Justin Welsh - How to Stop Procrastinating
by Joe · 39 things on NewTwos
- Identify the root cause:
- There's a reason you're putting things off
- It could be...
- A lack of motivation
- No clear goals
- No resources
- Missing confidence
- You need to start by being honest with yourself so you can figure it out and address it directly
- Set SMART Goals
- Specific: What, specifically, do I want to accomplish?
- Measurable: Quantify what success looks like
- Achievable: Is this reasonable?
- Relevant: Why am I setting this goal?
- Time-bound: What's my time horizon to finish?
- Break down goals into small tasks
- Big goals can be overwhelming
- Small tasks make things much easier
- Create a schedule (and stick to it)
- Everyone has times of the day when they are more productive than others
- Figure out when you are more creative and schedule your tasks for those times
- Eliminate distractions
- Put your phone and computer on Do Not Disturb
- Get rid of all push notifications while you're at it
- Close all social media tabs
- Shut the door to your office, throw on headphones, and lo-fi beats (or white noise)
- Get organized
- If possible, sit down at a clean desk in a minimal workspace
- Get rid of unnecessary piles of junk, snacks, or messy papers
- Just your computer and the tools you need to complete your tasks
- Use time-management techniques
- Get yourself a pomodoro timer
- 25-minutes of deep task completion followed by a 5-minute break
- As you complete your tasks, you move closer to your goals.
- As you reach your goals, you become even more rigid in how you spend your time.
- When you become rigid about how you spend your time, you stop procrastinating.
- Congrats. You've done it.
- Follow Justin Welsh on Twitter for more