So often we talk about motivation as the thing that allows us to get things done. While motivation is amazing, and it does come from time to time, it isn’t enough to inspire productivity and stop procrastination.
We can’t count on motivation as the only thing to get things done every day, because if you’re anything like me there are many days when motivation just doesn’t show up, and we just procrastinate all day.
That’s where discipline comes in, and knowing what steps can be taken to maybe even spark some motivation.
Personally I work from home, so that means I have to create an atmosphere conducive to productivity. Maybe you also work from home, but maybe you work in an office or another setting and you’re looking for practical tips on how to have a more productive work session and stop procrastination.
I get extremely distracted while I’m working. I’ll be planning blog content, and then all of a sudden I’m checking emails, and I see a spam email about a grocery service which reminds me that I’m hungry, so I go to make myself breakfast and notice that my fridge should be cleaned out…
Is anyone else like that? It’s really bad. So I have to be SO intentional with my work time in order to get things done.
I wanted to share the things that I do in order to stop procrastination and work more productively.
TIDY YOUR SPACE
The first thing for me is that I cannot work in a messy space. This doesn’t mean that I deep clean my home before working. In fact, I clean as a way to procrastinate, so I actually have to stop myself from cleaning most mornings or I wouldn’t get any work done.
I try to tidy in the evenings to ensure that I’m starting my day with a clean work space. When I worked in an office, I never left my desk messy at the end of the day. On mornings when my house is messy, I like to take 10-15 minutes to quickly tidy up, do a few dishes, or put away clean dishes from the night before, before I start my work. If you just don’t have the time to do this, but a clean space is imortant to you.
Try to find one space that is tidy and free from distractions. Maybe this means finding one space where you won’t be distracted by the dishes in the sink or the laundry that needs to be done. Even sitting at the kitchen table but facing away from the mess, or your bedroom (I can’t work from my bedroom but maybe you can!), or even going to a coffee shop.
GATHER SUPPLIES
Once my space is tidied…I’m ready to start working. Before I get started I make sure that I have everything I will need.
This includes plugging my laptop or phone in so I don’t have to get up in 10 minutes for my charger. I make myself a cup of tea, and fill up my water bottle. If I think I’ll be hungry, I get myself a snack so that won’t become a distraction later. I make sure I have my planner, notebook, and a pen.
I know that if I don’t have these things before I start working, getting them becomes a distraction because when I go to make myself tea, I start doing something else. So I like to have everything sitting right beside me so I’m ready to go.
SET A TIMER
Then I often set a timer. Even if it’s only for 30-45 minutes. It’s amazing how much work can get done if you really focus for 30 minutes. Often I’ll set a 30 minute timer, and then once it goes off I’m in the zone so I just keep working or even set another 30 minute timer.
The reason I do short increments is because then I can make myself wait until the timer goes off to do anything I’ve thought of during that time. Even if I need to pee, and I have 12 munutes left…I’ll wait until the time is up.
This has really helped me get chunks of work done because I am SO easily distracted.
WRITE DOWN TASKS FOR LATER
While I’m working I make sure I have somewhere I can write down things that come to my mind. Inevitably I’m going to think of things that need to get done…Iike “oh yea I need to return a phone call”, or “I need to remember to switch the laundry this afternoon”…but instead of doing those things and getting distracted, I’ll write them down and do them after I finish what I’m already doing.
If you haven’t noticed by now…the theme of this entire video is how I manage to keep myself on track and not get distracted.
HAVE A TO-DO LIST
When you’re working it’s extremely important that you know what you’re working on. And I don’t mean having a list of 25 things that you think you should get done in life ranging from reorganizing your closet to launching a blog to meal prepping. Having too many vague tasks actually encourages you to procrastinate!
I mean have 1-3 very specific tasks that you want to get done and can reasonably get done in a period of time. So maybe you have an hour of time you can block off for working and the 2 things you need to get done are responding to emails and planning out blog content for the next month.
I created a printable planner for myself when I couldn’t find the perfect one! And I want to share it with you – FREE!
Set a timer and focus on ONLY those things. If you finish in 30 minutes, then think of other things you can do. But if it takes you the whole hour to finish those things, you’re still going to feel so much more accomplished than if your goal had been a 20 item checklist.
Make sure to check out this blog post about setting goals that stick!
TURN OFF YOUR PHONE
Turn off your phone! Maybe you have more self control than I do and don’t check your phone every 3 minutes…but if not. Turn it on airplane mode, move it out of sight, or even into a different room.
DO NOT TOUCH IT until your timer goes off or you finish what you’re doing. If you have to wait 20 seconds for a webpage to load, don’t start scrolling Instagram.
Yes, I am talking to myself here. But I’m sure other people can relate! Turning off my phone might be the #1 way I am able to stop procrastination!
PLAN BREAKS
Give yourself planned breaks. And not like “I just finished 1 paragraph out of 3 pages that I need to write so I deserve a break” (guilty)…but like “after 1 hour of focused work I will walk my dog” or “once I finish this task, I can have 5 minutes on my phone”. Having planned breaks helps to stop procrastination during my time of focused work.
Even if you’re in an office job and can’t do that, you could even just tell yourself that you need to do 1 hour of work and then you can go fill up your water bottle or walk to the copy room for some supplies.
I don’t believe that most people work well for hours and hours doing the same task. Do whatever you can to break it up into smaller chunks of time.
PROTECT YOUR TIME
Protect your time. Especially as a self employed person, it’s so easy to think that you have the entire day to get stuff done…in reality, more time isn’t always better. I work better when I give myself specific work hours.
I also know what hours of the day I am most productive, so I set those aside as my work hours. Those hours are protected which means I don’t hang out with friends during those hours, I try not to make appointments during those hours…Obviously life happens and I’m flexible if I have to make a doctors appointment one day, but I try my best to protect my most productive work hours.
And then I also don’t force myself to work ALL day which is also so easy to do when you’re self employed.
And that’s it! Those are the things I do to set myself up to stop procrastination and have a productive day of work! I’d love to hear if there’s anything I missed as I’m always looking for ways to improve my productivity!
