7 Proven Tips to Finally Stop Procrastinating (Once and for All!)

Whether it’s postponing your business launch, starting your diet, or working on that project, I’m sure you’ve fallen victim to procrastination at least once in your lifetime. The reason why you’re reading this article? You’re tired of your own bullsh*t and want to learn how to finally stop procrastinating (once and for all!).

In this post, you will discover the most common reasons why people procrastinate, together with 7 tips to finally stop procrastinating and get things done.

So, are you ready to get some motivation to start tackling whatever it is that you need to do? Then, let’s get started!

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What is Procrastination?

First, let’s get crystal clear on what procrastination is:

Procrastination → Putting things off intentionally or habitually

It’s not laziness. Or a lack of motivation. And it’s not just “not feeling like it”.

Lazy people don’t care about them not doing anything.

Procrastinators want to get things done, but they can’t push themselves to do those things.

Procrastination is what stands between you and the life you dream of.

It’s the gap between you and your full potential.

Procrastination is what you could become, but won’t – unless you learn how to get rid of it.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

The first step towards overcoming an obstacle is understanding why that obstacle stands in your way in the first place.

So, if you want to stop procrastinating, it’s time for you to learn why you procrastinate.

Here are the 6 most common reasons why you cannot stop procrastinating:

Fear of Failure

If you think that the results of your actions can only have one of these two outcomes – either you succeed or fail -, fear of failure is stopping you from taking action.

You’re paralyzed because you’re afraid you might fail.

Failing is only a consequence of taking action, so doing nothing is a way to protect yourself – or your ego – from it.

If that’s the case, to overcome procrastination you need to reframe your concept of ‘failure’.

What do you think it’s worse: not meeting your expectations, or not even trying to meet them?

Failing at something means that you were brave enough to give it a try.

Failure shows you the way something cannot be achieved, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any other ways you could reach that same goal.

Low Self-Esteem

If you don’t believe you have what it takes, why would you try to go after the life of your dreams?

If you don’t believe in yourself, why would you try to improve?

Having low self-esteem can sabotage you on your way to success.

To stop procrastinating when you have low self-esteem, you need to first work on the relationship you have with yourself – before worrying about what you need to accomplish.

You must focus on who you are, and then on what you do.

It’s not an easy process to become more confident and secure in yourself, but that’s the only way to achieve your long-term goals.

Lack of Clarity

If you feel lost in life, you might fall victim to procrastination.

How can you know what to do, after all, if you don’t even know where you’re going?

In this case, the key to stop procrastinating is to get clear on who you are and what you want out of life.

How can you do that? Well, luckily for you, I have something that might come in handy!

You could start, for example, by asking the right questions…

Grab your FREE “30-Day Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery” and start getting in touch with your deepest self!

Feeling Overwhelmed

When you feel overwhelmed, it’s so easy to let procrastination have the best of you.

I mean, if everything already feels so much, why would you bother taking even more into your plate?

What can you do to stop procrastinating?

A good start is to read this article on “7 Simple Things to Do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed”. You’re welcome 😉

Having No Energy

Sometimes, the reason why you procrastinate is that you lack the energy to do more than just survive.

Not having enough energy in your day-to-day life is a strong signal that something’s wrong and must change.

Whether you need to adopt healthier habits or to do more of the things that make you happy, you can finally stop procrastinating once you’ve gained back your energy!

Still not sure why you feel so exhausted all the time? Here are “5 Unexpected Reasons Why You Don’t Have Energy”

Perfectionism

If you’re a perfectionist – like me -, the root of your procrastination lies in wanting to get everything done perfectly.

If it ain’t perfect, it ain’t worth it!

This is the typical way of thinking of a person with an all-or-nothing mindset…

The sooner you let go of this black-and-white vision of life, the sooner you will stop procrastinating too!

What has helped me the most, as a former perfectionist, is to embrace the concept of “Done is better than perfect”.

Why? Because the only way you can improve is through trying!

Everyone starts as a beginner at something, but the only way to become an expert is to embrace that beginner mindset.

Lack of control

When you feel like you have no control over your time and life, you might use procrastination as a coping mechanism.

What if I told you that your lack of control is the reason behind all your late-night scrolling sessions? Yes, that’s known as “Revenge Bedtime Procrastination” – and we’re all guilty of it!

If you recognize this is your case, you need to take some time to intentionally reflect on why you feel out of control in the first place.

Is it because you’re working at a job you hate?
Are you walking the path that your parents laid down for you, even if that’s not what you want?
Is it because you’re not satisfied in your relationship anymore, but are too afraid to admit it even to yourself?

When you feel a lack of control, one of the best things to do is to get clear on what you stand for. What do you value the most? What is important to you?

If you need help getting clear on your core values, grab here the FREE “Set Your Values Workbook” and get started!

How to Avoid Procrastination?

Now that you’ve identified the reason(s) why you procrastinate, it’s time to adopt the tips and tricks that will help you get finally rid of it.

Here are the 7 best ways to stop procrastinating and get things done:

REDUCE DECISION FATIGUE

Research shows we take an average of 35,000 decisions per day.

So, don’t feel surprised if you tend to make poor decisions at night – like eating the whole bag of cookies despite you went to the gym that morning, or playing “Next” on Netflix even if you have to wake up in 6 hours.

Your brain is tired! It has been battling all day, trying to decide:

What to wear
Whether to accept your friend’s invite or not
What to cook
Where to go with your partner for your date tonight
What to do during Spring Break
How to spend your time

That’s a lot!

Whenever you procrastinate on something, it’s a clear signal that your brain can’t take in more.

The first key to stopping procrastinating is to reduce the number of decisions you make daily.

How? By setting up systems and routines that allow you to smoothly go through your day without having to waste your mental energy over things that don’t matter.

Here are some examples of systems and routines that can help you stop procrastinating:

Set a weekly workout schedule (and stick to it)
Create a morning routine
Meal plan and prep for the week ahead
Plan out a whole week’s worth of outfits
Carry a notebook with you to jot down ideas as they come

If you make insignificant decisions on autopilot, you’ll have more mental space and energy to think about what truly matters.

STICK TO THE 2-MINUTE RULE

The toughest part of accomplishing anything is getting started on it.

Once you start, you’ll see that it’s not that difficult to keep going.

The initial moment, that friction you feel when you want to do something but you just can’t push yourself to do it is actually worse than doing the thing.

That’s why following the 2-minute rule can change your life and help you get rid of procrastination once and for all!

How does the 2-minute rule work?

“When you start a new habit, it should take you less than two minutes to do.”

So, here are some examples of how you could apply the 2-minute rule to your life:

Clean the house → Put the dirty dishes in the sink
Plan the next vacation → Open Google Flight
Start running → Stretch for 2 minutes
Read more → Read one page
Write a book → Write one sentence

We often tend to underestimate the compound power of small actions repeated consistently, while we focus too much on the big actions that – if done once in a while – still won’t lead to overnight change.

DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN

In the mind of a serial procrastinator, consistency is something impossible to achieve.

It might be hard to picture yourself doing something over and over again when you can’t even push yourself to start doing it once.

One solution to this would be to enter the “don’t break the chain” mindset. What does it mean?

Once you’ve identified what good habit you would like to incorporate in your life, here’s what you need to do to increase your consistency:

Take a paper or an empty calendar
Put it on the wall or somewhere you constantly look at
Every day you accomplish your habit or tasks mark a huge ‘X’
Start the chain, and keep it going

Once you see those Xs multiply, you’ll think about it twice before breaking the chain.

USE THE EISENHOWER MATRIX

When you feel overwhelmed by the amount of tasks you need to do, you’re likely to procrastinate. Especially if the problem is that you don’t even know where to start…

One trick to help you stop procrastinating when you’re balancing an ever-going list of to-do’s is to use the Eisenhower Matrix.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a productivity tool that helps you identify what your priorities are by diving your tasks into:

Important and urgent
Important but not urgent
Urgent but not important
Not important and not urgent

You could even use this method to plan out your days!

Since I haven’t seen anyone do it yet, I’ve decided to include this planning tool in my Dream Life Planner – that you can grab below, for FREE:

REMOVE OTHER OPTIONS

Based on this Seinfeld productivity strategy, one way to stop procrastinating on something would be to think of it in this way:

“It’s either you do [insert task] or you do nothing at all”

Would you still procrastinate if you couldn’t watch any Netflix, go on Instagram, or scroll through TikToks?

If you could do nothing at all, only the thing that you’re supposed to be doing – you would do it, right? Yes, even if reluctantly…

So, that’s the mind trick you have to play to yourself: remove all distractions!

Why? With no other option, the only option left is to do what you’re procrastinating on 😉

DO MEANINGFUL WORK

If you keep on procrastinating on something, it might be a sign that what you have to do is not something want to do.

When your life is lived to please others and make them happy – even if that means making yourself unhappy -, procrastination is a signal that indicates that something must change.

While everybody has responsibilities and things to do (even if unpleasant), that doesn’t mean that you can’t add to your life more of the things that make you happy.

So, what does bring you joy? What does make you alive? When are you the happiest?

You will procrastinate less if you start doing more of what’s meaningful and important to you.

SHIFT THE WAY YOU PERCEIVE YOURSELF

Finally, the last tip to stop procrastinating is to change the way you perceive yourself.

Your self-identity dictates your daily actions.

If you want to obtain a different outcome, you need to do something different – right?

That’s why you must think of yourself as a different person than the one you are right now. That’s the key to taking different actions that – guess what – will take you where you want to go!

Here are some examples of how shifting your self-identity can help you stop procrastinating:

Want to get in better shape? → You’re a person with a healthy lifestyle that prioritizes daily movement and healthy food
Dreaming of launching your blog? → You’re a committed and successful blogger
Want to become an early riser? → You’re the kind of person who jumps out of bed as soon as the alarm goes on

When you change how you think of yourself, you change how you act and show up to the world.

Benefits of Not Procrastinating

There’s a whole world of possibilities beyond your procrastination!

Once you’ve identified the reason(s) for your procrastination and adopted the right strategies to stop procrastinating, you’ll experience endless benefits. Some of them include: