When you find yourself at work in a state where you become complacent and avoid completing even a simple task, then that is known as procrastination. But no one likes the feeling when things hit them at once because several pending tasks are overdue, and the pressure is overwhelming. So, you need to learn how to stop procrastinating at work.
What Does Procrastination Mean?
Procrastination is an unnecessary act of avoiding what you need to do until it is too late. You procrastinate whenever your demotivating factors become greater than your motivation to carry out a necessary task.
But procrastination is more than simply keeping away from what you are supposed to do. It is not just to avoid completing a task and later you feel guilty about it.
Procrastination is detrimental to your career growth, and can be a contributing factor in getting someone losing their job.
So, when you realize you’re procrastinating, don’t let it become a bigger problem. It is vital you find out the cause and take the necessary actions. The list below will help you learn how to stop procrastinating.
Here is How You Can Stop Procrastination at Work
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1. Make Use of Time Blocker
To stop procrastinating at work, set a 1-hour time blocker several times each day so that you stay focused. Time blocking means dividing your day into blocks of time during which, certain tasks need to be completed. You can use your time to work on an important task.
However, if you are unable to focus for one hour, it is okay to start with thirty minutes. Over time, you will learn that you have started to break your procrastination habit.
2. Know When and Why You Are Procrastinating
To solve a problem, you must admit that it exists. Therefore, to prevent procrastination, you must know when you are doing it. Unless you do that, you can spend the whole day staying away from work that you are supposed to be doing.
There is nothing to feel bad about since many people out there are also struggling to stop procrastination at work.
Also, there are several reasons for procrastinating at work. Maybe you are bored, seeking perfection, overworked, or lacking challenge. Regardless of the reason, you must stop procrastinating. But it is good progress if you can identify the reason you are procrastinating.
3. Change Your Environment
Various environments have different impacts on our overall productivity. Look at your working room and desk and figure out what needs to be changed. Even as you struggle to stop procrastinating, if you have the wrong working environment, you will feel exhausted and sleepy.
Also, it is important to know that a surrounding that makes you feel inspired today might have a different impact after a few days or weeks. Therefore, you need to change your environment periodically to make your procrastination problem go away.
Related: How to Manage Workload Effectively with Conflicting Deadlines
4. Create Time for Breaks
Though you are fighting to eliminate your procrastination problem, this does not mean you should abstain from breaks. To ensure that you don’t procrastinate, you must take short breaks from work so that you feel energized.
It is not healthy to focus on a single task for too long since that would burn you out. Therefore, plan breaks at regular intervals and make sure that you have enough rest and you won’t have to procrastinate at work.
5. Reassess Your Day Regularly
Make it a habit to assess your work periodically to find out what you have accomplished and what you haven’t. As you work throughout the day, keep checking your to-do-list, and ensure that you are on top of things.
Doing that will prevent you from procrastinating on even the simplest tasks that only need a few minutes to complete.
6. Get Inspiration from High Performers
If you spend your free time talking with someone who is high performing in your workplace, you will be inspired to be like the person. The individuals you spend time with can greatly influence your productivity levels.
Therefore, to deal with procrastination at the workplace, you need to keep yourself around people that make you feel inspired.
7. Break-up the Tasks
People also procrastinate when they take on some difficult and bigger tasks. However, it is a bit easier to complete a bigger task when you break it into smaller parts. Make each part a goal you must achieve before moving on to the next one.
You can still get that drifting feeling of taking things easy if the tasks are not divided equally to allow you to achieve each goal. There are many other ways to stop procrastination, but this one is the easiest to apply.
8. Leave the Comfort Zone
One of the major causes of procrastination at work is the comfort zone. When people feel more comfortable within their work environment, they tend to become complacent.
To work in a familiar environment for so long, you end up developing a complacent attitude. Complacency encourages people to do a bare minimum.
Therefore, the best solution to this problem is to keep stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone. One way of overcoming complacency is by setting challenging goals and pushing yourself to achieve them. After some time, you will grow beyond your natural limits and enhance your productivity.
9. Re-visit Your Goals
Goals are supposed to keep you inspired and motivated. Thus, to overcome procrastination at work, it is important that you re-visit your goals periodically.
If you clearly understand your goals and that they inspire you, it becomes easier to overcome procrastination at work. If your goals don’t inspire you, then you might want to consider changing them.
10. Know Why You Need to Get the Work Done
It is vital that you know what is your job all about. And, try to understand why you are given that job. Think about what might happen if you don’t get the work done on time. For instance, procrastination at the workplace might get you dismissed due to incompetence and end up with a bad reputation.
11. Seek Regular Feedback
Procrastination is a habit that affects your performance at work. However, many people who procrastinate, don’t consider the habit as a problem they need to break. Therefore, receiving regular feedback is so important in dealing with your unknown habits in the workplace.
Having regular conversations with your peers and manager can make you improve your overall performance. So, once you receive useful feedback, come up with an action plan that will help you to stop procrastinating at work.
12. Just Act
If you want to stop procrastinating, just get something that you need to do and start working on it. Despite the amount of work waiting, you can do things bit by bit while making progress.
Therefore, stop procrastinating and look at the work you have at hand and start somewhere. If you feel stuck on any task, talk to your line manager or team members so that you get support.
13. Strict Time Management
No matter what job it is, you need to be responsible and accountable for the results of the work you do. So, make sure you understand what needs to be done at a given time. And when you get down to work, close all disruptive things around you including your phone to avoid unnecessary distractions.
Most people don’t know how to manage their time and prioritizing tasks. To overcome that, create a meaningful work schedule with clear timelines and follow it strictly throughout the day so that you don’t procrastinate.
14. Make a Declaration
Now that you know your procrastination habits, it is vital that learn how to break them. One way to prevent procrastination at work is by setting yourself deadlines and then tell everyone that you will get the job done.
Let everyone know that though you procrastinate, you will do everything possible to get the job done on time. You should also tell your peers about the objectives you have in place and let them know that you might need their support at some point.
15. Don’t Complicate Things
People procrastinate trying to do a perfect job. It is not possible to achieve perfection all the time. And, most of the time it is only an adequate job that is required. It is not right to complicate things when you are already doing a high job.
Being a perfectionist is desirable, but not when it is holding you to do what is needed. So, stop doing unnecessary things and focus on the pending work.
The Bottom Line
If you have been to know how to stop procrastinating at work, we hope that this article helps you get through the predicament. Make sure that you remain productive despite the challenges you might be faced with.
If you feel overwhelmed, try talking to your line manager and team members for support. However, the information in this piece would suffice if you are looking to learn how to stop procrastination at work.