I’ll do it tomorrow! That can wait, now I treat myself. Next week I’m sure I’ll find more time for it. Everybody knows it, this treacherous voice of the inner pig, which always wants to stop you from doing unloved activities and prefers the comfortable way.
So tasks pile up, pressure on you grows and inner restlessness won’t leave you in peace. Procrastination can have a very negative impact on your life.
Fortunately, you can counteract this! How? You’ll find out in this article.
What does procrastination mean?
It is a disruption that causes people to unnecessarily postpone or interrupt tasks. This makes the completion of these tasks very difficult. In some cases, tasks cannot be completed at all, which causes inner pressure and dissatisfaction in the person affected. Most of the people who suffer from this are those who work in a self-determined manner and can therefore organize their tasks and their timeline themselves.
So is this our inner pig?
No. Procrastination is a disorder and should be distinguished from procrastination and dawdling, which are not uncommon in society. In bad cases, this pathological disorder can even cause physical and psychological discomfort due to persistent dissatisfaction, tension, anxiety and helplessness. Therefore, it is a serious disorder.
Almost everyone struggles with the inner voice that likes to postpone unloved activities or now and then cancel them altogether. The inner pig always likes to go the easier and simpler way, although we ourselves actually know that another way would be the more sensible.
It makes your will weaken and tries to destroy your motivation. Thus, it actually only has to do with a lack of self-discipline and self-motivation and not with a disorder. To be able to defeat your inner pig now, you should improve yourself in these two areas. Yes, self-discipline and the right mindset can be trained!
Help against procrastination
First, you should think about whether and to what extent you suffer from procrastination.
Is it affecting your work, your studies?
Does it sometimes feel like everything is getting too much for you?
Do you put yourself under more and more pressure and suffer from it?
Are you jumping from one thing to the next without making any real progress anywhere?
Are you tormented by restlessness and are you often unhappy?
If you sometimes simply lack motivation and perseverance against your inner pig, then the following tips will definitely help you.
If you are really negatively affected by it, you should definitely get help and talk about the problem with an expert.
Increase self-motivation with these tips:
Think of the consequences
It is always easy to gloss over bad decisions. However, this does not make the problems disappear. Try to actively deal with the consequences and also think about the negative consequences of your decision.
Create a procrastination bullet list
You notice which areas are most affected by procrastination and lack of motivation? That’s great! Then simply make a list of these areas to remove them from your life one by one.
Start with simple tasks
Once you’re in the flow of work, things usually go a lot better. How do you get there? Pulling difficult tasks to the very beginning definitely makes sense in terms of time management. However, the question is always whether such an approach works for you. If you find that difficult and large tasks tend to bog you down and negatively impact your performance for the rest of the day, then start with the small easy tasks to get the ball rolling and gain momentum throughout the day.
Complete at least one deferred activity per day
You don’t want to/can’t do all your to-dos at once? Then try to always cross off at least one thing from your to-do list that you have already postponed. This way you avoid that a big pile of tasks accumulates over time and that you can’t manage it anymore.
Set yourself clearly defined deadlines
“I’ll do that soon.” “But really, next week.” Such unclear deadlines are difficult to meet, and ultimately, once again, the task ends up being pushed on. The logical step to counteract this? Exactly – clear deadlines are the solution.
- Set exact deadlines for your tasks. In the very best case you even assign a time span to the tasks (e.g. 16:00 – 18:00).
- Make sure that you are always reminded of your appointments at the right time. PlanerNotifications or sticky notes help you to do this, for example
If you want to plan further ahead for clarity and also keep track of the tasks that will come your way later, then a weekly/monthly plan definitely makes sense.
Let us help you
It’s uncomfortable to ask for help, but there are times when you really should. This way you relieve yourself by getting a sense of support from those around you, and get the tasks done in a fraction of the time.
Do not get distracted
In this day and age, it’s far too easy to get distracted. A few taps on a smartphone screen and you have access to apps, the internet and all the possibilities that come with it. So to stay on task, you really need to stay disciplined.
Do not be too perfect
Do you know the 80-20 rule? It means that you can achieve 80% of the result with 20% of the effort. BUT to fulfill the remaining 20% you would have to put 80% effort on top. Basically, it’s about working efficiently. Perfectionism robs a lot of time, energy and motivation.
Therefore, always try to find the right point to stop and gain experience in relation to it.
Reward yourself
Rewarding yourself helps make your successes more visible. Looking at how far you’ve come and the positive steps you’ve taken forward will boost your self-confidence and release feelings of happiness. The combination of this will in turn drive you in the future and make it harder and harder for the inner bastard.
Break large tasks into smaller parts
Sitting on a task for hours is quite demotivating. However, if you divide such a task into several pieces and thus achieve the first partial goal after only 20 minutes, then success is quickly noticeable. This feels good and gives you the drive to continue.
Start as early as possible
After you’ve done your planning, you should get started right away. Throw yourself in the deep end instead of dipping your toe into the water one by one for ages.
Don’t give your inner bastard time to interfere and demolish your motivation.
Postpone procrastination
How about a slightly different way of thinking? Just move the procrastination to another day. Wouldn’t that feel good?
