How To Be Productive and Stop Procrastinating

"Procrastination is the thief of time"

Today's post is all about how to stop procrastinating and become more productive. Obviously this is something that takes practice and doesn't happen over night, but if you stick to these basic steps, you'll find that you naturally become a more productive person and procrastination won't be much of an issue anymore.

1. DOWNLOAD THE 'FOREST' APP

No, this isn't sponsored. Recently I heard about this app on Career Girl Daily (an amazing blog) and I decided to download it. It sounds silly, but what it does is allow you to plant a tree for a set amount of time. Once you have planted that tree, you can't leave that app until the time is up. Each time you successfully plant a tree, it gets added onto your virtual forest. If you leave the app, the tree will die. I find that this really motivates me to get my work done because then I'm not sitting around on my phone procrastinating.

2. GET AN EARLY START

Since I became more of a morning person, I found I felt a lot more productive and motivated. If you set an alarm the night before, make sure you get up and don't hit snooze. You don't have to start your workload immediately but waking up at a regular time and never hitting snooze definitely improves your motivation and productivity levels.

3. WRITE A REALISTIC 'TO-DO' LIST

It is way too common for people to endlessly write small tasks on their to-do lists, I used to write 'wake up' just so I definitely had something to tick off. To quit doing this, write down your main objectives and a couple of minor tasks. This way the list is less overwhelming and you will be more likely to want to get your tasks done. I love to write my to do lists on my weekly planner, that way I can see my workload for the week.

4. PRIORITISE

This kind of ties in with the last tip, but prioritising your tasks and projects is essential. You'll never get anything done if you do all the small tasks first, because if you do, the main tasks seem more daunting and you'll think "oh, I'll just do that tomorrow". If you get the bigger things out of the way, when you only have small tasks left you'll feel more likely to do them because you've already done the hard bit.

5. HAVE A TIDY WORKSPACE

Having a clean, organised workspace or room really affects your mood. You'll obviously feel calmer if your desk is clear and everything is put away where it should be, and this will make you want to do your work. If everything is all over the place and messy, that will also be something to add to your to-do list, leading to a larger workload. So, keep your workspace/room tidy and you will feel more peaceful and want to actually work!

We hope this post was helpful! Do you procrastinate? What are your tips?

Byeee! x