How to Stop Procrastinating: 10 Practical Tips

Key takeaways

• You can learn how to stop procrastinating by identifying why you procrastinate and understanding the procrastination cycle that occurs when you have many tasks to complete.

• The 2-minute rule, developed by David Allen, is an anti-procrastination technique that encourages you to complete tasks immediately if they take two minutes or less.

• Anxiety may cause and lead to procrastination, but procrastination can also cause you to have more anxiety.

Sometimes, procrastination is your way of coping with an uncomfortable feeling, such as fear of failure; instead of facing the fear head-on, you may avoid doing the task altogether. Read on to explore 10 practical tips to take greater control over your time and tasks.

If you'd like to learn more about managing your time, building career skills, and planning projects effectively, consider enrolling in the Career Success Specialization from the University of California, Irvine. Beginner-friendly, this 10-course series covers topics such as project planning, goal setting, time management, creative thinking, and more.

What is procrastination?

Procrastination is the act of putting off important tasks you need to finish. It often involves doing less demanding (but often more enjoyable) activities despite potentially negative consequences. For example, if your manager asks you to put together a presentation to deliver the following week, procrastination looks like getting started the night before it's due, which can provoke anxiety, stress, mistakes, poor work, or possibly missed deadlines.

Procrastination is more than a lack of time management skills. Oftentimes, you may feel a lingering anxiety or fear about the work you need to complete, which may cause a delay in getting started. Data suggest that 20 to 25 percent of adults tend to procrastinate, with higher rates seen in adolescents and in educational settings [1].

The effects of procrastination

Procrastination can have a detrimental effect on both you and your work. It can increase feelings of guilt and anxiety. It can also lead to other problems, such as low self-esteem, stress, insomnia, and reduced work performance.

What causes procrastination?

Usually, the tasks procrastinated on are those that individuals find most difficult, unpleasant, or boring, putting them off even if they are the most important responsibilities of the day. Some common reasons for procrastination include:

• Avoiding unpleasant feelings: People tend to avoid things that make them feel bad. Freud developed the pain-pleasure principle, hypothesizing that humans find motivation to move toward pleasure and away from pain. This model showed that people tend to do things that provide instant gratification rather than the things they find difficult, overwhelming, or painful.

• Feeling overwhelmed: Sometimes, tasks feel so overwhelming that it's easier to simply put them off. Feeling overwhelmed by tasks may have several underlying causes, including perfectionism, helplessness, low energy, or trying to do too many things at once.

• Lacking interest: Sometimes, procrastination occurs because the task is just not interesting. It’s easy to avoid doing something that is boring or seems pointless. It can also be a telltale sign that it’s time to make some changes.

• Fearing failure: Fear of making mistakes is a common reason for avoiding important tasks. If you are a perfectionist by nature, the fear of failing can be particularly overwhelming and may push you to avoid the task altogether. Interestingly, a fear of success can provoke the same response.

• Adhering to bad habits: Sometimes, procrastination develops from bad habits practiced and reinforced over time. It often stems from a need for more discipline. It takes commitment and dedication to prioritize the most difficult or uncomfortable task.

How to stop procrastinating: 10 practical tips to overcome procrastination

To stop procrastinating, begin recognizing the cycle you get into when you have things to do and mitigate your avoidance. From there, you can begin to create better habits, limit distractions, and determine your priorities.

The actionable steps outlined below can help you maximize your focus and better manage your tasks.

1. Recognize the procrastination cycle when it occurs.

It’s important to notice when you're procrastinating. When you cultivate awareness of your behavior and the resulting choices you make, you can begin to make important changes. Since procrastination is cyclical, reflect on where you may be in the cycle:

• A belief about the task: What you believe about the work you need to complete can trigger a procrastination cycle. Reasons can include avoiding unpleasant feelings, boredom, or a fear of failure.

• Growing discomfort: That initial belief about the work will give way to deep discomfort.

• Hiding in less important tasks: Those feelings of discomfort will lead you to delay the more important task and find less pressing or more enjoyable things to do.

• Final consequences: When you cannot put off the primary task any longer, you may face final consequences, such as panic, insomnia, or low self-esteem, for not being able to plan out your time better.

You can redirect your behavior at any stage of the cycle. For example, if you catch yourself growing more uncomfortable at the thought of starting your task, you can perhaps channel that energy physically by going for a walk, talking to a friend, or journaling. Even during the last stage, you may be able to ask for a deadline extension, even if it's just a few hours, to help calm your panic.

Start cultivating awareness of when you procrastinate, which tasks trigger longer periods of procrastination, and what your common "tells" might be, so you can better catch yourself in the moment and redirect your choices.

2. Use time management techniques to order your work.

Many tried-and-true time management strategies can help you develop greater focus and get through important tasks without delaying them as much. Consider conducting a time audit to understand how you use your time, chunking your time so you don't "task switch" as often and can build focus on related projects, or making sure your environment is as distraction-free as possible.

What is the 2-minute rule?

The 2-minute rule, developed by writer David Allen, is to do a task that takes two minutes or less right away. Think of small things like hanging up your coat instead of leaving it draped over a chair. These quick wins may seem minor, but over time, they prevent tasks from piling up and help you build healthy, productive habits.

3. Prioritize your tasks.

Get organized about what you have to do on a daily or weekly basis by creating a list. Spend a few minutes figuring out what is a priority and what isn’t to identify your most pressing responsibilities and work accordingly. Work on priority tasks first to lower your stress level and feel a sense of accomplishment before finishing your day or week with less crucial tasks.

4. Eat the frog.

The term “eat the frog” refers to completing the most difficult or stressful task first thing in the day to set you up for the day. By getting the one task that you dread out of the way first, you gain confidence, motivation, and momentum to get everything else done, and the rest of the tasks may feel more manageable in comparison. So, eat the frog.

5. Trim your to-do list.

If you begin to work with a to-do list, trim where you can. The day is just 24 hours long, and if you find yourself with long lists, you may have to rearrange or leave out some tasks. For starters, go through and remove anything that isn’t a top priority that day or that week.

Doing so can help keep your attention on tasks that matter the most. It also helps to make your list of things to get through seem less overwhelming. The more you can reduce the number of decisions you need to make and the number of tasks that you deem essential, the less stressed you should feel. Do this the day before so you are ready to focus and start the next morning.

6. Minimize distractions.

Limit distractions when you commit to focusing on a task that would usually cause you to procrastinate. Turn off your phone, stay away from social media, and make sure you’re setting yourself up to stay on task rather than drifting to something new.

7. Develop consistent habits.

A habit like procrastination develops over time, but it is just as possible to develop new, healthy habits. Consider setting a short amount of time aside to work on a task and not allowing yourself to do anything else during that period. The Pomodoro Technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo, involves setting a timer for 25 minutes to work on a task without stopping. At the end of the 25 minutes, you reward yourself with a five-minute break.

8. Reward yourself.

Like the Pomodoro Technique, where you reward yourself with a break, you can use other personal rewards as motivation, such as a break for a snack or an activity. If you're working on a more involved project, maybe your reward is something bigger, like a nice dinner when you turn in the finished product.

Read more: 11 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Start and Complete Difficult Tasks

9. Be kind to yourself.

Procrastination is common and completely understandable. Instead of focusing on feelings of frustration, be kind to yourself and focus on taking steps to begin. In some cases, procrastination can be a sign of something deeper, so it’s important to honestly assess if it's becoming an ongoing problem.

10. Explore working on more challenging areas.

Take a moment to see if any themes arise around procrastination. Does all of your procrastinating stem from the same belief, such as boredom, fear of failure, or something else?

If so, it may be worth working on that area. For instance, if boredom fuels much of your procrastination, it may be a sign that you want to seek another job that offers more opportunities for learning and professional growth. On the other hand, if your procrastination stems from a fear of failure, it may be time to seek professional resources to address that fear and develop new beliefs.

Explore our free resources for success

To build inspiration and start on the path to your dream career, consider using the Career Resource Hub on Coursera. You can learn about different career opportunities, take quizzes to find your best match, and learn how to use common tools. Then, explore career resources that can help you stay proactive:

• Read our Career Chat issue: Business Professionals + GenAI: Saving Time and Increasing Performance

• Find your career match: Career Test: What Career Is Right for Me Quiz?

• Watch on YouTube: Mastering Time Management: 6 Strategies for Success

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