There are mountains of tasks on your to-do list today.

Instead of doing them, you’re here, randomly reading a post on the internet while wishing everything is fine when it’s not. Your mind often wanders around, laughing at a fresh meme from today’s news when you’ve got responsibilities to mind.

That’s not okay at all.

You’re grown up now, and you’re well aware that delaying your duties won’t make them work on their own. They’ll still be there waiting for your lazy ass to finally make a move.

The problem is that you’re not lazy, huh? You’re the most diligent employee in your department. You probably even came to the office early. But everything changes right after lunchtime.

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Procrastination vs. Laziness

Just when you’re about to wrap up the last bite of curry kebab, you come up with the idea of checking Twitter.

There is huge news today, a sensational one. It tops in the worldwide trends section. Everyone makes a thread and talks about it.

Surely, you don’t want to miss out on the biggest news as you scroll down the long thread.

Before you realize it, it’s been an hour since you last checked your laptop, and that’s when you know how much trouble you’re in. You’ve got a deadline in 15-minutes!

This whole situation might seem familiar to you. In fact, many people have experienced similar things when they decide to postpone something. Postponing is also known as procrastination.

Unlike what people often say, procrastinating doesn’t mean being lazy. That’s an entirely different thing.

When you procrastinate, you simply choose to do something else that doesn’t correlate to what you should be doing. You often ignore your main responsibility because you know you’ll finish it in the end, albeit taking a long time.

On the other hand, being lazy is simply not having any effort to start and complete the task.

While you still have the intention to complete your work after postponing here and then, it will give you problems if you keep repeating this habit in the long run.

Why Do People Procrastinate?

If you’re known to be a hard-working person, why do you still procrastinate?

People often link procrastination to lacking motivation. While it’s true, it’s isn’t entirely correct. There are many factors that cause procrastination. In fact, procrastination is more than a state of demotivation.

When you are given tasks, you’d first measure the work, like how you complete it.

Sometimes the task looks daunting, it takes time and full dedication to finish it. That’s when you begin to feel intimidated. Instead of working on the task right away, you find something else as an act of escapism.

You know you’ll finish the task eventually but not right now. You may feel anxious about the whole thing when you’re not even starting it. This exhaustion often leads you to delay the work in order to collect some energies later.

Being overwhelmed can cause procrastination because you don’t see yourself receiving rewards after all the effort. But, other conditions such as perfectionism and indecisiveness can lead you to delay tasks.

Overall, people procrastinate because their motivation is outweighed by negative emotions like fear of failure, anxiety, and self-sabotage.

How to Stop Procrastination Right Away

You don’t need to worry when you’re trapped in a procrastination loop. There are many ways to overcome it if you begin to postpone your work.

1. Establish A Goal

When you have a clear, concise goal, you’ll find it easier to start your work. You need to carefully define your goal as something you can achieve.

Do not pressure yourself with a big, unreliable objection that only weighs you down.

You can start noting the project you’re going to do and what expectations you want to meet by the end of the day.

By sorting out your priorities, you know you “only” have to clear these tasks before you can plop down on your couch watching explainer videos on YouTube.

2. Break Down Your Plan

Having a goal isn’t enough for you to make a move. Without a clear action plan, you’ll stare at the list and do nothing.

In order to eliminate the confusion over where to start first, you can break down the actions by listing down each project.

For example, for task one, you need to do A first, B second, etc. When you make the working list, the task will seem manageable, and you can start right away.

Then, you should focus on phase A first before continuing to the next step. Concentrating on one thing at a time will let you complete the task fast.

3. Limit Access to Distraction

Most of the time, procrastination begins with a small thing, such as checking the phone. We all know how this first action goes. You won’t be looking at your devices without glancing at other notifications.

When you begin to click on one app, you won’t stop at one. You’ll start opening other apps and so on.

These distractions can come from many things; even as simple as the neighbor’s loud noise can easily divert you from completing your tasks.

You can try minimizing the distraction by averting yourself from the source. Change your environment if needed, and make sure to keep yourself cozy.

4. Create A Deadline

So, you’ve got lists to do and a nice place to work on, but you still find yourself wandering around. That’s because you don’t feel a sense of urgency to complete the task.

When your work is due in 10 minutes, you’ll feel the rush even in your sweat. That’s not something you’d feel when you’ve got a whole week to complete the task.

You tend to ignore the job because you still have tomorrow to count, only to find yourself working at the last minute.

See, you won’t change your procrastination drastically. Instead of delaying your work for something that may not fulfill you, you can work on it right away.

Set a schedule just when you break down your action. Later, you can measure how long it takes for you to complete the task. It will help you become productive in the long run.

5. Just Do It

You know what, maybe this whole time you’ve spent many times overthinking about the outcomes. You can plan everything down and make reasonable goals.

If you don’t take action now, nothing is going to happen.

So, get a hold of yourself and start work on your task right now.

Bottom Line

Procrastination is often the cause of less productivity. When people procrastinate, they escape from the actual thing they should be facing at the time — only that escapism takes forever.

This habit leads to overflowing tasks that affect people to feel overwhelmed. While being overwhelmed itself can cause procrastination, it then leads people to fall into a loophole.

Clearing procrastination can help you overcome negative thoughts on work. Fixing your procrastination habit can also help you become an achiever to live your dreams. Good luck!