Most of us face procrastination daily. But how bad is it and how can we manage it.

I attended a fabulous webinar a few weeks ago, and the topic was procrastination and how it can be good for you.

When managed probably, or rather when you know how to manage it properly, procrastination can be a good thing. Particularly when you work for yourself as a freelancer or small business owner, when you can identify what it is and how to best deal with it.

I face daily tasks in my business where I procrastinate a lot. And although I used to think it was a bad thing, after the webinar, I now see it under new light and appreciate it more than I did before.

Like Mondays, procrastination often gets a bad rap as something that can hold you back, and often only seen under negative light. But what if I shared some insights into how you can better deal with procrastination, and learn how to use that time of delay to create a better version of what you are procrastinating on in the first place? 

This is what I learned at the webinar. Learning to use the time once believed to be wasted on procrastinating, to become more time to process something you are working on, to give you more time to develop something better than you may have once thought. 

So, while some of you may only procrastinate occasionally, for others, it can become a habit that affects their productivity and overall well-being when they don’t know how to manage it better and work through it. If that sounds like you, read on.

It’s time to turn procrastination into time spent on thoughts processes, rather than time wasted doing something else.

First, identify why you are procrastinating. 

As I’m a writer, this can be challenging when I hit writers block. I have days where I am inspired to write, and other days when I lack any form of motivation to write at all. 

I am also an emotional writer – which means, if I am having an emotional day, my writing is terrible. My mentor always knows when things are not good in my life, as it’s reflected in my writing. And when times are good, my writing is fantastic. 

I now use those emotional moments to work on other projects rather than writing. If I am having an emotional day, rather than wasting time procrastinating on stories to be written which I know are not going to be at my best, I use the time to work on other projects such as design ideas, or even spending the day going through administrative tasks only, which don’t require any inspiration at all to manage. 

Next, break down your larger tasks into smaller ones. 

For example, I work on a lot of design project – some are large, and some are small. When I feel overwhelmed by the larger ones, instead of not doing any work at all on the project, by procrastinating due to the pressure of such a large project. 

I spend some time searching online for similar projects and save them to a folder, like imagery, videos, templates – anything that I like which I think would work for that project, so when I feel the time is right to get started on the project, I have some ground work down already to help inspire me to start work.

Create a schedule and try to stick with it.

I use a digital organiser, which allows me to easy drag and drop using my mouse on the laptop, tasks from day to day.

If there is work with specific deadlines, I will always mark it under a different colour and with a title DUE TODAY or URGENT, so I know these tasks can’t be moved around. Anything not marked with these titles, I know has no specific deadline and isn’t urgent can be moved around from day to day, depending on my workflow and my day. 

Since using this digital organiser, I have found my reaching my goals a lot faster.

Some days I wake up emotionally exhausted from work and personal life – as I am sure most of you do as well. When I open my digital planner for the day and see what I need to get done, if there is nothing urgent or with a deadline, I know I can take the day off and move the tasks for the day to the following days.

If I do find something marked urgent or with the due date that day, then I work out ways I can manage my emotions for the day to help me get motivated to get the work done. 

This could be a morning coffee run to get out of the house, or to perhaps move my office outside, so I’m in the sun and fresh air (if the sun is out) or go out for breakfast. When I get home, I find myself less drained, like I took a mini break from everything, and I can easily then target the urgent work and get it done.

Another method to help you deal with procrastination when all else fails, is to use the well-known Pomodoro Technique. This is when you apply a unique time management process to your work, by working for 25 minutes straight, and then taking a 5-to-10-minute break, followed by another 25 minuets of work, and then another 5 to 10 minute break. 

I have used this method a lot when I am working on bigger projects like website development and have even applied this technique to my writing projects as well.

It helps break up the project into portions, making it less overwhelming and stressful to manage.

When all else fails, if you are still struggling with procrastination and noting is working, you may need to seek support from someone to help you find the reason to why are unable to manage it. 

It could be something as simple as grief, a medical condition or something else which is in inhibiting you from be able to manage it better and move on.