do. So I’ll let you in on a secret: you are not a tree, if you don’t like where you are in life you have the power to change that.
If you feel less motivated to get things done or bored of your current routine try setting a goal that will open more doors for you in life like learning a new language or skill in which you can benefit yourself and others with. Having something to work towards and look forward too will diminish the tendency of putting things off and can motivate us to be productive and more joyful.
Adjust your mindset and address the mental block
Why don’t you feel like working on whatever it is your putting off?
Do you feel it is going to take a long time to get accomplished? Will it really take a long time or could you challenge yourself to knock it out more quickly say in 30 minutes and still be effective? Like folding and putting up laundry, prepping for your work week, packing or unpacking for a trip? Sometimes we make ourselves exhausted from thinking about having to do something rather than actually doing it.
Ask for help/Be accountable
I saw this funny TikTok where a guy calls his friend and says “hey I’m on my way over”, so the friend hops up and starts cleaning his house and then a few hours later after the other friend didn’t show up, he called and asked him if he was still coming. The guy replied “ I was never coming. Last month you told me to call you today and tell you that I was coming over, even if I wasn’t, because it would help you to get up and clean.”
I thought this was a cute example of how asking for help can keep us accountable. If someone is coming over to help us organize our walk in closet, study for midterms, or crush and separate a backyard full of recyclables; we are much less likely to put off even the most of dreaded tasks when when we have helpful support and company.
Just stand up
Sometimes all it takes to get started even when you don’t feel like it, is to just stand up! Count to 3 and stand up!
Often I will take this step a little further and stand outside to gain a little mental clarity and fresh air before getting started. When I do this I’m much less likely to go lay back down.
Reward yourself
Rewards big and small can be a great motivation! I like to do this in 2 ways, the first is by basically bribing myself to do something beneficial that I’ve been putting off.
Example 1: If I take the recyclables piling up on the side of my house to the recycling center I can reward myself by getting froyo for my husband and I when I’m finished. Now I feel great because the side of my house is less cluttered, I helped the environment, and made some cash back that allowed me to have a tasty splurge. Win win win.
The second way I reward myself is by doing something I enjoy while doing something I’ve been putting off.
Example 2: I don’t always have the time to sit and watch tv shows or movies like I would prefer, so I get in my screen time by pairing it with other task such as walking on the treadmill, making dinner (yea…we actually do have a tv in our kitchen for this purpose, I think I use this tv the most), folding laundry, and putting it up on the commercials. Getting in my laughs and accomplishing my task, win win win!
Note: something I do to feel more accomplished at the end of my day is add in things I did that weren’t originally part of my list and check them off! If I helped my husband split wood for the fire place or in my downtown got a jump start on some studying then I’ll add those into my list and check them off! It’s a visual encouragement for me like “hey maybe if didn’t get everything on my list done but I didn’t spend all day doing nothing” and here’s my visual reassurance and proof!
Be patient with yourself
As I mentioned in part one of this article, sometimes we get so overwhelmed by the amount of tasks we want accomplished or the anxieties of life that we end up getting exhausted just thinking about what we have to do and end up doing nothing! We all have to be patient with ourselves. Recognize that you WILL have days when nothing goes as you intended and you don’t feel like you can even give it your “I tried” stamp of approval. On those day remember the days where able to give your “I did my very best” stamp of approval. They all average out, and while there is always room for improvement there is always a need for balance. Just try again tomorrow.
Don’t compare yourself to others
Social media influencers, friends , and relatives that seem to “have it all together” will probably let you know, and quite emphatically, that they don’t! There are still things they are working on and haven’t gotten completely right. You may be thinking “wow their house is ALWAYS so clean”…are you always at their house? “They are ALWAY so done up and put together” are you sure that they aren’t actually real self conscious about their looks?
“They just seem to do it all” …are they actually happy or have they been screaming on the inside non stop for the last 5 years?
The point is people who are or appear to be successful in one area are probably lacking in another. We are all works in progress so just focus on what YOU are doing, what YOU could be doing better, how, and why it’s YOUR goal.
And please don’t misunderstand this advice. In no way is there is anything wrong with admiring someone for seemingly excelling in an area you would like to improve on. You just don’t want to get wrapped up in comparing your weaknesses or past shortcomings to their strengths and accomplishments when you don’t have their full story and don’t know what really goes on behind closed doors.