Overcoming Procrastination by Changing Your Thinking

Do you procrastinate? You're not the only one! Everyone procrastinates to some degree. For some people, it's not a big deal. They're good at prioritizing and getting the important stuff done. For others, however, it's stopping them from achieving their goals and dreams. It makes life harder in the long run. If you're in this camp, then overcoming procrastination should be a priority.

But how do you even begin to kick the habit?

Here's a tip: Change your thinking.

Ask yourself: How do you feel about this task you've been putting off? Is it something you feel like you HAVE to do? That's the key: If you feel like you HAVE to do it, you'll resent it. As a rule, humans like freedom, and we dislike things that infringe on our time. For many of us, obligations are so distasteful that we will do everything we can to avoid doing them. That is, until the pain of not doing them starts outweighing the pain of dealing with them.

So instead of thinking "I HAVE to do this," say "I WANT to do this." But that's not enough, of course. You still need to think about why you want to do it in the first place. Will it contribute to your quality of life? Will it bring you closer to achieving your dream? It may also be worth asking if there's a way to make it as fun as possible.

Is this goal truly important? If it doesn't excite you, if it doesn't take you in the direction you want to go, then perhaps you need to consider dropping it from your list altogether.

Overcoming procrastination may be a challenge, but if fill your to-do list with things you're enthusiastic about, it'll be easier.