5 Quick and Dirty Anti-Procrastination Tips
Friday, February 20, 2009 by Luke Turcotte 1. Leave the house. Go to a working environment, It it may be the library, coffee shop or a designated study area on campus. Regardless, leave the distractions behind and make it hard to lose focus.
2. Disconnect. Get off Facebook, Twitter and turn off your cell phone. These time sinks are useless, yet the ever updating aspect make them impossible to pull your eyes away from. Most coffee shops make you pay for WiFi, take advantage of this fact. Is Facebook really worth 5 dollars?
3. Isolate. Put on your headphones, put in some ear plugs, listen to white noise. By blocking your hearing, you eliminate a great deal of distractions. The feeling of isolation will help you get your work done.
4. Get dressed. Act like you mean business, if you’re wearing comfy sweats and slippers are you really giving off the productive vibe? Take a shower, do your hair, get dressed for the day, eat breakfast and get in the working mood.
5. Just do it. Don’t set timelines, you and I both know you won’t start that essay in fifteen minutes. Start immediately, the only difference between starting now and in a few minutes is the continuation of the procrastination loop you’ve been in all day. You’ve got work to do, just do it.
Reader Comments (6)
For me number five is definitely the hardest. I could have all the preparation and execute GTD to the max but sometimes the most difficult part is just getting down to work.
I find that number 5 applies to so many things in life. Why wait until next week or even until tomorrow to start eating healthy? Start the next meal you eat, the next piece of food food you put in your in mouth. Same applies to so many things in life.
I like the saying "Just do it", sounds like a Nike. I like the idea of doing the tips so.. Thanks so much.
When I'm trying to meet deadlines, the Internet always kills me. I find myself on stupid websites burning hours watching cat videos on youtube.
Me too, I am doing it right now!
im testing these out for my essay tomorrow!
also i find the only way to actually stop myself from going on facebook, perezhilton, etc is to parental block them on firefox and get a friend to set a password on it..