How to Kick Procrastination to the Curb

I used to be a procrastinator with a capital P. I would justify it by telling myself that I work better under pressure, or that my creativity was at its peak when I was facing a tight deadline. But the truth is that I don’t enjoy rushing at the last minute, nor pulling off all-nighters to get my work caught up. I’ve come to the realization that in order to run a business and manage our home, I needed to have some form of discipline and set boundaries for myself.

Is it challenging? Yes. Working ahead is not something that comes natural to me. I’m a perfectionist, so I take a long time on projects because I second guess my choices. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it can make it difficult to move forward. So how did I overcome my procrastinating ways? Here’s a few steps that have helped me:

How to Kick Procrastination to the Curb

Set goals

This simple step has made a huge difference for me. I write down weekly goals that fall under home or business categories. These are tasks I want to accomplish for the week, and I always break them down further. I want my goals to be very specific and actionable, so that it gives me something to work towards.

Schedule it

I find that when I write things down in my planner, I have a higher probability of getting it done. Not sure why this is, but it works. I also tend to forget stuff easily, so writing it down serves as a reminder of what I need to work on.

Brain dump

I manage this blog, oversee campaigns for a blogger network, and homeschool my son while keeping up with daily household duties. I have to take time to dump all of thoughts and ideas on paper. Putting my thoughts on paper enables me to clear my head, and move on. It also serves as a starting point when it’s time to schedule my weekly goals.

Outsource

If you find that a task mentally or physically drains you, find someone to outsource it to. Why? Because you’ll wind up wasting more time trying to complete it yourself, and in turn “spend” more money. I much rather focus my efforts on tasks I’m good at and enjoy. This was hard for me since I like to take care of things myself, but I quickly learned that it’s impossible to do it all and do it well.

Are you a procrastinator? Or are you always a step ahead? I’d love to hear your thoughts and tips!