How to Stop Procrastinating

If you’re anything like me – and I hope for your sake you’re not – you probably like to put important things off until the last minute. Maybe there are not enough hours in the day, you’re a perfectionist, or you’re just flat out lazy. In any case, important things need to get done, and procrastination is something that should be avoided at all times.

The first thing you need to do is find out why you procrastinate. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know its cause. So, the next time you find yourself putting off writing that report, take a moment to think about why. Chances are, you’re either afraid you’re going to fail, you’re one of those perfectionist freaks that need to have every minute detail in order before you begin anything, or you’re just easily sidetracked when it comes to everything.

The next thing you need to do is focus on the task at hand. This may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t think before they act. For example, if you have a book report due in a month, think about all the things that need to be done. You’ll have to read the book, take notes, come up with an outline, and finally write the report itself. Now, thinking about all those tasks might scare you a bit and give you an excuse to watch reruns of Three’s Company instead of actually working, but just relax.