Let’s face it—everyone procrastinates in one way or another. Here are 4 Simple Habits to Help You Stop Procrastinating… For Real This Time.

You may have that one thing that you procrastinate on all the time, or someone who infamously procrastinates with everything. No matter what it is that you procrastinate with, breaking this habit can be hard.

According to some studies, about 95% of people procrastinate to one degree or another. For some people, their procrastination habits end up not being all that bad. For others, they can be extremely detrimental. The worst part is, some people aren’t even aware of how much their procrastination can hold them back. 

The good news is, we are here to help.

If you want to stop procrastinating and be more intentional, focused and productive with your time, then the best approach is to start forming some positive habits.

There are a few simple, sustainable and easy-to-adapt habits that you can utilize to help change your life for the better and to help you stop procrastinating.

If you really want to be successful, then stop procrastinating on changing your ways and start working on developing these positive habits.

– Making a List of Things You Don’t Want to Procrastinate On Anymore – 

We all have those things that we are “going to do later” or that list of things you will “definitely get to tomorrow.” If this sounds like you, then start getting in the habit of changing the narrative on these tasks you have to do.

At the beginning of every week make a list of things that you’ve been putting off or procrastinating with. Think of as many things as you can. 

Then, pick at least one thing that you were planning on doing tomorrow, next week or later on down the line. These things don’t have to be big. It can be giving your dog a bath, changing an air filter or updating your passport. It doesn’t matter.

Start your day every day by picking one thing from your list to cross off. This way you are not only making your list of things that you are procrastinating with to cross off your overall list—but you are also getting ahead on things you want to get done, instead of continuing to fall behind.

– Make a Detailed Schedule for Your Day –

Even if you aren’t someone who lives and dies by their day planner, you need to start making a plan for your day every day. Organize your day hour by hour, and don’t just put “working” on it. Make a plan for what you are going to do during that hour, and then when you finish it…cross it off your schedule.

When you can see in writing what you have gotten done that day and what individual tasks you should be getting done that day, it can help you be more accountable for the time you have and will help you stop procrastinating.

No item is too big or too small for your schedule. If you need to schedule in stopping to get gas, put it on the schedule and then cross it off when you are done. Once you get in the habit of doing this, you are going to find it is much easier to stay on top of your schedule and to stop procrastinating and putting things off.

Plus, once you are able to cross something off your list, especially something that you would have normally procrastinated with… it is going to feel great. And you are going to be even more motivated to keep doing things on time so you can finally make procrastination a thing of the past. 

– Go Back Through Your Day –

At the end of the day, before you turn in for the night, spend a few minutes looking back at how you spent your day. Did you find yourself working to complete a task right up to the deadline? Do you have time in your day that is completely unaccounted for? Do you feel like you were productive and got things done in a timely manner?

Take a real look at your day and think about what you procrastinated with, what went wrong and why you lost your focus.

Was it because you were tired? Or did you spend too much time checking social media when you should have been working?

Be honest with yourself. And if you feel like you can’t remember or accurately account for your time, then the next day, write out how you spent your day and what you did during every hour of that day to see where the issues may have come from and where you could improve so you don’t procrastinate as much the next day. 

– Give Yourself a Break – 

Bad habits can be hard to break, and procrastinating on things is one of the most difficult bad habits out there. However, you need to remember to give yourself a break. No one is perfect and a lot of people procrastinate for their own reasons, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Never confuse procrastination with laziness.

Just because you have a habit of putting things off, it doesn’t mean that you are lazy. You need to change this narrative in your head and make sure you aren’t too hard on yourself. You won’t change your habits of procrastinating overnight, but the more diligent you are with working on them—the better your results are going to be.

Just stay positive, stay focused and remember why you are trying to stop procrastinating to begin with.

Are you ready to start changing your life and implementing these habits into your routine? Well, your first test is to see if you can stop procrastinating with these changes and really work to start making some major improvements.

The more you stick with these habits, the more integrated they will become in your life and the better you will be at taking charge and leaving your procrastination habits in the past.