Distractions have become a regular part of modern worker’s life. Not only do we get distracted easily, but we also surround ourselves with more distractions with each passing day.
And while many may state that it’s simple laziness keeping the workers away from getting things done, scientists have long debunked this theory. What we have at hand is procrastination. And procrastination should be managed, or it can cause disasters and even ruin our careers. But what is procrastination, and how can we fight it?
What is Procrastination at Work?
Procrastination is a common problem affecting nearly half of college students and 20% of working adults. People who procrastinate tend to postpone their responsibilities and duties for as long as possible.
However, simple tricks won’t solve this issue. After all, we have a problem not with laziness but with a lack of motivation. Let’s see what tactics you can use to fight and eventually win over procrastination.
How To Win Over Procrastination
1. Find Goals Behind Your Work
Many employees lack motivation because they don’t know what d they work for. As a result, they start procrastinating because the tasks don’t seem important or urgent. What you, as a team member, want to do is to get a clear understanding of the goals behind your work.
Ask to explain why you are doing certain tasks and understand what they will bring to the team.
After all, creating diversity tools is not as valuable if you don’t know who you are helping with them. So, search for meaning for you to connect work to goals.
2. Remove Distractions
Procrastination is not a new phenomenon. However, more than ever, people suffer from it now. And the main reason for those high numbers is the presence of digital reality in our lives. Tasks like writing a grant proposal that should take only half a day can stretch to a few days of the week. But why is it happening?
Smartphones, the internet, social media platform,s and news: those are just a few of the distractions we encounter every day.
What you want to do in this case is to turn them off and find a quiet place for you to focus. Remember, it’s much harder to regain concentration once you lose it over something.
3. Break Your Projects Into Smaller Tasks
Our motivation dies very quickly when faced with big projects that seem impossible to finish. It seems so attractive to just put it off for another day and forget about it for as long as possible.
However, when it comes to bigger projects, you have to start the work mast quicker. What can help you, in this case, is breaking your big projects into smaller tasks. Use a project management system to separate your projects into smaller tasks and complete one or several of them every day.
You won’t even notice how quickly you’ll be done with your huge projects if you use this method.
Final Thoughts
Procrastination is the real problem of the 21st century. Distractions are spread all around us, and it’s so tempting to just forget about our tasks and leave them for another day.
However, if not managed for long, procrastination can become disastrous and bring chaos to your personal and work life. So, follow our easy tactics if you want to fight and win over the procrastination monster.
