How To Be Productive While Procrastinating

Procrastinating – the greatest joy in life.

Why is it that when you’ve got deadlines on the horizon, work is the last thing on your mind? Suddenly, all you can think of is checking social media and making cups of tea.

But this mindset can actually really help. When work is the last thing you want to do, it’s a lot easier to get on with other jobs that aren’t much fun. It’s a great way to get all that boring stuff done.

Tidy up

It’s a simple suggestion but it works. When you should be writing an essay, dusting your room is a lot more appealing. Been putting off doing that pile of washing? Now’s the time.

Also, making your desk neat and tidy is oh so satisfying!

Have a clear out

Have you got folders and folders worth of paperwork from five years ago that you don’t need anymore? Fill up your recycling bin by getting rid of any bits of paper that you’ll never need again.

Is your wardrobe overflowing? Have a look through all your clothes and pile up the ones you don’t wear anymore. Make ‘to bin’, ‘to sell’, and ‘to donate’ piles and dispose of them. Imagine actually having space left in your wardrobe!

Make a ‘to do’ list

All the best plans start with planning to plan, right? Take a break from the actual work by making a list of the work you have to do. This will help you get your thoughts straight and if you’ve not actually got as much on as you think, it might calm you down.

Prioritise

Not every job needs to be done today. Work out what can wait until tomorrow or next weekend. Perhaps there’s something you were planning on doing that you realise doesn’t actually need to be done at all. If you can narrow your jobs list down and find out what needs to be done first, facing the mountain of work won’t seem as daunting.

Make deadlines

Give yourself a time limit for each of your jobs. If you know you’ll be done by 5pm and then can relax, you’ve got more motivation to get working sooner.

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Make a ‘to research’ list

If you’re putting off writing an essay and can’t be bothered to do research, aim to find texts you think will be useful and make note of them. This way, when you are motivated enough to stop procrastinating and get down to research, you’ll be able to get started faster.

A new approach

Invent a new, more simple approach to doing a job you’re putting off doing. Bill Gates once said: “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” Be that lazy person that a billionaire would be proud to hire!

Work out why

If you can work out why you’re procrastinating, you might be able to stop. Write down a stream of consciousness about why you’re putting something off. Write as much as detail as possible and it might help you work out how to break through the procrastination barrier.

Dwell on your achievements

Write down everything you’ve done and done well recently. Seeing a list of things you’ve succeeded with might motivate you to do more. It helps if you can see what you achieve when you try hard enough.

Some breaks help you get back on track but unproductive procrastination will make starting work again even harder. So, if you’re taking a break make sure it’s a productive one.