Ready to ditch procrastination and start getting things done? This easy, 8-step guide will help you finally tackle your to-do list, boost your productivity, and achieve your goals – all without the overwhelm. Let’s do this!
I’ve lost count of the number of times over the years I’ve looked at my TO DO list and sighed.
It’s felt overwhelming at best and totally impossible at worst.
And there are days I just want to bury my head in the sand and make it go away.
But that’s really not going to help in the long run, is it!
The problem? Procrastination.
But what’s the solution?
Instead of letting procrastination control your life, it’s time to take action.
Here are a few ways to stop procrastinating and start conquering that to-do list, one manageable step at a time.
#1 – Take Back Control
If you can start to do things now rather than put them off, trust me, it helps in so many ways.
You get back more mental energy, have more time, and more energy (there’s nothing worse than sitting on the sofa getting more and more bogged down by the thoughts of all the things you should be doing)
Its time to get off that sofa and reclaim your life!
After all, let’s face it, most jobs will still be there tomorrow, along with a set of new ones that have cropped up, and so it’s always better to stay on top of things as much as possible.
Just this thought can give you that motivation to just get started – which stops procrastination in its tracks.
#2 – Retrain Your Brain
We all live our lives in our own ways.
We follow a set of habits that most of the time we don’t even realise we’re doing, and it’s all too easy to let procrastination become one of these.
When that happens, we can find we’re putting things off, and moving things to the next day – without really a second thought.
We’ve trained out brains to allow that procrastination.
So now we need to re-train them to stop!
When you find yourself heading to social media to start scrolling, rather than tackling something you know you’re putting off (usually things we think of as boring, overwhelming, or complicated), make yourself just do a small part of that thing first.
Promise yourself that you can get back to the scrolling straight away after that small thing has been done – and that’s often enough to create the initial momentum.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly things start changing.
#3 – Make Friends With Your Diary
Its far too easy to fill up your diary with scheduled things that don’t actually leave any time for your other TO DOs.
If you use your diary in conjunction with your TO DO list then you’ll be much more likely to get things done.
Make sure that you don’t have too much in your diary for any one day. Leaving some gaps will enable you to add in a few things from your TO DO list.
Once TO DOs are scheduled then they’re much more likely to happen!
Add in the TO DOs that are the highest priority at that time, and then you will feel accomplishment. If you only ever add in the easy stuff, the quick wins, then you will find yourself still left with the stuff you procrastinate over by the end! Doing things as they are needed to be done will pay dividends.
However, you must get yourself into the main habit of following your diary! There’s no point in scheduling perfectly if you only roughly do whats written down.
Think of it as a favour to yourself in that once you have done the jobs for the day, you’ll be able to relax or do the more interesting things in the evening, or for the following day.
If you waste just an hour each weekday by overthinking what to do next, then that adds up to a full day of catchup by the weekend – and who wants to waste their time off!
#4 – Take It One Step at a Time
Ever heard the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”? It’s spot-on for tackling big tasks. Break them down into smaller, manageable steps. Instead of “Get House Decorated,” think:
- Look at design inspiration.
- Order wallpaper samples.
- Decide on color schemes.
- Plan the schedule.
- Book a decorator.
By tackling one bite at a time, you’ll see progress and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
It will be much easier to start and complete point 1 over a couple of days or weeks (depending on how much time you have) – and then you can see that you are progressing.
Another great advantage to doing it this way is that you’re likely to spot anything that may harm your plan (are you away soon, can your decorator book in time when you want it, will your home be cohesive when finished etc…..) and can then do something about it right at the outset, rather than later when it may cost more to fix (wrong colour in a room, fabric not available any longer etc…)
#5 – Just Do It!
Theres only so much planning and talking about things that can be done. I am all for making a list and ensuring (as much as possible) that things will get done and work well, but you can plan too much and waste time.
I was always the one who had a beautifully colour coordinated and well thought out revision timetable at school – but often could waste an entire day creating it when my time could have been spent actually revising (and then the timetable is wrong as you have wasted that day, and you have to start again… argh!). There is a need for a plan, but not a perfect plan!
My recommendation is that anything that you don’t want to do, just get it started.
Spending even just 10 minutes on it will give you momentum and once something is started it usually wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be anyway!
#6 – Take Responsibility
When people are trying to lose weight, those that succeed have usually taken responsibility in some way.
They’ve either joined a weight loss group, or used an app that they have to say what they’ve eaten each day.
Even a small amount of accountability can be motivation enough for not procrastinating, and just getting it done.
We all have at least a small amount of competitive spirit in us, and once you’ve told people about what you are doing, then it’s out there. You’ll want to have completed some of the steps before you are asked how you are going.
One of the easiest ways to avoid procrastination is to be accountable!
#7 – Start Where You’re Comfortable
Some people tackle the toughest tasks first, while others prefer to start with quick wins. Experiment with different approaches to see what works best for you – and get things done in the way that suits you.
This means you’re going to feel less resistance to it – and the procrastination will be minimised.
If you’re not sure which type of person you are – try doing it boths ways and see which you prefer.
Knowledge is power!
#8 – Be Realistic
You only have 24 hours in a day, so you’re going to get overwhelmed if you try to do too much in one go. When you try to get too much done, you’re likely to talk yourself out of it, because it’s just not possible.
It’s the same if you’re aiming for perfection. Because you want things to be just-right, you’ll talk yourself out them because you haven’t got the right tools and specific items to achieve the picture in your head.
Both of these will end up in procrastination pretty quickly.
The trick?
Be realistic about what’s possible.
Focus on steady, realistic steps, and you’ll keep moving forward.
By understanding procrastination as a habit and taking practical steps to address it, you can regain control of your life.
Use your diary to balance tasks, break big projects into manageable steps, and hold yourself accountable.
And most importantly, take action—stop thinking about doing things and start doing them!
At the end of each day, you’ll feel proud of what you’ve accomplished, and that’s a great feeling.
So, ready to get started? Your future self will thank you!
Read Next: Procrastination – Why Do We Makes Excuses to NOT Do Things?
