Universal Dependencies - English - GUM

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How to Stop Procrastinating

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If you're a chronic procrastinator, you know the pain and stress that comes with putting things off.

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Although you may have the desire to accomplish something, getting the motivation to do it is a different matter.

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Fortunately, overcoming your procrastination is easy to do when you put your mind to it.

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Side note: If you have anything due right now, and you haven't finished it, leave this article and complete that work.

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Steps

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Create a to-do list.

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Yes, make yourself an old fashioned to-do list with check boxes and everything.

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List everything, big and small, that you have to do for your entire day; break big activities into smaller bits if necessary.

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Then, as you work through your day, check off each of the items on your list.

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You will feel a growing sense of pride as you visually monitor your ever-diminishing list of projects.

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Focus your list on including the things you typically put off, not the things you are sure to do on a regular basis.

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If necessary, set time-frames for your items to be done by.

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For example, list “take the dog for a walk by 12:30” rather than simply “walk the dog.”

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Re-evaluate your list halfway through your day to rank your items based on highest priority.

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Then, tackle the most important ones before looking back at the smaller things to do.

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Keep a notebook by hand before you start your workday.

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Write every thought down that comes up during work.

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Every single to do or things you want to do at that specific moment.

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Don't do it, put it on a list and do it later.

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This prevents you from getting into the 'procrastination zone.'

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Finish the hard stuff.

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When you have a looming project that's bogging you down and making you unproductive in other areas, tackle it first.

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Finishing the largest item on your list of things to do will make you feel extra productive and give you the boost to do other things you’ve been pushing to the side.

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If your “big project” is something that can’t be done in one sitting, make a list of small parts of it that you can accomplish today.

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Don’t worry about completing the entire thing, but take steps now so that doing so in the future is a breeze.

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Make an ultimate to-do list for this single project, and have it placed somewhere you will see it on a regular basis.

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As you mark things off, you will be motivated to continue doing so, and seeing it on a regular basis will remind you that your project needs to be done.

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Do two-minute tasks.

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Whenever you are presented with something that you don’t want to do or would consider putting off, ask yourself, “will this take me less than two minutes to finish?”

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For many of us, this includes small chores, like taking out the trash or pulling a few weeds, but can include simple tasks in all areas of life.

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Anything that you want to put off but takes two minutes to do - do it.

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Simply force yourself to use the next 120 seconds to be productive and do the duty you normally would push off for hours or days. [1].

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Create a timed work frenzy.

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If you find yourself being pulled off into the depths of daydreams, set a period of time to do nothing but work.

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Take ten minutes and remove all distractions - your phone, magazines, or thoughts of your attractive love - and go into a working frenzy.

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Force yourself to work productively for ten minutes, and then go back to whatever it was you were doing.

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Chances are, you’ll get into a groove and keep working at a high pace even when your frenzy time is out.

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Working with a timer is generally regarded by most experts as being one of the best ways to develop self-discipline and stop procrastination.

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The most famous method of working to strict time controls (known as time-boxing) involves creating a list of tasks.

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Each task is then assigned an exact amount of time to complete.

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If you don't finish the task in the allotted time, then you move on to the next one.

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Using this work arrangement, it forces you to take action, as you can't afford to waste any time. [2].

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Give yourself a break.

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If you can’t seem to focus and are working half-heartedly at your tasks, give yourself a brief break.

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Set a timer for ten minutes, and take a nap, read a book, or call your friend.

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Do whatever it is you’ve been daydreaming about so that the temptation is removed once you get back to work.

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Just be sure to follow through with your deadline rather than ignoring it when your alarm finally goes off.