FlowlyHow to stop procrastinating: 9 methods that actually work
Procrastination is rarely laziness. These nine practical methods help you start, stay on task and stop losing hours to your browser.
You know what you should be doing. You open the document, then a new tab, and an hour later the document is still empty. Procrastination is rarely about laziness. Most of the time it is a way to avoid an unpleasant feeling: a task that is unclear, boring or scary.
The good news is that you don't need more willpower. You need a few small changes that make starting easier and distraction harder. Here are nine that work.
1. Notice why you are putting it off
Before you fix procrastination, name it. Is the task too big? Unclear? Boring? Are you afraid it won't be good? Each reason has a different fix, and simply naming the feeling makes it weaker.
This is also why Flowly asks why you are opening a blocked site. Answering “I'm procrastinating” out loud is often enough to close the tab.
2. Make the first step ridiculously small
“Write the report” is a project. “Open the file and write the first heading” is a step. Starting is the hardest part, so shrink the first step until it feels almost silly not to do it.
3. Time-box the task
Set a timer for 25 minutes and promise yourself only that. A fixed end makes hard work feel finite. This is the core of the Pomodoro technique.
4. Remove the easy escapes
Every open tab is an exit. Block the sites you usually run to, such as YouTube, Instagram and Reddit, during work hours. With a website blocker, the escape takes effort, and effort is enough to keep you on track.
Start with the three sites you open most often when you avoid work. You can always add more later.
5. Decide when, not just what
A task without a time slot stays a wish. Put it in your calendar with a start time. Even better, schedule focus hours that repeat every day so the decision is already made.
6. Lower the bar for the first draft
Perfectionism is procrastination in a nice suit. Give yourself permission to make a bad first version. Editing something is far easier than starting from nothing.
7. Work with your energy
Put demanding work in the hours you think most clearly and save email and admin for the afternoon slump.
8. Make progress visible
Tick off small steps and look at how much time you actually protected. Seeing “1h 14m focused today” is a small reward that makes tomorrow easier.
9. Forgive yourself and restart
Research on students found that people who forgave themselves for procrastinating procrastinated less next time. Guilt makes the task feel worse, so you avoid it more. Notice the slip, close the tab and start the next small step.
Putting it together
- Name why you're avoiding the task
- Shrink the first step
- Work in 25 to 60 minute sessions
- Block your usual escapes during those sessions
- Review your day and start again tomorrow