Stop Procrastinating: 9 Quick Tips to Adopt the ‘Now’ Habit

Glen / 25 Comments / March 12th, 2009 / Subscribe via RSS

Did you know that over 100,000 people every single month go to one of the major search engines, like Google, for help on how to stop procrastinating? Hundreds of thousands of people need help in order to just do something.

Procrastination isn’t even about not knowing what to do next; it’s simply putting off what we have to do and leaving it till later. I used to put things off on a daily basis, but now that I’m working from home I simply make a plan, look at what I have to do and get to work. It hasn’t always been this easy though…

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There we times when I would put tasks off for days or simply not do them. Coincidentally, those were the times when I was making the least money and making the least progress. Things have changed though and I’ve found myself getting a lot done on a daily basis.

Today I would like to share nine quick tips that should help you get into the habit of doing things now, and actually getting them done, rather than ignoring actions you need to take.

1. Focus on the Current Step – The more you zoom out of a goal, the bigger it gets. Growing a blog to getting 10,000 subscribers might seem like a huge goal, and it is, but thoughts like that can put you off starting in the first place. Instead, focus on what you have to do next, maybe write another article, and go from there.
2. Use Task List Software – I like to have an overview of what tasks I need to complete in order to get closer to achieving my goals. For this I use ToDoIst, and what I like most is that there’s a sense of accomplishment once you get to cross off all tasks for the day.
3. Put Things into Perspective – Do you know how truly lucky you are to be in a position where you can have goals, work towards them, and actually achieve them. If you aren’t grateful for your current position then it’s no surprise that you’re happy to waste time. Put things into perspective and just go for the things you want.
4. See How Quickly You Can Do Something – I like to add a little fun into my day when I’m finding it hard to stay productive, so I time myself to do certain tasks. How quickly can I build this website? How quickly can I clear my inbox? Give it a try, it’s fun and highly efficient, just don’t substitute quality for speed.
5. Take Responsibility for Yourself – I imagine that most of you reading this are at an age where you should be taking responsibility for yourself. Only you can make things happen; only you can complete certain tasks and only you can achieve your goals. Take responsibility for your current life situation and the actions necessary to change your situation into one you would prefer.
6. Eliminate All Distractions – At times I’ve went as far as blocking myself from my favourite websites, just in order to literally force myself to stay focused on a certain task. Whether it is outside noise, websites or even your friends, eliminate as many distractions as possible in order to help you get things done.
7. Hold Yourself Accountable – A great way to stay focused on something is to know that others are expecting you to complete it and they want to see results. One goal I blogged about having is gaining weight, and I want to be able to post my progress in a few months to show people that I’ve stuck to my plans. (So far, I’ve gained 6lbs)
8. Keep the End Goal in Mind – At the end of the day, most tasks are there to lead up to something bigger, and if it helps, that should be your main focus. If you want to make money online, then keep a vision in your mind, being able to work from anywhere, while doing less than enjoyable tasks.
9. Be Completely At Peace in the Moment – If you’re constantly dreaming of the future or fretting about the past, you’re never going to get into the right mindset to work on the task at hand. Take some deep breaths, be grateful for your current situation and realise that nothing else truly matters this very second.

Bonus Tip

I always like to over deliver and offer examples, so my bonus tip is this: look at past successes. Last week I was putting off building a website in a niche that I knew was doing well online, but I just “couldn’t be bothered” to build a brand new website.

Needless to say, I eventually got around to doing it, and in its first 11 days I’ve made $561, and the day isn’t even finished yet. This is just one website, on one ad network, that took me around 4 hours to put together. And best of all, it should make me money for many months to come.

Now, knowing I can do this in one niche, do you think I’m really going to procrastinate about building websites in other niches in the future? Definitely not.

Look at other successes you’ve had in life where you just got things done and you receive the results for doing so. Then, use these as your motivation.