Don’t put off reading this article until later! As distractions become more frequent, psychologists are having to come up with new ways to help people fight procrastination. They are even turning to apps that are specifically developed to reinforce focus and weaken the desire to procrastinate. Is this really an issue? Yes.
“The efforts come as some researchers believe that procrastination is on the rise. The fault partly lies with the endless supply of distractions we carry around in our smartphones, carefully targeted to our tastes,” says Piers Steel, a professor at the University of Calgary and the author of “The Procrastination Equation.” “All those beautiful AI algorithms are pushing the next most addictive thing it can think of in front of your nose. How could we do anything but procrastinate?” he says. – WSJ
It’s not just young adults and students who procrastinate. Studies show that 15-20% of adults chronically procrastinate as well. It’s highly probable that everyone has found themselves easily distracted at one time or another, but with the increasing amount of stuff at our disposal, it can be easy to lose yourself in the digital world.
So, how can you combat these desires to procrastinate? Here are some ideas to ponder:
Revamp Your Goals
These need to be specific and focused. The closer we arrive at our deadline, the more motivation and focus we exhibit. Larger goals should be dissected into smaller goals that are obtainable and scheduled out over a period of time. You want to have something to look forward to, and be able to celebrate the successes.
Start Small, But Start
The first step will always be the most difficult for procrastinators. If you’re waiting for that specific burst of motivation or inspiration, it may never arrive as you expect it. If you start small, say cleaning a cupboard, it may propel you to continue on and clean another, then another. Eventually, you’ll find yourself on a roll and asking yourself, “What’s next? This is great!”
Estimate Distractions
Of course, you’ll be tempted with something or someone. If you acknowledge those distractions beforehand and remove them, you’ll greatly increase your odds of putting in work on the project at hand.
Asses Your Values
What are your core values? What tasks are you putting off? What is the larger purpose? You need to understand these values and what they mean to you, before you can tackle them. If you can see the value in something that is pretty mundane, it will make sense why you need to complete this in the grander scheme of things.
Celebrate Successes
No matter the relative size of the success, you should celebrate any and all successes, because it took work to complete them. If you put time and effort into something, you should feel proud of completing this project, task, or assignment.
In the end, you should be aiming to eliminate the personal costs of procrastination. If you’re creating a pros and cons list for procrastination, the negatives will likely really outweigh the positives, and drive you to do something about it. If you’ve read through this article without finding something to distract you, congratulations! You just beat procrastination – and you can do it again, and again, and again!