Are you tired of putting off your personal or professional projects until tomorrow?
Are you looking for ways to stop procrastinating?

Why not try these 7 solutions against procrastination?

What is procrastination?

Procrastination is the art of putting off our projects and activities until tomorrow.

And I say an art because procrastination isn’t always about being lazy and doing nothing. It’s about not doing the things that are important to you.

In fact, some procrastinators are even very active people who accomplish an impressive number of tasks during the day. All except the ones they had planned!

Employees, students, entrepreneurs, housewives and so on. We’re all faced with it. So much so, in fact, that March 25 has been declared World Procrastination Day!

At least now you know you’re not alone!

As for me, when I was working on the creation of many articles, I regularly let myself get caught up in a frenzy of housework, the desire to prepare tasty dishes or the search for the best notebook for my bullet journal.

Were these things useful? Yes, but were they essential to the progress of my project? Not really!

But then, if we know that these activities aren’t going to help us move forward with our projects! And if we know we’re going to feel guilty about it!

Why do we procrastinate?

And above all, how can we stop procrastinating?

The causes of procrastination

Before looking at the 7 solutions I propose to stop procrastinating, it’s important to understand why we do it. So depending on the project we’re putting off, there may be one or more causes to our procrastination.
Here are the most common:

YOUR PROJECT IS HUGE
It’s great to be ambitious, but it’s likely that if you’re having trouble getting down to work, it’s because you’ve thought really, really big. And more or less consciously, you realize that you have so much to do that you don’t even know where to start.

That’s why you go backwards. And you turn to less impressive activities that you’ve mastered.

YOUR PROJECT IS TOO VAGUE
You dream of finding your dream job. Of finding love. You’ve decided to write a book. You need to plan your wedding. Etc.

These are all great, exciting projects. So why put them off? Probably because they’re not clearly defined. And here again, you don’t know where to start. We’ll look at how to remedy that a little further down.

YOUR PROJECT HAS NO DEADLINE
This is the main problem with projects linked to our personal development and well-being. One day I’ll learn to meditate. I’ll read this book recommended by my friend. One day, I’ll start exercising again.

And that’s one of the pitfalls of being a self-employed entrepreneur. And one I’ve sometimes wallowed in with guilty pleasure.

Whether our project is personal or professional, everything is in our own hands. As a result, there’s no one to make us do it. Nor is there anyone to hold us to account on an agreed date. It’s an extremely fertile breeding ground for procrastination!

DEEP DOWN, YOU DON’T REALLY WANT THIS PROJECT.
You may have taken on the project in question because you think it’s the right thing to do. Or to please someone.

But if you catch yourself in the act of procrastination, it may be that deep down you feel that this project isn’t for you, that it’s not for you, or that it’s not right for you for one reason or another.

YOU’RE AFRAID OF CHANGE
No, no, it’s not a myth. Behind procrastination lie fears, sometimes totally unconscious.

For example, working on your self-confidence can help you take a fresh look at your relationships with others. In particular, your relationship with your partner. This is likely to bring its share of readjustments and discussions. So what’s feared here is quite simply the fear of conflict, break-up and loneliness.

Putting things off allows us to remain in our comfort zone. It’s far from perfect, but at least we know what to expect.

YOU’RE AFRAID TO SUCCEED
What nonsense! Why would anyone be afraid of succeeding?

For fear of being noticed, of upsetting those close to us, because we think we don’t really deserve it, etc.

It’s actually more common than we think. And it’s completely unconscious. But procrastination can also be self-sabotage.

There are no generalizations here. So it’s our personal history and beliefs that may or may not give us reasons to sabotage ourselves.

7 solutions to stop procrastinating

IMPROVE YOUR ORGANIZATION

1) Clearly define the result you want to achieve.

2) Break down your project into smaller objectives.

3) Set a deadline by which your goal must be achieved.

Whatever your project, to stop procrastinating you’ll need to define exactly what you want, how you intend to get it and when. Indeed, these simple changes in your organization should enable you to work more efficiently.

RELYING ON SOCIAL PRESSURE
4) Tell several people about your project.

Then don’t hesitate to tell those around you about your plans. By talking about it, people around you should regularly ask you how you’re getting on. And you won’t want to lose face in front of them.

Social pressure is a powerful motivator!

DO A LITTLE INTROSPECTION
5) Is this project really yours?

6) Write down what this project inspires in you. What impact might it have on your life?

7) What emotions do you feel when you think about this project?

Finally, if you’re putting off your project for more personal reasons, now’s the time to grab something to write about! Because to stop procrastinating, introspection is the best remedy.

Answering the questions above will help you see things more clearly, and uncover some of the fears that are preventing you from living the life you want.