Procrastination is the act of delaying a task(s) until the last minute, despite knowing the stress it’ll cause later.
Oftentimes we procrastinate without intention; it just happens. Sometimes it’s a mistake. You think you have a week left to finish an assignment only for it to be due the next day. Other times, you feel a sense of helplessness and decide to push the work aside. This would be something you’d pay for later.
Even the most organized of people procrastinate- it’s an obstacle that happens to everyone, and it’s up to us to take the steps we need in order to overcome it. Here, there are several ways to get over procrastination, and get things done.
Killing Your Procrastination, One Step At A Time
To start, knowing why you procrastinate in the first place can help. According to an article by Kendra Cherry, many people depend on motivation in order to do or work on a certain task. When they lack that motivation, they don’t do the work. Maybe this isn’t surprising, but we can use this common factor to help create a solution.
Sometimes people give themselves ‘rewards’ after completing a task, or even just a portion of it. This reward gives them the motivation to continue on, whether it is to earn that reward or to work towards earning another. These rewards can be anything, from a break on your phone to spending some cash on a present for yourself. People find that by looking towards a treat in the end, they can push past their dependency on procrastination.
Another way to fight procrastination would be to create a list. This may not seem like much, but hear me out; writing down every single thing you need to do (no matter how small), may make your list of tasks seem endless, but it helps provide clarity and allows you to narrow down your easier activities from your harder ones. Getting those easier ones done may not mean as much to you, but it is SOMETHING that in the end, by completing, gets crossed off your list. As someone who personally uses this tip, I can assure you it does work extremely well when you give it a chance.
To build on this strategy, you can also write down tasks in smaller, more manageable pieces, so the end result can actually seem like something you can achieve. Maybe you don’t even have to write it down- just focusing on a single activity and breaking it down can really help. For example, say you need to write an essay by the end of the week. Writing it all the night before it’s due isn’t exactly relaxing, but writing one paragraph each night leading up to the due date sure is (okay maybe not, but it is certainly a better solution).
If I choose to break something down, I like to think to myself that each individual step towards completing the overall task must be due by a certain period of time, so even if I do decide to procrastinate on those smaller portions to work, I still get it done by my end goal.
Now, remember when I told you finding the root of your desire to procrastinate can help? Finding what assists your procrastination helps too. That could be your phone, which you may choose to mindlessly scroll on rather than do work, or binge-watching a show; pulling those distractions away, out of sight, can increase your focus on the task at hand and give you higher chances at completion.
Sometimes these little tricks don’t work for everyone, so one final tip that MIGHT have a chance is to just do it. It will be hard, there’s no doubt about it, but the pride you’ll feel afterwards will be a treat in its own way. It’s something off your plate, and that good feeling will last for a little while.
Just sit yourself down somewhere where you can focus, and push all distractions aside. Just put yourself there and get the hard part done so you can rest easy and have nothing weighing on your shoulders. Trust me, it’ll be worth it in the end.
SOURCES
Prem, Roman, et al. “Procrastination in Daily Working Life: A Diary Study on Within-Person Processes That Link Work Characteristics to Workplace Procrastination.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, 5 July 2018, pp. 1087–1087, www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-procrastination-2795944#toc-how-to-overcome-procrastination, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01087. Accessed 23 Dec. 2025.
