How to break your procrastination habit

It seems as if society is progressively becoming more and more fast-paced.

You now have the option for same-day-delivery on online orders, emails can be sent instantly from all around the world and webpages, containing virtually anything you could ever want to learn about, can load in seconds…

The list goes on. My point is that human beings are now able to complete everyday tasks quicker than ever before, freeing up more time for other activities.

But instead of skewing this spare time towards accomplishing the things that really matter, people are filling this void with unnecessary clutter. A process known as procrastination.

So, why not recognize this unproductive act that so often flies under the radar and unlock the secret to improving your personal efficiency?

Here are a few simple tips for doing just that.

If you take anything from this article at all, it should be to focus on being productive, not busy.

People tend to mistake their own busyness for efficiency, when the majority of this busywork serves as distractions that can be removed altogether.

Just because you’re running errands and checking items off your to-do list doesn’t mean they’re actually important.

A lot of times, we subconsciously find other chores to take care of instead of focusing on the important task at hand. Your goal is to avoid falling into this worker-bee mindset.

Are you familiar with Parkinson’s Law?

By definition, it states that “a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion”.

Let’s break this down a bit…

Parkinson’s Law is basically saying that the longer you postpone an important job that needs to be completed, the more stress and headache it’s going to bring you in the end.

Deliberately avoiding a task that you’re obligated to finish does nothing more than create mountains out of molehills.

With that said, the most important way to combat this downward spiral is to limit your checklist to the important ones.

Not only will this inherently shorten the work time required to successfully complete whatever chore you’re focusing on, but you’ll be able to produce better results because you’ll have fewer interruptions.

It’s all about quality over quantity, right?

If your boss is asking you to turn in a project by the end of the workweek, don’t fool yourself into checking for news updates or organizing old emails to give the impression that you’re doing something important. All of these small, insignificant “duties” act as distractions in terms of the bigger picture.

And nowadays, it’s easier than ever to fall into this vicious cycle. People are constantly straying from their responsibilities by opting for YouTube videos or social media feeds instead.

Simply set your sights on whatever job needs to be accomplished and push through it until you’ve reached your goal.

A good way to measure your productivity is to take the 80/20 principal into account, which says that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

This means that by eliminating just a small portion of your unproductive actions will have a direct impact on the majority of problems that would typically result from them.

Remember this the next time you find yourself falling into the vicious cycle of delaying your obligations and remind yourself that staying on task and crossing off the items from your to-do list that truly matter is far more rewarding in the long run.

The key to boosting personal efficiency is by avoiding procrastination. Don’t drag out tasks that and making them into a bigger deal than they have to be. Get to work and chip away at the project until you’re proud of the end result.

You’ll find that making small alterations to these bad habits can have a significant influence on your overall productivity.