Always Procrastinating at Work? You Can Still Save Yourself

Did you know that workers spend 122 minutes a day procrastinating? Yes, I know, some of us spend more time procrastinating during work. We all know that procrastination is taking the life out of ourselves. It makes our brain work harder because we're not allowing it to rest.

The worst part? It makes us work harder in the end. Because when we procrastinate, we take more time to get something done, which will put us further behind the next work and even more so if we continue to procrastinate. 

Thankfully, there's a way to break this vicious cycle. Here are some tips to overcome procrastination:

Start with the easiest task.

We all have tasks that we rank from the hardest to the easiest and the ones that we dislike the most to the ones we dislike the least. Let's start with the easiest task.

Why? The problem with procrastination is that we don't even want to do a single task. So, when we actually get one job done, we'd go "hey, that wasn't so bad" and it gives us the drive to even tackle the rest of the tasks. It's like climbing a mountain, you start off easy and then continue with the more difficult parts until we get to the top. 

Multitasking makes you look busy without accomplishing much. Source: Spongebob Squarepants

Don't do more than 1 task at a time a.k.a no multitasking

If you don't want to start doing something, you will end up thinking rather than doing. Thinking is not right, in this instance, because you'll keep thinking about how you can do 6 tasks at once, so you can finish all your work before lunch. That's multitasking, and it's not an efficient way to get your jobs done. 

Of course, it's hard to avoid it, but we really should not do two things at once. We're just jumping between one task to another, neither job gets the proper attention. You'll just end up making yourself tired, which will lead to more procrastination. 

Break your work down into smaller tasks, and then work on those tasks one by one without interruption. When you're doing a small task, the finish line is clear, and that makes it easier to finish your job. 

Be responsible

There must be a sense of responsibility within yourself. Working without some sort of accountability will make you procrastinate. When you're not reporting to someone, the temptation to procrastinate is great. 

If you don't have someone to check up on your work, assign one. Find someone who is responsible and more experienced than you. They are called "accountability buddy", and they can act as a coach to train you for your better work habits. 

An accountability buddy can check in on you from t time to time, either in person or even via email. 

Because you've proven yourself that you can be productive while fighting procrastination, good job!

Reward success

Maybe your issue with your procrastination is that you don't see a reward at the end of the day. But what if you can set the reward yourself? Sure, you can always reward yourself without doing the work, but that's similar to cheating in a video game. 

Think of how rewarding it would be to treat yourself with your favourite brownie AFTER you have finished your job. It makes everything feel more worthwhile, and maybe brownie would taste better too!

These suggestions cannot magically turn you into a productive machine, but if you keep doing these every day, it will become easier, and you will find yourself more productive. There's no time to waste, start now!