How To Beat Procrastination

We all do it. Entrepreneurs do it. We all procrastinate and put things off. There’s that project that needs to be complete but we keep putting it off. I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do it next week. I’ll do it after I finish my work. It’s not the right time now and so forth.

Procrastination usually occurs when there is something really important to do, which will make a big difference in your work or life but we know it requires extra effort to do it.

Examples of Procrastination

Some perfect examples of things we ought to do but we put them into the “someday” pile.

• Write a book
• Start a business
• Travel the world
• Do a budget
• Go to the gym

The list goes on and on.

Of course, you’re only human, it’s incredibly difficult to always work on that important activity every single day and fight procrastination. No matter how hard you train yourself to beat procrastination, you’ll never get it all done.

Eat That Frog

I remember reading a book by Brian Tracy called “Eat That Frog”. It’s all about getting things done and on the first chapter, Brian says that “I’ve studied time management for 25 years, I’ve read countless number of books on Time Management and also took hundreds of courses in this field. There’s always going to be more things to do and you’ll never finish them all.”

I agree with Brian’s statement because there will always be something else to do. When you write your list of things to do, you’ve got a 90% chance of not ticking them all off your list.

I for one always start my day with a list and I can guarantee that I never get them all ticked off. It’s only once a while I achieve this and tick everything off but for the most part, no, I never get everything done.

So the moral of the story is, you’ll never get everything on your list done, however there’s always enough time to get the most important things done. Period.

So back to beating procrastination.

My Discovery Of Procrastination

Over the years, I’ve always perfected and fine tuned my skills in beating procrastination.

I’ve discovered the following.

A important task that requires lots of work is most likely put off till later.

In order to actually do the work, you’’ll need to force yourself to do it or when it’s forced upon you.

Think about bills. Sometimes you keep putting off that large bill and then after several threatening emails from the company to take you to court and penalize you, you finally pay it.

Doing the work is tough and requires lots of work.

However, one of my strategies to beat this procrastination and cheat you way through it is to make it fun.

Normally, when we need to work on something important and we want to procrastinate, we would normally picture ourselves “not having a good time” while doing it.

Unless you’re a tax accountant, updating 50 spreadsheets of numbers will not make your pants catch on fire. Just the thought of it makes you sigh.

How To Cheat Your Way Out Of Procrastination 

The secret to cheating your way out of procrastination and finally get your work done is to make it fun.

Think of the times when you would normally have fun. Is it having a beer at the pub? Drinking coffee at your favorite coffee shop? Going outdoors? Listening to your favorite music?

Whatever it is, you can turn your procrastination times to fun times.

For example, if you’ve always put off writing a book, one way to beat procrastination is to write your book while you’re doing something you enjoy.

If you enjoy having a beer at your local bar, you could bring your laptop, have a beer while you begin to craft the first few pages of your book.

If you like listening to music, why put on your favorite music on loud, put your feet up on the couch and write your book.

If you like going to the beach, why not go to the beach and write a few pages while you’re lying on the hammock while sipping a cocktail?

How To Convert Procrastination Into Fun Times

There’s heaps of ways to turn your procrastinated tasks into fun times.

In the past, I’ve certainly put off important tasks because I know they require lots of work, however I always tackle this by doing something else I enjoy while working on it.

One of my rituals is in the morning, I go to a nearby cafe, bring my laptop and tackle the most important task for the day. This cafe serves great coffee, play great music and has a really good ambience.

This environment actually helps me get my stuff done and it’s a lot more productive than working in an office that doesn’t motivate you to work.

So there you have it, the secrets to cheating your way out of procrastination.

Is there something you can think of to turn your procrastinated task to a fun event?

Share your thoughts.

Good journey.

Khoa Bui

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About the Author Khoa Bui is a best selling author, international speaker, corporate trainer and entrepreneur. He has been featured on Entrepreneur Magazine, Channel 31, Global News Network and more. He has a passion for writing, traveling the world and building online businesses. Find out more about Khoa here.