How to beat procrastination – now!

Procrastination is the enemy of productivity. Whether you find yourself frittering away time online, taking long coffee breaks, or finding any excuse to get away from your desk and chat with co-workers, procrastination can be a career-stalling, energy-sapping motivation killer.

The funniest (or saddest) thing about procrastination is that it usually doesn’t even work. Procrastinating doesn’t lead to better results, it just creates more stress. Instead of inspiring you to work in a flurry of last-minute hustle and decisiveness, procrastination most often forces you to keep thinking about a problem longer than you wanted to.

Whatever you’re procrastinating about – whether it’s launching a new job search, sending out some resumes, having a difficult conversation, or starting (or finishing) a big project, here are some ideas to help you break through the stalemate and make progress at last.

• Take a break – within a set time limit. Set a timer for one hour, and say to yourself, “I’m going to procrastinate for another hour, and NO LONGER.” During your time, you can go for a walk, get coffee, read a book, or do anything else to get away from the problem that is driving you to procrastinate. Clear your mind and come back to the problem with fresh eyes.
• Do something else. If you’re feeling stuck on a big project or a long-delayed “to do” list, take the pressure off by working on something else. Make progress on some project, even if it’s unrelated to the big priority that is causing you to procrastinate. The feelings of accomplishment and empowerment that you get from being productive will help inspire you to tackle your procrastination.
• Ask for help. One of the biggest causes of procrastination is not knowing how to do the next thing – or not knowing how to decide what to do next. If you feel stuck, admit it. Ask someone else for ideas, advice or inspiration. Do you not know how to do what you need to do next? Do you need help to prioritize? Do you just need a sounding board to bounce some ideas around? Ask.
• Examine your fears. Procrastination is often caused by fear – the fear of failure (“what if people don’t like my work?”) or the fear of success (“what if this thing turns out to be a big success and I have added expectations placed on me?”) Author Seth Godin calls this fear “the resistance” – it’s an inner fear that keeps you from starting, that keeps you from trying, and that ultimately keeps you from doing your best work.
• Consider the worst case scenario: What exactly are you so afraid of? Are you thinking, “What if the project fails and I lose my job?” Is that really a possibility? Probably not. What if the project succeeds wildly, resulting in additional scrutiny and far higher expectations that are impossible for you to exceed? First of all, the stakes are probably not that high. Second of all, you can probably handle it. You’re not likely to succeed past your ability to keep up.
• Just start. Tell yourself that you don’t have to finish, it doesn’t have to be perfect, you just need to start. You need to make one phone call, write one paragraph, design one part of the project plan. Whatever you’re working on, try not to think about how much unfinished work lies ahead of you, and instead just take the first step.

Ben Gran is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. He is an award-winning blogger who loves to write about careers and the future of work.
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