Procrastination has been especially difficult for many due to the recent changes. Procrastination impacts many individuals and can lead to increased stress over work needed to be finished.
Mindfulness can help you to be more productive by helping you to relax and focus on what present tasks need to be done instead of feeling distracted or overwhelmed.
Here are a few techniques to help you get started:
The RAIN technique:
- Recognize what is going on
- Allow the experience to be there, just as it is
- Investigate with kindness
- Natural awareness, which comes from not identifying with the experience.
The Pomodoro technique:
This technique can be really helpful if you just need to stop distracting yourself and get started. Set a timer for 30 minutes and work on one task for that 30 minutes. Commit to not looking at your phone or doing anything else besides the task that you set. Once the 30 minutes is up, take a 5 minute break (and ONLY 5 minutes) and then do another 30 minutes on your task, or another if you already finished your task. Continue this process until all your work is done!
Create a to-do list
If you are still struggling, try breaking down big tasks into smaller tasks. For example, instead of writing down “Write a 7 page paper” turn that into “Journal your thoughts on what you’d like to write about generally, create an outline, create a thesis statement, find sources, etc.” Ask yourself, “What is the next step?”
“Eat the Frog” technique:
Sometimes it’s best to start with the hardest thing first. It’s easy to drag your heels when you are trying to start something big, and that difficult assignment can keep getting pushed further down your to-do list. Try instead to do the big thing first, when you might have the most time, energy, and motivation. It will be easier to finish off smaller projects later after its done!
Procrastination gets the best of us, especially in quarantine when all days seem to look the same. Luckily, these are some good techniques that can help combat some less than motivational days!
