Procrastinating means putting off something you know you need to do. Almost everyone does it, and most people feel bad about it. The good news is that it's rarely about time or willpower. It's usually about how the task feels when you think about starting it. Here are seven things that help.
1. Make the first step tiny
Can't face the tax return? Open the folder and find last year's form, and call that today's whole job. A big task feels heavy because your mind sees all of it at once. A tiny first step is easy to say yes to, and once you've started, carrying on is much easier than starting was.
2. Write down exactly what the next step is
"Sort the car" is hard to start because it doesn't tell you what to do. "Phone the garage and ask what the MOT costs" is easy, because you know exactly what to do first. If a task on your to-do list has sat there for a week, rewrite it as the very next thing you'd physically do.
3. Pick a time, not just a day
"I'll do it on Tuesday" leaves you deciding all through Tuesday, and it's easy to keep saying "later". Pick a time and a place instead, like "Tuesday at nine, before I open my emails". Then there's nothing left to decide when the time comes.
4. Do the hardest thing first
The thing you're dreading gets heavier every hour you carry it. Do it first, while you still have the most energy and before the day fills up. Everything after it will feel lighter.
5. Keep today to three things
A long to-do list makes everything feel urgent at once, so it's hard to start anything. Choose up to three things for today and leave the rest for another day. Three is a number you can actually finish, so you end the day feeling you've done well instead of behind.
6. Ask what part of the task feels bad
Usually it isn't the whole task you're avoiding. It's one phone call, one awkward email, or one decision you don't want to make. Ask yourself which part feels bad and do that part first, or make it smaller. Once that part is done, the rest of the task is usually easy.
7. Move the things that are waiting on other people
If a task is stuck because someone hasn't replied, you aren't procrastinating. You're waiting. Put those tasks on a separate list with the date you asked, and send a short follow-up when it's been too long. Your own list then only holds things you can actually do.
What if you've already lost the morning?
Don't try to make up for it with a huge afternoon. Set a timer for ten minutes and work on the first step of one thing. Ten minutes is short enough to start, and that's often all you need to get going again.
Be kind to yourself
Telling yourself off makes the task feel even worse, which makes you put it off for longer. Treat yourself like you'd treat a friend who's stuck. Ask what would make it easier, then do that.