5 Ways to Avoid Procrastination.

{Collaborative} Procrastination is something that affects all of us, no matter what form it comes in. Perhaps you’re trying to work from home and you just think, hmm… maybe I should mop the floor. Or maybe, you’re at work in the office scrolling through Facebook, thinking about when lunch is going to come around. Whatever form your procrastination comes in, it can seriously affect how much work you can complete during the day, and you can find yourself in a cycle that you just can’t escape.

So how can you avoid it? We’ve noted down five tips here.

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#1: Make lists

If you’re trying to avoid procrastination, making lists is key to your success. Having a to-do-list for the day will get you off to a good start, and you’ll be able to see what you have completed since you began working. Be cautious not to add too much to your lists or they could just cause you to procrastinate further, and be realistic about what you expect from yourself. You’ll soon find that your productivity has increased.

#2: Do the hardest tasks first

A general rule for upping your productivity and finding focus is doing the hardest tasks first. It can be tempting to do the easy stuff when you first begin working (let’s be real here, it’s pretty daunting going headfirst into your to-do-list) but once you’ve got the hard stuff out of the way, the rest of your day will be a breeze, and productivity will come easy to you. If you don’t do this, you’ll be dreading your stressful tasks all morning!

#3: Eat a healthy diet

Whilst it can seem unrelated to productivity, eating a healthy diet will allow you to stay focused and ready to go. A Monday-related chocolate binge will only make you want to go to sleep, so think wisely about those foods that will keep you alert and ready to go. Vitamins and minerals may also help with your overall focus, and researchers have suggested that CBD oil improves mental alertness.

#4: Turn off your phone

One of the worst things for procrastination is social media, and it’s certainly true that most of us have a general desire to play around on our phones instead of working. Whilst you may need your phone around in case of an emergency, delete the social media apps on it or set it to ‘do not disturb’ mode (excluding your close family members). You can go without looking at your phone, and it will help!

#5: Create incentives

Let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier to work when there is some kind of incentive there, whether it’s a bar of chocolate or, you know, money. Remember what you’re going to get out of committing yourself to working hard, and really focus on making sure that you put this centre stage. If this doesn’t work for you, then for every hour of work allow yourself five minutes outside in the garden. It’s not much, but it does help.