15 Simple Ways to Defuse Procrastination
There are days when every fiber in your being is resisting the call to work. In these circumstances, you need to throw everything in your mental arsenal at the delay urge.
Here are 15 simple things that can go a long way toward defusing the procrastination monster:
Do something easy but useful to break the barrier and start some momentum
Change your web browser homepage to a blank screen
Disconnect from the internet
Listen to a song you like to re-energize your mind
Drink a large glass of cold water
Turn to your coworker and blurt out: “I have to get X done, if in 1 hour I still haven’t done this, kick my ass.”
Relocate to the quietest nook in the office/house
Go for a quick, but intense run
Turn off your email and phone notifications. Better yet, put your phone on airplane mode
Identify the first small step in the looming project. Make a deal that if you accomplish this you can go spend 20 minutes doing something you like
Make a list of the remaining blocks of free time in your day. Plan which blocks will be dedicated to work
Run up a flight of stairs, get your heart pumping
Make plans to go drinking later in the day, forcing you to get things done fast or not at all
Do work that doesn’t require a computer away from a computer
Use a simple activity timer — such as Activity Watch — to keep a record of how much time you spent doing actual work during the day. The idea you are being audited can be a powerful motivating force