3 Effective ways to Kill Procrastination

Remove distractions 

• Give yourself time to procrastinate (I usually ned about 1-2 days of distraction before I can get going on a manuscript) 

• Figure out the root cause of your distractions and get rid of them (e.g., put your phone in another room) 

• Keep a notebook beside you and write down all the distractions that come up while you work. E.g., remember you need to buy your granny a birthday card? Rather than hopping onto Moonpig mid-way through your task, write it on your distraction list to remember to do later.  

Find a way to get started 

• Clean up your space. Messy desk = messy mind.  

• Romanise your task. Light a candle, put on Spotify, get a nice coffee mug. Whatever works for you, find a way to make the task more enjoyable.  

• START! Try telling yourself you will just do 10 minutes. Try a Pomodoro technique. Even just open the document and type in your headings. Find something that helps you get the ball rolling.  

Break the task into VERY small & VERY specific parts 

• Set a deadline on when the overall task needs to be completed. 

• Divide the task into smaller parts, give a time constraint to these sub-tasks also.  

• Make your to-do list very detailed. What exactly do you need to do within that 30-60 minutes. 

• Lower your expectations of yourself. Just get one tiny part of the task done. That in itself is an accomplishment if you’ve but putting the task off for weeks. As you keep doing this you will gain momentum.