You walk up and open the kitchen pantry. You peruse through all your options – Weetbix? Already had seven for brekkie. Some raw mixed nuts? Nah, isn’t going to hit the spot.

You now go and open the fridge – fruit and yoghurt combo? Mmm, too much effort to chop all the fruit. Last night’s leftovers? Tempting but having dinner in an hour.

You head back to the kitchen pantry and find that it hasn’t changed since you were there 60 seconds ago….

We all have our own procrastination techniques – mine have ranged from the above example to becoming a regular Bold and Beautiful watcher for six months during second semester uni (I wonder if Ridge and Brooke are back together yet?!), to what is now coined as ‘procrastabaking’. Think endless rows of cookies, muffins, slice and cake. Definitely not good for my grades and even worse for the waistline.

 

Other common procrastination techniques include:

  • Checking facebook/twitter/snapchat/whatsapp every five minutes,
  • Cleaning every square inch of your room
  • Complaining to friends about how much homework you have and how little time you have to do it….
  • Surfing the net, watching YouTube videos, responding to unimportant emails….

 

So, how can we combat procrastination? Given that procrastination is simply putting off higher priority or ‘more difficult’ tasks, and replacing them with more enjoyable or comfortable tasks, procrastination is an attempt to avoid a small amount of discomfort. As such, we need to flip our mindset to tackle procrastination. The first step is to become aware that you are procrastinating. Once you have recognised your personal style, here are some tips to overcoming procrastination:

  • Get organised, have a diary, and have a must do/should do/could do list;
  • Gain momentum through starting with smaller, manageable ‘should do’tasks that need to be done. Then move onto the higher priority/must do tasks;
  • Be accountable by getting someone to check up on you;
  • Appreciate the cost of NOT doing the task now – what will it cost you in terms of your education/health/emotions/relationships down the track?
  • Focus on one task at a time – don’t overwhelm yourself with ‘To Do’ lists that are pages long. Keep it Simple and take that first step;
  • Make sure you have a REWARD waiting at the end of the task you are avoiding.