5 Ways To Beat Procrastination and Get Shit Done
First of all, don’t save this for later. Read it now.
Previously a self-proclaimed ‘Procrastination Queen’, I understood wanting to get something done, but waiting until the last minute more than anyone, and how it affects many people, and the difficulty in overcoming it.
You don’t put things off because you don’t care. You put them off because the idea of doing it in that moment makes your brain uncomfortable.
The problem was my ‘in the moment’ mindset was becoming a lifestyle, one I didn’t want to identify with any longer. I had shit to do that couldn’t wait. I needed to operate from a different system.
In this article, I’m sharing five real ways to cut to the chase and get moving, interrupt the loop and confront resistance head-on to start doing what moves the needle.
1. Identify the Root Cause
Most people stop at “I’m just a procrastinator”. That's not a reason, or an excuse, it’s a label and labels are used to identify what something is or you are..
There are many reasons why people procrastinate, such as fear of failure, lack of motivation, or feeling overwhelmed.
Start getting specific. Are you procrastinating because:
You don’t know where to start?
Are you overwhelmed by the size of the task?
You’re afraid of doing it wrong?
You secretly feel like you’re not ready or worthy yet?
This is where you have to become radically honest. Because if you keep trying to fix your procrastination without knowing why it’s happening, you’re not getting to the cause.
You could also ask yourself:
What emotion am I trying to avoid by not doing this?
What would happen if I did it imperfectly but consistently?
Am I scared of failure, or success and what it might demand of me?
One example might be, if you're afraid of failing, try changing your perspective of failing and seeing it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Once you identify the emotional block, the task itself becomes far less intimidating.
2. Delay the First Hit of Dopamine
The urge to check your phone first thing in the morning, binge Netflix, scroll on Instagram i your brain trying to soothe with something easier. Dopamine is a chemical messenger, and your brain will always prefer fast and quick wins over deep, delayed rewards.
I recently learnt that the first piece of chocolate that you eat never hits the same as the second because that first rush of dopamine is so intense that nothing can compare.
That means:
Don’t touch your phone for at least 30 minutes after you wake up
Block your go-to distraction sites for your first two hours of working (I leave my online shopping until after work is done)
Put your ‘fun snacks’ somewhere inconvenient so your brain has to work harder to get them.
The first 5-10 minutes of boredom or resistance are the hardest, I still struggle not to check my phone first thing.
But once you push through, you’ll notice momentum starts to kick in. And that’s when your real dopamine begins.
3. Create Your Non-negotiables
Procrastination thrives based on ‘maybe’. When everything is flexible, nothing gets done.
You don’t need a military style routine, you just need a few personal laws that you refuse to fall back on.
Your non-negotiables are the daily or weekly tasks that are concrete in your identity that you don’t even question. They're the bare minimums that build self-trust.
They might look like this:
“Every weekday, I meditate for 10 minutes before I check my phone”
“I always do my top 2 priority tasks before lunchtime”
“I clean my space every Sunday, without fail”
The goal here isn’t perfection. You want to create consistency, and when you do that, you’ll be amazed how much easier it is to beat procrastination when there’s no internal back and forth to be had.
4. Do the Hard Thing First
We all have ‘the thing’, that one thing we never want to do.
You already know what your ‘hard thing’ is. The one task that would make your whole day feel accomplished if you just did it.
But instead, you trick yourself into starting with the easier tasks, I know this all too well. Replying to emails, watching videos about being productive, changing the colour scheme of my website, and doing the busywork.
All dopamine without any direction lol.
Doing the hard things first trains your brain into realising discomfort isn’t something to be feared. Anyway, once the hard part is out of the way, your mental and soulful energy expands
Give this a go:
Pick the one task you’ve been avoiding
Set a timer for 25 minutes
Do the task, nothing but the task at hand
Show yourself that doing the hard things early gives you the freedom to enjoy the rest of your day with less guilt and more momentum.
5. Reward Yourself
Your brain loves cycles.. Rewarding yourself helps reinforce the behaviour, so it’s easier to repeat next time.
This doesn’t necessarily mean diving into TikTok for three hours.
Instead reward yourself in a way that reinforces your new identity as some who gets shit done:
An afternoon in the sun
A delicious snack or iced coffee
Watching the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City after completing your priority tasks
When you pair the action of productivity with reward, it creates an internal ‘win loop’.
Your brain starts to associate discipline with dopamine, and rewires your behaviour from the inside out.
Finally
Procrastination can be fixed. It doesn’t mean you’re broken, it means you're human. Realise this is a pattern you can redesign. You’ll stop managing time and start managing your mind.
Pay it forward
The world only gets better when we share what we know. If something in this article sparked something in you, screenshot your favourite part and share it on Instagram, tag me so I can see what landed with you and repost to the community.
You never know who else needs that exact reminder.
