Try these strategies to beat procrastiworking and really get stuff done

The problem of procrastination

Time inconsistency plays a very important role in procrastination at work. Often the work you do contributes to a larger project or corporate goal. However, depending on your role, this goal may seem far removed from your day-to-day tasks. If you don't know why your work is important, it's hard to motivate yourself to do it. 

What is missing is clarity. When you clearly understand the work you do and its impact on your team or organization, and can make a direct connection between the two, you are more motivated. However, it is difficult to achieve such a result. In fact, according to our study , only 26% of employees clearly understand how their work contributes to company goals. 

Understanding how your work relates to company goals provides more clarity about how it affects your team, and therefore your business. Decision-making is simplified. You can prioritize important tasks based on the initiatives that have the most impact on your business goals. Be careful, however, that these objectives are not too far away or amorphous. To fight procrastination, you must always be able to keep your company's goals in sight. 

7 tips to stop procrastinating

To combat procrastination at work, create shorter-term team and departmental goals, or make connections between your personal tasks and larger company goals. Start by applying these seven tips: 

1. Link tasks to goals

The best way to stop procrastinating is to have a clear understanding of how your work contributes to team and company goals. With such a level of clarity, the work takes on its full meaning. Instead of working for work's sake, you contribute to a larger  vision .

Ideally, this vision should excite you, but even if you don't, simply understanding the context in which your work takes place will make your contribution more meaningful. The work you usually put off then has a clear value, you no longer have to struggle with time inconsistency. 

2. Clarify priorities

Deadlines evolve, this is inevitable and can be explained by several reasons: a project that suffers from a drift of objectives , another project that becomes a priority or your team leader who reallocates resources according to last minute needs. . However, if you know which task is most important, you are better prepared to actively manage your priorities. So when deadlines and deadlines change, you have the clarity to deliver the most valuable work to the business. 

Clarifying priorities is a good anti-procrastination method, which allows you to clearly visualize the most important tasks. With clear priorities, you know you're not working on unnecessary tasks. Instead of feeling like you're wasting time at work, you realize the importance of your contribution.

3. Use goals to fight perfectionism

Sometimes chronic procrastinators are actually perfectionists. In this case, the desire to deliver a perfect job actually generates significant pressure, which can lead to procrastination. However, perfectionism, like most other types of procrastination at work, can be overcome with a higher level of clarity.

Focus on impact

If you struggle to overcome perfectionism, having a clear idea of ​​the impact of your work can help. Instead of aiming for perfection, focus on completing the task at hand so that it contributes to company goals in the best possible way. Let us explain our point of view:

Let's say you're working on an educational animation for your website's home page. Many people will see this achievement, which, as a perfectionist, freaks you out. This is because you are focusing on the outcome of your work and thinking about all the people who will watch the video, instead of focusing on the goals and impact of the video. The objective of animation is to present the advantages of your company's product to people who do not know it, and the impact is pedagogy on the subject. By redefining your priorities around this impact, you reduce the pressure of perfectionism and start your work without delay. 

Define the notion of “completed” work

To combat perfectionism, you can also define what a "done" job means. This is a technique Scrum teams use to move quickly. By defining the notion of work done, and sticking to it, you know when you can stop working, whether or not the work is 100% perfect. When in doubt, keep in mind that a finished job is better than a perfect job. 

4. Break down big initiatives into smaller tasks

Clearly visualizing how and when you will complete a large project is sometimes difficult. It may therefore be tempting to postpone it. The scope of the initiative can make it difficult to capture all the variables and relate them to your larger goals. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the size of the task (or project), break the work down into smaller parts, then use a project management tool to track and organize your tasks.

5. List all the tasks to be done

Even if you are not working on complex initiatives, it is always useful to make a list of all the tasks to be completed. Without a way to clearly visualize the work you have to do, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed and losing sight of your goals. Know that you are not an isolated case: according to our study , 26% of deadlines are missed each week. 

6. Set deadlines

Without a specific due date, it can be tempting to put off work. In contrast, with clear deadlines, you know exactly when a task needs to be completed. You can then plan your work accordingly to ensure it is completed on time. After all, you can't produce effective work if you don't know when it needs to be finalized.

Once you've identified all the tasks to be done in a to-do list tool, make sure each item has a due date associated with it. Also take the opportunity to identify tasks that are not a priority for you, then postpone them until you find a little more time to devote to them, or delegate them to someone else.

Don't do it just once. At the end of each day, quickly sort through remaining tasks and set deadlines for any new ones. So when you get to work the next day, you have all the cards in hand to carry out your activities.

7. Try These Time Management Strategies

Now that you have more clarity about the importance of your work, you're more likely to feel motivated. Yet there are always days when you need a little more help to stay the course. In that case, try one of these time management strategies to avoid overstretching yourself and achieve a hyper-focused state . 

• The Getting Things Done (GTD) method  : This approach assumes that the more information you mentally accumulate, the more productivity and concentration you lose. Instead of relying on the capabilities of your brain, the GTD method encourages you to store all information related to your work in a single well-organized external reference source. 

• The Pomodoro technique  : this approach alternates between work sessions and break times. A pomodoro represents a 25-minute work session, followed by a five-minute break. And after four pomodoros, it's time for a longer break. These short work sessions have the advantage of being more productive and motivating.

• Time blocking  : Time blocking, or management by time blocking in French, refers to a time management strategy that aims to plan all the moments of your day. It allows you to effectively divide your work week into small slots that you “block” to carry out activities: check your e-mails, work on your projects, take a break and even exercise.

• Timeboxing  : Timeboxing, or time block management in French, refers to a goal-oriented time management strategy . This aims to improve productivity and combat procrastination. A block represents the goal of completing a given task in a certain amount of time.

• The Two-Minute Rule: This relatively simple time-management strategy aims to immediately take care of tasks that take less than two minutes. The method in question therefore focuses on small tasks, assuming that if you get rid of them quickly, you will have more time (and intellectual resources) to complete your key tasks.