Training self discipline

[Yonder]

I have a massive procrastination problem, and am never self-disiplined. What are some tips to get myself to finish tasks on time without getting distracted?

[James]

This is hard. I am a procrastination person too. Here is how I combat this. 

First every day there is a routine. My routine is planned weeks in advance on what is getting executed in any given day. Everything from fitness, to work, to play it is all planned out as tasks for that day. 

When I wake up I go to my task list and I just start executing. 

It was amazing the first thing I learned is if I just focused on executing tasks I had a ton of time. Likely because I was not wasting any time doing pointless activities. 

Over time I just keep adding more tasks. 

I found a tool for managing tasks just recently that I have been loading all my tasks into called ClickUp. It has built in time tracking and other things you will need as you scale out your tasks and start sourcing some things to others. 

It is great for just individuals too and free while just using their basic tool set. I have recurring tasks in there that build me a new list every day and as I find more tasks I just add them in. Then it builds my day and I sit down and get to work. 

[Scarlett]

I believe procrastination is a personality trait. This is why people struggle with changing it. You can't really ever change a personality trait but something like this, you can trick yourself into doing the opposite. What I mean by this is use a reward system. Every time you stick to something, give yourself a reward. Once it catches on, it will be like a habit for you and you will be able to manage it better. 

[Stacey]

Procrastination is almost always a learned behavior that is established as a child so don't beat yourself up too much over it. You liked had a friend or parent, or other family member who unknowingly taught this to you. It is kind of like Scarlett said, it is more or less a developed personality trait. Instead of trying to change it, try to use it to your advantage! A lot of people who procrastinate work great under pressure.  

[Emma]

The easiest way for my to deal with this when it happens to myself is to write out a schedule. If you can do this and stick to it long enough, being on a schedule will be second nature to you and the procrastination will have a harder time seeping in and messing up your goals. 

[Jeremy_CLK]

I love he suggestions shared here. I will just add, that in order to be productive, you should develop a system and stick to it no matter what. In Brian Tracy's book "Eat That Frog", he says, that the first thing in the morning, tackle that task that you are likely to procrastinate. Don't start with the small easy tasks that you like at the expense of the most important but hard tasks.

Then, to avoid distractions, you have to split the big task into small chunks, that way, you will be handling the smaller tasks and ticking them off the list. These smaller task will eventually contribute to the achievement of the larger task.

[Xavier MG]

On 6/16/2021 at 5:43 PM, Yonder said:

I have a massive procrastination problem, and am never self-disiplined. What are some tips to get myself to finish tasks on time without getting distracted?

Well, you are not alone in this. This is a problem that we are all struggling through. What i would advice is to first eliminate the distractors. Keep your phone and anything connected to the internet away from your work area. Next, commit to schedule. Plan your activity a day prior, and stick to the top 10 priority activities. Then use the concept of "Eat that Frog" by Brian Tracy. Here, he says, you should start with those hard tasks that you are likely to procrastinate upon. Once you do the hard ones in the morning, you will be motivate to work on the rest.