A trick for beating procrastination

Like most people, I struggle with procrastination. No matter how much I care about getting a task done, if it's hard, I'll put it off. Lately I have been finding it even more difficult to motivate myself. I know I need to get my assignments in, but right now all I want to do is watch TV and pretend the world doesn't exist. 

A few weeks ago, I complained to a friend about how I was struggling with a lack of motivation. I was hoping they would tell me it's okay and to go easy on myself. Instead they gave me some much more useful advice:


"Negative repercussions of procrastination don't seem real?? Either create them, or (better) reward yourself after doing the thing i.e. you're not allowed to touch Netflix until you get to X point OR if you're feeling nice toward yourself, once you get to X point you can watch Netflix for three hours." 


I begrudgingly took the advice. I was feeling really overwhelmed with the assignment I had to complete, so I broke it up into a bunch of smaller tasks. I drew a little tick box next to each small task. Next, I wrote a list of things I like doing:

  • have a cup of tea 
  • watch an episode of a show 
  • go on my phone 
  • talk to a friend 
  • have a snack 
  • take a shower
  • go for a walk 
  • read a chapter of a novel 

I gave myself permission to do one of these things each time I ticked a small task off my list. 

And it worked! I was able to use these things to motivate me to get the assignment done. Because I wasn't feeling motivated by the eventual reward (submitting the assignment, passing the subject and eventually getting a degree), I became motivated by smaller rewards that I had set for myself. And by giving myself permission to do things I enjoy once I had completed a task, I was able to actually enjoy them rather than feeling guilty the whole time. 

I know this tip has been suggested by many people before, but I found the reminder really useful. So I'm passing the reminder on to you! 

Tagged in Productivity, mental health, Study matters, What messes with your head