It’s that time of year again where you are ready to make this year your bitch! But don’t you say that every year and how did that work out for you last year? Well, you are in the right place to change all of that!

I am doing a 7 day series to give you the tools to start the year off right and make it your year.

For day 3 we are going to tackle procrastination and how to stop it.

Procrastinators Guide to getting Sh*! Done!

I’ll be totally honest, I procrastinated getting this post written (you might think I am being ironic but I am being dead serious). This subject is hard for me because I LOVE to procrastinate. Why do something now when I can push it off until later?

That motto has come back and bit me in the butt more than once (or twice or 500 times).

I have been a procrastinator most of my life (there was a brief moment one year for my new years’ resolution where I wasn’t, I did say it was brief). So I feel like I have tried everything to stop procrastinating and I always ended back at square one.

But I have learned a few tricks to stop procrastinating.

And since this is going to be your best year yet I figured you needed some pointers on how to not procrastinate either (let’s be honest we all do it!).

Do a schedule

You get to use your fancy new planner! You need to schedule everything! Okay, not everything but everything you want to get done that day. Something like, “From 5-5:30 I will fold laundry. From 6:00-7:00 I will work out.”

When I say everything I mean everything. I know I am always using “mom stuff” as examples (sorry that’s my life at the moment) but it really works for anything. Nothing is too little to be scheduled in. That way you know you have time to do it so you won’t put it off.

You need to make sure you schedule breaks too. Because if you have everything back-to-back-to-back you are going to be overwhelmed and nothing is ever going to get done.

Turn the screen off

I don’t know how many times I have told myself I’ll clean and watch TV. Or I’ll keep my phone next to me while I write a new blog post. And the next thing I know I’ve wasted 30 minutes (okay maybe an hour) on Instagram and I am not any closer to finishing so I push it off, again.

When you need to get things done you have to turn your screens off. Sometimes this even means turning off music too. The music can be just as distracting. Yes, I know music can be a motivator but it can also be a distraction. I know I have stopped doing what I should be doing to skip and song then I get sucked into a vortex of finding new music videos (and another 30 minutes disappears).

So put down your phone, turn the TV off and stop procrastinating.

Set a deadline

Setting a deadline can help get you motivated to not procrastinate. It makes you prioritize what you need to get done and it can help give you that little push that you need.

But sometimes when you set a deadline for yourself on something that no one is really going to notice, it can be hard to keep. So tell someone about it.

It has been proven if you tell 3 people about what you are going to do you are more likely to do it. Make sure the people you tell will be someone who cares if you follow through. Don’t just tell the clerk at the grocery store or a PTA mom. Because if they care about you following through they will ask you about it. And how awkward will it be if you say that you didn’t do it?

So stop procrastinating set a deadline and then tell someone about it.

Give yourself an incentive

You can have so much fun with this! Tell can tell yourself something like if I this one thing done I can get caught up on my TV show or I can go get a drink with friends. You can do whatever you want!

This only works though if you stick to it. So this one can go hand in hand with the previous tip. Say you want a donut after you get something off your list done. Tell your friend/husband/your toddler who doesn’t ever forget anything, that you are going to get donuts after you get the thing on your list is done.

And it doesn’t even have to be food. For example, you can set a goal to lose 10 pounds when you do it you can go get that new dress you have been wanting forever.

Now you won’t be putting things off and you get donuts (or that fancy dress) out of it. It’s a win-win!

Set a timer

This is great for when you are feeling super overwhelmed with all the things on you to do list. Instead of just blowing it off and not doing anything set a timer. Only focus on one thing that you need to do, only one. Then when the timer goes off take a break.

Ideally, you shouldn’t be taking a very long break, maybe only 10 minutes but you are in charge of yourself so if you need more take more. If you know that you can’t take more than 5 minutes then don’t take more than 5 minutes.

Knowing that you only have to do something for a little bit can help you stop procrastinating. That’s why setting a timer will help.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and can’t seem to get out of a rut I have a great post on how to get out of your funk. Check it out!

There Ya Have It!

This is day 3 of 7 days to the best year yet! Are you loving it? We are halfway there and I know you are going to want to hear what’s going to happen next in the series, it’s going to shock you. Like seriously!

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