Ultimate & Short Guide to Stop Procrastinating
Tags: discuss, productivity, career, motivation
Published: 2019-07-14 11:06:09

---
title: Ultimate & Short Guide to Stop Procrastinating
published: true
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/ywfaufdjlutw1qi2xpjt.jpg
description: A few years ago, I wanted to do so much, but I just didn't. Instead, I did that thing called procrastination.
tags: discuss, productivity, career, motivation
---

A few years ago, I wanted to do so much, but I just didn't. Instead, I did that thing called procrastination.

Otherwise known as “making excuses to do the easy things that won’t help me progress in life and then eventually having to do the thing I put off and feeling sorry for myself.”

I used to do this all the time on everything in my life.

But I turned that around, and in this post, I will share with you the practical ways how you can finally stop procrastinating.

**"Life is about being happy, and to be happy, we have to be progressing."**

So that's the thing...

I have learned that in life, there are going to be things we really don’t want to be doing, but we will eventually have to get them done either way around, and I understood that procrastination is the enemy of success. We can never use our time effectively to give us 100% in any field with procrastination. But it's possible to learn how to overcome procrastination.

**So what can you do when you are tempted to procrastinate?**

## 1. The best way to get something done is to begin

When you get any task or anything, just start to count from 5 to 1 like 5...4...3...2...1 and bang! Get up and do that task, don't think much.

## 2. Set deadlines

Without a deadline, you will never be going to accomplish any task. When you start any task keep a reasonable deadline time and try to finish that task by that time.

## 3. Divide and conquer

If the task looks big and you are afraid of the complexity, break it into small tasks and do it one by one. So when you finish the task you will gain confidence, empowerment, and happiness.

## 4. Manage your time

Arrange your tasks by efficiency and order of importance, so that you won’t have to think them through each time, you find a small-time slot available.

## 5. Think deeply about all the reasons why you could benefit by getting it done today

Will you have more spare time to engage in a fun activity this weekend? If you knock this item off your to-do list now, will you be able to work on your passion project tonight?.

## 6. Award yourself

I love tasty food. Even it's not that healthy. So whenever I finish a task without procrastinating, I award myself with some sweets, for example. And you can do the same.

## 7. Announce your plan

Tell somebody that you are going to finish some particular task in some defined time. So that you will complete the task without fail.

## 8. Don't multitask

When you pick up any task, take action on it, and set it aside when you’re finished.

By doing these actions, you will know exactly where you are and what you need to do at every step. You will continuously build on your successes and increase your confidence as you attack increasingly bigger tasks. As you will see yourself succeeding, your motivation will increase, causing you to work even harder. One success breeds another, and it all starts with the first step.

**Thank you for reading!** 🙏

P.S. Is there a specific struggle with procrastination you need help with? What have you tried in the past to solve this? Reply in the comments below!

If you want to find more information about which techniques will help you deal with procrastination, read [my upcoming newsletter (+bonus networking cheat sheet)](https://www.ilonacodes.com/networking-cheat-sheet/).

You can also **say "Hi"** 👋 on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ilonacodes)

Code your best life!
Cheers, ilonacodes

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_Photo by Pixabay from Pexels_