How to Stop Procrastinating

by S J Scott

Well, you can do this by building five practices into your routine.

  Practice #1: Say No as Early and Politely as Possible

  Be up-front with people about their requests. If you know you can’t follow through on a task, then be firm and tell them right away.

  Honesty really is the best policy here. Simply tell the person that you have a few priority projects that require your full attention and you can’t afford the distraction. Usually, most people will understand the need to focus on the priority tasks.

  Try to end the conversation on a positive note. If you can’t help the person, recommend someone who can. If you know of a helpful resource, offer that as an alternative. And if you think that you might grant the request sometime in the future, then ask the person to follow up on a specific date.

  Saying no doesn’t make you a selfish person. It makes you someone who clearly understands what’s important. By having clear goals, you don’t allow the demands of others to distract you from completing important projects.

  Practice #2: Identify the Mandatory Tasks

  We all have obligations that aren’t always fun but still need to be completed because they’re a vital part of being a normal, well-adjusted adult. In other words, if you say no to every request for your time, you probably won’t get very far in life.

  We all have things that must be done, so you might as a well accept that you have to do things, no matter how much you don’t like them.

  My only advice is to relate each task to one of the five core projects that you’ve previously identified.

  For instance, let’s say you hate doing the dishes. It’s an annoying task that eats into your schedule and sometimes you’re too tired to worry about a few dishes in the sink. On the other hand, if being part of a harmonious marriage is an important goal, then you can view the dishes as an important part of the relationship because you’re doing something that makes your spouse happy.

  Now, don’t worry if you find yourself procrastinating on these mandatory tasks. In Step #6, I will detail 14 practices on how to take consistent action—even when completing a specific task is something that you’ve been dreading.

  Practice #3: Compare Each Request to Your Current Projects

  As the German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke once said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”

  The lesson that I take from this quote is while it’s easy to mentally commit to only five projects, it’s a whole other challenge to stay the course when you discover new opportunities or receive requests for your time from the people in your life.

  That’s why I highly recommend taking a few minutes whenever there’s a request for your time to compare it against your current priorities and projects.

  You’ve already identified what’s important to you, so when you get a request to do something, compare it to your desired outcomes. If they don’t match, then have the courage to say no to the requester.

  Here’s a simple three-part process to quickly evaluate any request for your time:

  Compare the new opportunity to your current list of five projects. Is there an existing project that’s not as important as the new one? If so, ask yourself what the worst-case scenario would be if you removed it from your life or put it on hold.

  Figure out the reason why you might be interested in replacing one of your existing projects. Is it because you’ve hit a challenging obstacle? Are you worried that you’ll make a mistake? Have you been frustrated at the lack of visible results? Are you bored with it?These are vital questions to ask because sometimes our desire to start something new comes from a fear of confronting a major obstacle. It’s okay to eliminate existing goals and projects—just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

  If you can’t replace an old project but you still want to work on the new one, then figure what can be eliminated from your life. Perhaps you might be willing to reduce your TV time by an hour or two every day, or maybe you can decrease the time spent on your favorite hobby.The one thing to keep in mind is that when you add new projects, that extra time has to come from somewhere. So, if you want to add a new focus, you’ll need to sacrifice time that’s dedicated to something else.

  Your life will always be filled with requests for your time. This is especially true as you build your career and your time becomes more sought after. That’s when you need to know what’s truly important to you and what’s not. If you fail to create firm boundaries in your life, then your free time will be chipped away by a constant litany of requests.

  Practice #4: Talk to Your Boss about Your Top Projects

  While it sounds nice on paper to focus only on projects related to your goals, sometimes you need to face the situation and work on tasks that you might not enjoy.

  Obviously, you can’t say no to your boss and expect to remain gainfully employed for very long. But if you feel overwhelmed at your job because you have dozens of tasks, you might need to have a candid conversation to relieve some of your job pressures. Here are four strategies for talking to your boss to make sure you’re working on the crucial projects that are truly important for the business for which you work:

  Do your homework ahead of time. Identify the two or three regular tasks that provide the biggest impact on the company’s bottom line. These should be the activities that you’re getting paid to complete. Next, identify the regular tasks that get in the way of these core activities. Ideally, these should be tasks that could be delegated or simply eliminated from your day.

  Schedule a time with your boss and briefly mention the reason why you want to meet. This will give her the opportunity to prepare for the meeting and provide helpful feedback. This advance notice is important because you don’t want your boss to feel like you’re throwing something at her that requires an immediate decision.

  Start the conversation by admitting that you’ve been struggling to keep up with your work projects. Talk about the two or three high-leverage tasks that you’ve identified ahead of time as being important. Ask your boss if she agrees that these are your priorities. If not, then ask her what she would consider to be important your job. Keep asking questions and probing until you both can come to an agreement on what you should focus on daily.

  Talk about how certain projects and random tasks hinder your ability to focus on these critical tasks. Usually the biggest culprits are meetings, email, and random disruptions. Sure, they might often seem urgent, but they often can turn into time-sucking tasks that cause you to procrastinate on the activities that are truly important.The key to the effectiveness of this step is to not complain about being overworked but to provide solutions on how to fix this issue. These suggestions can include skipping meetings that aren’t directly related to your core two or three tasks; eliminating the tasks that don’t directly align with your priorities; delegating certain responsibilities that don’t align with your core tasks to team members or subordinates; requesting a temporary worker or new employee to lighten the load; and doing certain tasks on a less frequent basis (e.g., weekly instead of daily or monthly instead of weekly).

  Sure, going to your boss and admitting that you can’t do it all might seem like a scary conversation. But what you’re doing is trying to realign your time so you can focus on the activities that generate the biggest profit for the company. If you can show that eliminating the unimportant leads to an increase in productivity, the conversation should be an easy decision when it comes to getting what you want.

  Practice #5: Ask Yourself, “What Will My Obituary Say?”

  It’s easy to say no if you constantly think about the important things in your life. One way to do this is to imagine what will be written in your obituary.

  Think of the words in your mind right now. Would you prefer a description that talks about positive things, like how you were a loving parent, great spouse, world traveler, active member of your religious community, and s
omeone who loved life? Or would you choose an obituary that describes how you said yes to every project, worked late at night, and always chose your career over your personal goals?

  Hopefully, you picked the first option—I know that’s the description that I would prefer.

  When you align yourself with your goals and consistently say no to anything that doesn’t match your current focus, you’ll free up time to focus on the activities that are worth reading about when you reach the end of your life.

  Those five ways of saying no are firm but don’t require burning bridges with the important people in your life. Once you’ve freed up that extra time, you can create a weekly schedule that focuses on your five core projects, which is what we’ll cover in the next step.

  Exercise #5: Say No to Anything That Doesn’t Match Your Goals

  A simple way to avoid procrastination from happening in the first place is to say no when it comes to any task, project, or obligation that doesn’t perfectly align with the goals that you’ve set for yourself.

  This will help you in three ways:

  You remove the feeling of overwhelm that often happens when you’ve overbooked yourself.

  You stop agreeing to tasks simply because you don’t want disappoint others.

  You eliminate the likelihood that you’ll “tinker” on activities that don’t directly relate to your quarterly goals.

  You can say no by practicing five habits on a consistent basis:

  Say no politely but firmly if you know there’s no chance you’ll follow through on a task. Simply tell the person that you have a few priority projects that require your full attention and you can’t afford the distraction.

  Identify the mandatory tasks that can’t be avoided and attach them to an important goal or value.

  Compare each request for your time to your current five projects. If they don’t match, then have the courage to say no to the requester.

  Talk to your boss about your work projects and make sure that you both agree on the priorities for your job. Then eliminate any task or project that doesn’t align with these priorities.

  Ask yourself, “What will my obituary say?” Make choices based on the values that truly matter.

  Step #5: Plan Your Weekly Schedule

  As you’ve seen so far, one of the philosophies of How to Stop Procrastinating is to identify a few core activities in your life, singularly focus on them, and eliminate everything else. Not only does this remove that feeling of overwhelm but it also frees up your time so you’re not procrastinating on what’s truly important.

  So, the question is: “How do I find time to balance all these projects with my day-to-day responsibilities?”

  It starts by planning your weekly schedule.

  Creating a weekly schedule gives you an opportunity to identify the crucial tasks that you choose to focus on for the next seven days. And it also acts as your first line of defense against those random tasks that could potentially derail your week, causing you to feel overwhelmed.

  Now, the weekly review isn’t about cramming as many activities as possible into your week. Instead, it’s best used to make sure you’re maximizing the time spent on your five core projects.

  To explain what I mean, let’s talk about a popular story that’s been passed around productivity and time-management circles. (The original source of the story is unknown.)

  Big Rocks and How to Focus on What’s Important

  The story starts with a philosophy professor who stood up before his class with a large empty jar. He filled the jar to the top with large rocks and asked his students if they thought it was full.

  The students said that yes, the jar was indeed full.

  He then added small pebbles to the jar, giving the jar a bit of a shake so the pebbles would disperse themselves among the larger rocks.

  “Is the jar full now?”

  The students agreed that the jar was still full.

  The professor then poured sand into the jar to fill up any remaining empty space. The students then agreed that the jar was completely full.

  The professor went on to explain that the jar represents everything that’s in your life.

  The rocks are equivalent to the most important projects and things you have going on, such as spending time with your loved ones and maintaining good health. This means that if the pebbles and the sand were lost, the jar would still be full and your life would still have meaning.

  The pebbles represent the things in your life that matter but that you could live without. The pebbles certainly give your life meaning, such as your job, house, and hobbies, but they aren’t critical for you to have a meaningful life. These things often come and go and are not permanent or essential to your overall well-being.

  Finally, the sand represents the remaining “filler” things in your life and material possessions. These could be small things, such as watching television or running errands. They don’t mean much to your life and are likely only done to waste time or get small tasks accomplished.

  The metaphor here is that if you start by putting sand into the jar, you will not have room for rocks or pebbles. If you spend all your time on the small and insignificant things, you will run out of room for the things that are actually important.

  In order to have a more effective and efficient life, pay attention to the “rocks,” because they are critical to your long-term well-being. These should be activities that allow you to improve your career or your health—activities like spending time with your family, exercising, and keeping in touch with relatives that live far away.

  While you can always find time to work or do chores, it is important to manage the things that really matter first. The rocks are your priorities, while the other things in your life are represented by pebbles and sand.

  The Lesson of the Big Rocks Story

  If you want to be effective in your personal and professional life, it’s best to have only five rocks in the jar at any given time. These rocks may represent working on a project you want to accomplish, spending time with your family, practicing your faith, focusing on your education, or mentoring other people. Your top five big rocks need to go in the jar first, or they will never get in at all.

  If you can identify the important things in your life ahead of time and set aside the time you need to work on them, then in the long run it’s okay to procrastinate on the pebbles.

  That’s why I recommend scheduling your activities with a weekly review and using this schedule as a framework for making those day-to-day decisions about where to focus your efforts.

  Once a week (I prefer Fridays or Sundays), look at the next seven days and schedule the activities you’d like to accomplish. You can do this by completing the five following actions.

  Action #1: Answer Three Questions

  Each weekly review should start with a few minutes of critical thinking about the next seven days. This is the time to mentally review your immediate goals and what deserves your attention. You can do this by answering three basic questions:

  What are my personal obligations?

  What are my priority projects?

  How much time do I have?

  Your responses to these questions are extremely important, because they will determine the amount of time that can be devoted to your goals during the next seven days.

  The lesson here is that you shouldn’t schedule your week with hundreds of activities, which is the quickest path to that feeling of overwhelm. Instead, it’s better to recognize, ahead of time, a realistic amount of time that can be dedicated to your goals and five core projects.

  Action #2: Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your Schedule

  The 80/20 Rule, originally mentioned by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, says that 80% of your results often come from 20% of your efforts. So only a handful of your tasks will produce any sort of measu
rable result.

  This rule can be applied to any industry or business. For example, 80% of revenue is generated by 20% of the salespeople; 80% of complaints come from only 20% of customers; and 80% of highway traffic is funneled through 20% of the roads.

  My point here is that, no matter what tasks and obligations you need to do weekly, there will always be a handful that produce extraordinary results. A few strategies will work well while everything else will be a waste of your time.

  You can apply this to procrastination by structuring your schedule in such a way that you focus only on just the actions that generate a significant result and proactively ignore almost everything else.

  During a weekly review, take a few minutes to carefully consider the answers to these questions:

  What tasks are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?

  What core activities have the biggest impact on my career?

  What experiences produce 80% of my fulfillment and happiness?

  Who are the people that cause 80% of my enjoyment and make me feel truly engaged?

  Who are the 20% of people who cause me to feel angry, unhappy, and unfulfilled?

  What habits make up 80% of my efficiency or effectiveness?

  You don’t have to ask all these questions every week. But they should always be in the back of your mind when you’re creating a weekly schedule. If you get busy, you can simplify everything by asking one simple question: “Does this task help or hinder my ability to work on one of my five goals?”

  Be honest with yourself here. Your time is a finite resource. Every minute spent on a time-wasting activity is one less minute that you have for your goals. If you feel something takes away time from those crucial goals, then avoid doing it at all costs.