5 Lifestyle Changes to Combat Procrastination

3 min readApr 9, 2022

We all experience procrastination at some point.

The feeling of knowing you ought to get some work done but being unable to do so, and so you fool around right up until the last minute, when stress and pressure force you to finish the job; or in even worse case scenarios, the job never gets done.

As you procrastinate, there is always a reminder in the back of your mind that you should be working, so you can never really relax.

While procrastination can be challenging to overcome, you have a great chance of reducing or eliminating it if you formulate a proper plan of action and follow through with it.

The following tips will help you overcome that overwhelming task you’ve been putting off:

1. Realization is the first step

The reason you have put off a task might be that you have re-prioritized your workload. In the case of genuinely good reasons for delaying a critical job, you are not necessarily procrastinating. If you can’t seem to make yourself do something, or if you keep putting things off indefinitely, then it’s almost sure that you are.
The real reason for procrastination is much more complex than that and has to do with the cognitive mechanisms we employ to self-regulate our behavior to bring ourselves to act in our best interest.

2. Just get to work

You might try forcing yourself to start and to take the first step.
It is always challenging to take the first step. Once you get going, it gets much more accessible.
Consequently, you can try mobilizing every ounce of discipline you have and pushing yourself hard to take the first step. You might be surprised by the results.

3. As you recover, do other, more manageable tasks

Motivate yourself to complete other necessary tasks by using procrastination. The only important thing is that you do not waste time on stupid things but rather check off other work on your to-do list that is currently marked as critical. With more pressure on you to complete the procrastinated task as the deadline nears, you’re more likely to do it. Rather than fighting procrastination, do more important things.

4. Use Timeboxing

You allocate specific blocks of time, called “timeboxes,” to the activities you want to carry out or tasks you need to accomplish. Consider scheduling a 30-minute timebox for a job you keep procrastinating on that will take just a few minutes to complete in the evening.

5. Let It Go

The majority of people have way too many things on their To-Do list. Quite simply, if you decide you will never do something, you will stop procrastinating.
What can you eliminate from your to-do list? It’s okay to cross something off your list simply because you realize you don’t need to do it. Be okay with letting something go.

The right productivity tactics result in a sustainable system. Work in intervals creates urgency; accountability will create responsibility; exercising and eating healthy will give you more energy. This is the ultimate hack for productivity!

If you lack an inner drive, no system will help you. If you lack an internal drive, no system will help you. Ask yourself why you do what you do. Your task becomes meaningful.

For more topics of this kind to ponder upon, check out my podcast, Figuring Out.