Seven (7) Strategies To Beat Procrastination & Indecision.


The creepiness of procrastination and the consequences of indecision can be immeasurable in the life of every individual and especially for entrepreneurs. For anyone who feels like they are getting in their own way, there is a likely high chance that avoidance is a big part of the challenge. Avoidance alone, can create high levels of stress, increase anxiety about whatever one is avoiding, and take away one's self-confidence, giving in to self-complacency as a way out.
We all have things that we are overwhelmed by, every day of our lives, and it is expedient that we need a personal toolkit of strategies which will set us free from the grip of procrastination and indecision. Here are some steps that you may want to try if you have the tendency to put off doing things that you really need to do, and to achieve your daily or life's goal(s).

1. WRITE A TO-DO LIST FOR EACH CURRENT PROJECT, RATHER THAN PUTTING ALL YOUR TASKS ON A DAILY TO-DO LIST
When you use a daily to-do list and circumstances hijack your day, it’s demoralizing to keep moving items over to your next day’s list. By writing all the actions you need to take for a particular project on a list just for that project, you can work through your tasks as you have time.
2. IDENTIFY IF A SELF-INFLICTED RULE IS CAUSING YOUR AVOIDANCE
When you find yourself thinking, I have to do X to get this done, take a moment to check if that’s really true–or if it’s just a rule you’ve created for yourself.  For example, say that you have the tendency to put off your Christmas baking until the very last minute. You have in your mind that you need to bake three types of cookies for Christmas.
3. DECIDE NOT TO DO AN ITEM THAT HAS BEEN HANGING AROUND ON YOUR TO-DO LIST
The strategy of removing undone items from your to-do list gets back to the issue of prioritizing. For example, one of my hobbies is accumulating (and spending) miles and points for travel. There are a huge number of deals for earning extra miles that come along. It’s overwhelming to try and participate in all of them. It also has a big opportunity cost–because chasing small deals gets in the way of doing much more productive activities.

4. GET A BOOST BY BOOSTING SOMEONE ELSE

When people express positive emotions, they feel more positive emotions. For example, when you express enthusiastic happiness for a colleague or family member who has experienced a recent success, you get a boost, too. Why is this a strategy for overcoming avoidance? “Negative” emotions signal danger, whereas positive emotions signal safety. When we feel safer and the world seems like a kind and hospitable place, we’re more likely to explore. 
5. PRETEND YOU’RE GOING TO OUTSOURCE THE AVOIDED TASK AND WRITE DIRECTIONS
If you’re avoiding a task or not able to make the final decision over it, imagine that you’ve assigned it to another person. Write instructions that contain enough detail for someone else to successfully complete the task. How does this strategy overcome procrastination or indecision? There are a few different ways this works. Here are four (4) ways you can try: (1) Imagine that someone else is doing the steps of the task and that can make you see you are also capable of doing them. (2) Designing the task for someone else may turn on your viability and abilities to do the tasks because you may have reasonable expectations of others than of yourself. (3) Thinking through outsourcing the tasks can actually help get a good psychological gap you need to break free from procrastination and indecision. And lastly, (4) Planning the steps involved in doing a task takes cognitive effort and once you have done that aspect of it, the rest of the task becomes much more easier and achievable than you ever imagined!
6. TEACH SOME ASPECT OF WHATEVER YOU’RE STUCK WITH
The idea of teaching to bypass procrastination and indecision mostly applies to work related tasks. Create educational material for your colleagues, employees, boss, or students (whatever applies in your situation.) For example, if you’re a programmer who’s avoiding doing a difficult or laborious coding task, you might write up a cheat sheet or make a video for how to do a related task you feel confident about in the most streamlined way possible.
7. CLEAR THE DECKS AND GET STARTED WITH WHATEVER IT TAKES
Clearing the decks is one of my personal favorite strategies. If you’ve been avoiding a task for a while and it’s really important, try completely clearing your day. Make a deal with yourself that once you’ve done the action you’ve been putting off, the rest of the day is yours to do whatever you feel like. This is not saying you should spend hours doing some frivolous stuff such as watching movies which may take away your mind from the seriousness of the tasks at hand. You could do that, or you could do whatever productive work or personal tasks you felt like doing, and treat yourself to doing those tasks at a relaxed pace.



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