I am an inherently lazy person. I do not enjoy working. I cannot tell you how many times I have waited until the absolute last minute to study for a test or hand in an assignment. It has taken me a very long time to cultivate a routine that allows me to get both my work done and have enough time to spend doing absolutely nothing.

In my journey toward beating procrastination, there have been two—yes, only two—fundamental shifts I have made to my daily routine. I hope you find them as helpful as I have.


Dedicate Time Each Day to Do Something for Yourself

My life lately has been arranged into three increments: 5 AM–9 AM, 9 AM–5 PM, and 5 PM–9 PM.

Between 5 AM and 9 AM, that is time for me to do absolutely whatever I want. I go to the gym, journal, spend some time doing admin, or go for coffee. This is my time, and my time only.

Between 9 AM and 5 PM, I commit to spending this time on my working day.

From 5 PM to 9 PM, my books are put away, and this time is largely spent preparing for the following day and getting ready for bed. During this time, I do not work, nor do I necessarily do things I enjoy. This is dedicated time for self-care activities that prepare me for the following day.

A large reason I was procrastinating was because I wasn’t allowing myself time to do things for me each day. Being able to have dedicated time where I didn’t have to feel guilty about not working made me resent having to write an essay a little less.

Am I saying that you too need to wake up at 5 AM? Not necessarily. The bottom line is that you need to give yourself enough hours in the day to split between what you want and what your school or job wants.

Further, that final 5 PM–9 PM portion of my day has been instrumental in allowing me to be organized and prepared for the next day. I spend each evening making a list of what I want to achieve the next day, packing my bags, and prepping my food. Having this done the night before has helped me avoid taking time away from both my morning me-time and my working day.

Deleted Social Media
I know you’re not going to like this one, but it needs to be said. Currently, the only social media I use is WhatsApp. While I still haven’t deleted many of my accounts, I have committed to not having the apps on my phone.

The biggest reason I decided to do this was my sleep schedule. Each night, I would dutifully get into bed early only to doom-scroll until 11 PM. I’d be too tired to get up early, and when I didn’t get up early, I lost that important morning time for myself. When I lost that time, it meant I resisted working harder than ever. I needed to get my sleep schedule in check, and the first step to doing that was getting offline.

Now, I not only don’t have social media, but I am off all forms of technology by 7 PM. When I climb into bed, I read instead.

Further, being off social media has helped me stop comparing my journey to others. I used to feel so inadequate compared to people who seemed to be solving world peace in 24 hours. Being able to focus on my own life and not let comparison steal my joy has been instrumental in my procrastination journey.

Beating procrastination is a long and tiresome journey, but it’s important to remember to persist. You won’t get it right the first time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Tell us: What tips do you have to help with procrastination?

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