It’s easy to find distractions or put off work from time to time. Studies have found that a whopping 88% of workers struggle with procrastination. While it’s good to take breaks and blow off a little steam, too much procrastination can lead to poor productivity levels and increasing stress. The rise of remote and hybrid work models increases the risk even more. If you find that procrastination is hampering your efforts, consider changing your approach to your daily tasks.

“There is a classic joke that when someone asks you what the definition of “procrastination” is, you are supposed to tell them “I’ll get back to you about that.”” –Lance Eliot, Forbes

Embrace clarity

The root of procrastination is often due to a lack of clarity in your goals. If the work feels tedious or meaningless, this will lead to viewing it as unimportant and putting it off. Changing your mindset to find some value in the work you’re doing is the best way to start reframing your processes.

Asana’s Julia Martins recommends connecting work to goals—whether that’s personal ones or team ones. If you’re able to find the meaning in what you’re doing, or even build a passion for it, you’ll find even small tasks leading up to that goal more bearable. From there, you can better set priorities (what are the most important steps toward meeting this goal) and stick to deadlines.

Break up your work

Another barrier to getting things done is being intimidated by the sheer size of a task. The more Herculean a task seems, the harder it is to find a starting point. In the struggle to find where to start, you might end up doing nothing. That’s why breaking down large goals into more manageable, bite-sized chunks is crucial.

If you’ve got a big project, take some time to break it down into categorized steps. This will make the overall process feel much less daunting. Tackle these individual steps one at a time and you’ll find yourself snowballing to something bigger. Best of all, LinkedIn’s Cath Andrew says that by doing things this way, you can celebrate each individual step, further building confidence and momentum with each success.

Use technology

Changing how you approach your daily tasks goes a long way toward addressing procrastination, but if you’re looking for some tangible efforts, there are ways to better use technology to increase productivity. Technology can also be a major distraction, but if you use the right tools, you can use them to your advantage.

Vicki Chen says that tools like Motion can be used for progress tracking, scheduling your day, having a to-do list, and blocking time for specific tasks. Other similar project management tools are out there and easily accessible to help you better structure your day. Writing for Forbes, Lance Eliot offers detailed ways to use generative AI (like ChatGPT) to overcome procrastination. While the AI may offer you the same solutions myself and others are offering, it can quickly offer tangible steps and time frames in the moment.

“Set reminders and notifications with your smartphone or voice assistant, which can cue you to get back to work or bring a longstanding goal to the front of your mind.” –MasterClass

Remember that done is better than perfect

Many mistake procrastination for laziness, which is inaccurate. There are plenty of different roots for procrastination, and one common one is perfectionism. When you have lofty standards for your work and a fear of disappointing others, it can easily lead to procrastinating. You may spend so much time in the planning phase you never actually start the work you need to do, or you may be so terrified your work won’t be perfect you put it off. Overcoming perfectionism is a separate, difficult battle that we’ve previously covered, and taking steps to combat it can also work toward minimizing procrastination.

You can’t control everything, and it’s generally better to have something done than perfect. Julia Martins says that focusing on the impact and purpose of the work over the outcome can help. Make sure the work is fulfilling the intended purpose rather than being the perfect textbook example and it will be easier to move on to the next task. Martins also recommends defining when a project is “done “– having a clear expectation allows you to know when you can stop working.

Wrap up

It might take some time to make the necessary adjustments to decrease your procrastination, but these steps can lead to a better approach toward productivity. Combining these thought processes with an organized workspace can make a world of difference in minimizing distractions and staying on target!

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