Procrastination is something that can ruin your day, damage your career and negatively impact on your relationships.

Often, we laugh about procrastination as though it were an amusing habit and sometimes it can be. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t also incredibly destructive. Imagine it’s 4pm and you have work you desperately need to finish by 5pm but you can’t stop browsing Facebook or making trips to the kitchen for cups of coffee.

What happens? One option is that you end up going home very late and lose out on time with your family. Another option is that you end up not finishing the work and starting the next day incredibly behind.

Either way, this is a serious problem.

So, what can you do about it? Here are a few tricks that can help.

Start the Most Enjoyable Task First

One effective way to reduce your proneness to procrastination is to take on the easiest/most enjoyable task first. Our natural inclination is very often to handle the most difficult task first and to that way get it out of the way.

But if you’re struggling with motivation, then this is going to be a big up-hill struggle to get yourself to commit.
Instead, if the first task is something easier and more fun, then you’ll find you can work more easily without being distracted. And once you’ve done that, you should be in a slightly more work-oriented frame of mind.

Make it More Interesting

Procrastination often comes from one simple fact: the job you should be doing is boring. Hence you would rather be doing something else.
One simple solution is to make said task more enjoyable or interesting. This might mean turning letter stuffing into a game. Or it might mean providing yourself with a little stimulation: I will often write articles while watching videos on silent just to ensure that I have a bit of stimulation.

If you’re writing, then try to make the topic more interesting so that you’ll be less likely to be bored. If you’re bored writing it, then it’s probably not going to be great to read!

Increase Energy

Finally, note that we are much more prone to procrastination when we’re tired. Why? Because will-power requires energy. When you take that energy away, it becomes much easier to be distracted or interested with other things. Give yourself more energy by sleeping better, by eating supplements that boost energy levels and by avoiding stressful events wherever possible.