Procrastination - Tips, please, on how to get stuck in.

Pyxis

I've been putting off writing this thread for ages.

Here's the thing - I have a pencil with a badge on the end which reads:-
'I would be unstoppable, if only I could get started!'

That sums it up.

Paradoxically, I am a very methodical person, once I start a project or task.
It's the STARTING thing that eludes me.

I find it's a bit easier to start practical jobs, (but even they can be a problem), but the WORST thing of all is PAPERWORK. CAN I get started? Noooo. Even when I must, must, must, say due to a deadline, get a piece of paperwork done, I find it 'necessary' to clear this away first, or just sort that next, and before I know it, half the day's gone, and then 'it's not worth doing that now, as I've got to go out in an hour'.


Does anyone have any tips for overcoming this, or has anyone beaten the problem themselves? Is there a PA (Procrastinators Anonymous) I could join?

shop-to-drop

I struggle with this too and sincerely hope you get some proper practical and emotional advice on this thread and will be watching hoping it helps me too. However, in general I find similar threads (for instance the flylady thread) end up just being full of posts of those congratulating themselves on long lists of tasks achieved. I find these intimidating and have a negative effect on me rather than positive.

It would be great though if this thread truly ends up being about overcoming procrastination like the OP asks. Good Luck OP

Yorkie1

I do have a long list of tasks at work, with deadlines next to them. This helps me to prioritise, although I do need to be careful not to spend too much time looking at the list / rearranging it instead of getting started, just like you!

Have you worked out what might be behind the inability to get started? Are you a perfectionist, for example, and fear getting it wrong?

At home, I often find I enjoy things once I get going (e.g. I need to sow some seeds right now, and will enjoy doing so in the sun, but am still on this laptop nevertheless ... ). I will give myself a deadline of time when I will get off the machine and do the other things instead.

Also, set a reward for small steps. e.g. when I have painted this wall, I will have a chocolate biscuit.

emg

I'm a great believer in the 'you can do anything for 15mins' mantra that came from Flylady. I'm really poor at getting started with things - partly because once I have started I want to get to the end and if the end is not in sight then I am reluctant to commit to starting (does that make sense?!)

I have tried to break the habit by telling myself I will only do something for 15 mins. That helps me start and then I often end up staying on task much longer than 15mins anyway but something about giving myself permission to stop helps me get started. Sometimes I set little targets around other numbers, for example, I hate washing up so I often think 'I'll just wash 5 things'. Inevitably once I do those I end up doing the rest.

FBaby

I tend to procrastinate more than I should, that's because I think too much about things. I start thinking how long it is going to take, when I can fit it in,what I need to do to prepare it, and then the task looks so overwhelming, it starts to make me feel anxious and put if off, whilst still feeling anxious because it's not done. It can go on for some time, until I have no choice but to do it, and inevitably, realise then that it wasn't half as demanding as I expected and that in all the time I spent thinking about it and worrying, I could have got it done and get it over with.

The way I deal with it is remind myself of such examples and how I have the choice between doing it now and get it over with, or do as before, waste time worrying about getting it done.

double_mummy

YUP YUP YUP THIS IS ME!!!!

I have loads to do and I have managed to get most of it done except for this assignment for college It is the last bit in a course that sounded great but hasn't turned out to be at all interesting.

The deadline is ages away (end of june) normally I would have handed it in by now but I just cant seem to get going. last night I got everything out and ended up watching dangerous minds. kids are playing in the garden and all i've managed to do is write the first line then i had to pop to the shops (twice I forgot the milk) hang some washing up just about anything rather than get on with it

Seanymph

Everyone one on here sounds like they procrastinate less than I do...

I am awful for putting off things I think will be tricksy or difficult. Especially at work. Often they are much easier when I actually get around to them, but I can spend months with something on the to do list.

And my house is in a pickle - and is always in a pickle, because I don't know where to start. ever.

So, I'm up for good tips too!

I can 'see' 100 things to do and get on with in the morning, but by about 5 o'clock I can't seem to see anything that needs doing.... or that I want to do anyway.

Pyxis

emg wrote: »

I'm really poor at getting started with things - partly because once I have started I want to get to the end and if the end is not in sight then I am reluctant to commit to starting (does that make sense?!)
I have tried to break the habit by telling myself I will only do something for 15 mins. That helps me start and then I often end up staying on task much longer.

FBaby wrote: »

I tend to procrastinate more than I should, that's because I think too much about things. I start thinking how long it is going to take, when I can fit it in,what I need to do to prepare it, and then the task looks so overwhelming.
The way I deal with it is remind myself of such examples and how I have the choice between doing it now and get it over with, or do as before, waste time worrying about getting it done.

double_mummy wrote: »

YUP YUP YUP THIS IS ME!!!!
I just cant seem to get going. last night I got everything out and ended up watching dangerous minds. kids are playing in the garden and all i've managed to do is write the first line

There are elements of all these things, and the 15 min rule, only do 5 things, etc. are useful. 'Chunking'.

Double mummy's comment, (which I accidentally edited out, sorry), about the course turning out to be uninteresting, is also a factor; a lot of the paperwork is, for me, very uninteresting, at least in the short term.

Emg talked about the end not being in sight, so the job looks too large to start. That's true, too, and I suppose chunking is the answer to that as well. However, when the job appears uninspiring, even chunking becomes an uphill struggle!

Georgiegirl256

FBaby wrote: »

I tend to procrastinate more than I should, that's because I think too much about things. I start thinking how long it is going to take, when I can fit it in,what I need to do to prepare it, and then the task looks so overwhelming, it starts to make me feel anxious and put if off, whilst still feeling anxious because it's not done. It can go on for some time, until I have no choice but to do it, and inevitably, realise then that it wasn't half as demanding as I expected and that in all the time I spent thinking about it and worrying, I could have got it done and get it other with.

You've just described me down to a tee. I think I build jobs up to be bigger than they are.

I find I usually work better under pressure, either that or I've left things until the last minute and they need to be done there and then!

Buzzybee90

I openly admit I never finished a piece of work at uni until the night (or morning!) before I handed it in. I did finish my diss with one day to spare but that was so I could bind it. I need the pressure, it helps me work. This doesn't mean I started it at the last min, I just couldn't finish it!

The idea of handing something in early horrified me.

So I'm not much help, unless you fake the situation in in order to drum up some 'pressure'

marisco_2

I'm of the mind set that procrastinating can sometimes be a good thing. Putting something off for a bit, gives you chance to mull things over. Better than rushing in, in an attempt to just get something done and out the way, only to not be completely satisfied with the end result. Yes the dread of getting started, and how you will go about completing something, can feel tedious and annoying. However there is nothing wrong with a few false starts to a task. Each time you attempt it and then give up, could mean that the approach you were going to take isn't quite right for you.

I tend to find that eventually I am ready to do something, and it ends up not being anywhere near as hard or taxing as I imagined it to be. Breaking an activity down into manageable chunks helps. Or setting a time limit on how long you will spend on it, can leave you feeling like you have accomplished something in a good time period. As an example I try to unload the dishwasher and reload it while my kids are watching a cartoon.