This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Jake Lundberg
This week, rather than discussing how to do more, I thought we'd focus on one of productivity's greatest enemies...procrastination.
We've all been there. Some important task looming on our to-do list, staring us down for hours...days...weeks. But somehow we keep finding any excuse to avoid it. Doom scrolling on Pinterest, watching just one more episode (or 12), even things we would never normally want to do, like organizing your sock drawer. Procrastination is the ultimate productivity killer.
But why do we continuously do this? We want to get stuff done. We know procrastination will negatively impact that. But we continuously do it. Why? In the next few minutes, we'll dive into the psychology behind procrastination and arm ourselves with practical strategies to overcome it.
So, whether you're reading this as a way to avoid your actual work (that would be ironic 😂) or genuinely seeking ways to boost your productivity, stick around. By the end of this short read, you'll have a new arsenal of tools to tackle procrastination head-on and reclaim your time.
Why Do We Fall into the Procrastination Trap?
Before we can outsmart procrastination, we need to understand why it happens. So let's dig into a few of the most common reasons that cause it.
Feeling Overwhelmed
Feeling overwhelmed often leads to procrastination as people struggle to manage their emotions and tasks effectively. When faced with a daunting workload or high expectations, our brain can become paralyzed by anxiety, making it difficult to prioritize or take action. This emotional overload can result in avoidance behaviors, where we distract ourselves with less important (or completely unimportant) activities instead of addressing the pressing challenges at hand. Consequently, the cycle of procrastination gets worse, creating a sense of guilt and further exacerbating feelings of being overwhelmed.
Unrealistic Expectations
Unrealistic expectations contribute to procrastination by creating pressure and anxiety that hinder productivity. When we set excessively high standards, we may feel overwhelmed by the fear of failure, preventing us from starting or completing tasks. As the gap between our aspirations and reality widens, procrastination becomes a coping mechanism to escape the stress. This cycle leads to decreased motivation and heightened feelings of inadequacy.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism often leads to procrastination as we become paralyzed by the fear of not meeting our own impossibly high standards. The desire for flawless results can create anxiety and self-doubt, making it difficult to start or complete tasks. As perfectionists, we obsess over every detail and we may avoid taking action altogether, fearing that our work will never be good enough. This cycle of procrastination not only delays progress but also reinforces feelings of inadequacy, ultimately hindering personal and professional growth.
Poor Time Management
Poor time management contributes to procrastination by creating a chaotic environment where tasks feel overwhelming. When we struggle to prioritize or allocate time effectively, we may feel anxious and avoid taking action. This disorganization leads to procrastination as a way to escape the stress of impending deadlines, making us even more inefficient and causing us to miss more opportunities.
These are just a few of the most common reasons that lead us to procrastinate on the most important things we know we need to do. But if it's so easy to fall into this trap, what can we do to prevent it?
How to Outsmart Procrastination
Some people will tell you to just stop procrastinating and do what you need to do. Great advice, right? While you're at it, why don't you just stop being anxious, and quit craving your favorite snack?
As we've seen, procrastination is frequently a very natural reaction to the state of life around us. However, like many other reactions in our lives, we can teach ourselves to break these chains for a more positive outcome. Here are a few ways that will help you do just that.
The 15-Minute Rule
This is one of my favorite approaches to beating procrastination. Especially when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. The idea's simple...
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and turn off distractions (at least as much as you're able).
- Focus solely on 1 task during that time.
- When the timer goes off, stop.
Simple right?
Why does this work? Because 15 minutes is short enough to commit to (even for the most reluctant among us) but long enough to make real progress. Remember, progress beats perfection any day!
It also helps us to commit to just 1 thing when we're overwhelmed with many things. Focusing on just 1 thing for 15 minutes isn't a lot of time to spend ignoring those other things. Do this 2-3 times, and you've put a pretty good dent in those tasks you've been putting off!
Break It Down
There are tons of different phrases out there used to describe this idea...
How do you run a marathon? One step at a time.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
How do you write a novel? One word at a time.
...but they all essentially say the same thing...
To do anything, do it one small action at a time.
Large tasks can be intimidating…which can lead to avoiding working on them. And at some point in your life I’m sure you’ve been told to break big things down into smaller pieces. But even with this advice, I still see people struggle to break things down enough, and their smaller pieces are still too big. So how are we supposed to break large tasks down?
I personally like to use David Allen's Getting Things Done method which breaks everything down into individual, physical actions. Anything that takes multiple physical actions is considered a project. What exactly does that mean? Let’s consider an example.
Let’s say you want to paint your bedroom. That’s a big project…one that would be easy to procrastinate on. But if we think through it, this could be broken up into multiple, physical actions.
- pick a color to paint bedroom
- put together a list of painting supplies
- check garage to see what supplies you already have
- go to the hardware store and buy supplies you don’t have (or order them online)
- move all bedroom furniture away from walls
- tape all edges in bedroom using painter's tape (windows, framing, molding, etc.)
- paint bedroom (you could even break this down into painting small chunks at a time)
- remove painters tape from all edges
- store all paint supplies in garage
- wait for paint to dry
- move bedroom furniture back against wall
Phew, that’s quite a list! But now that we have things broken out into individual, physical actions, it’s way easier to commit to working on just one without procrastinating. Picking a color, or making 1 trip to the hardware store at one time is much easier to commit to than trying to do all of this at once. You can do one action today, then another tomorrow, and then another this weekend. You’re making progress on your larger project. Congratulations, you just beat procrastination!
Practice Creative Procrastination
Sometimes the answer to procrastination is…procrastination!
Yep, you read that correctly! But before you report this post for lunacy, let me explain...
In his book Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy focusses on the idea that the things you have to do are like eating frogs...a not so enjoyable experience. His argument being that you already have to eat...so it's better to eat 1 big frog once, than it is to eat a bunch of small frogs.
This is, of course, an analogy for doing the 1 big thing you need to do, instead of a bunch of small, less impactful things.
I bring this up because in the book, he describes a practice called "Creative Procrastination", which is the idea of procrastinating on activities that have low-value in favor for prioritizing another activity that has high-value.
You're already procrastinating...so why not procrastinate on the things that matter less?
A good way to think about this is to ask yourself, "If I didn't do this thing today, what consequence would there be?" If the answer is nothing, or very little, then that's a prime candidate for something you could push off doing so you can focus on other activities that have a larger, more impactful consequence.
The Procrastination-Free You
By understanding why we procrastinate and arming ourselves with these techniques, we can start to break free from the procrastination cycle. Remember, it's not about being perfect; it's about making progress, one 15-minute chunk at a time.
So, the next time you find yourself scrolling through social media instead of tackling that important project, remember these tips. You've got this! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a frog to eat. (Metaphorically speaking, of course!)
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Jake Lundberg
Jake Lundberg | Sciencx (2025-03-31T12:27:53+00:00) Transforming Procrastination into Progress: A Practical Approach. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/03/31/transforming-procrastination-into-progress-a-practical-approach/
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