Beating procrastination often involves unconventional strategies that can shake up your routine and make tasks feel less daunting. Here are 16 unusual yet effective ways for you to test out:
Learn Your Why’s
Procrastinating is indeed very comforting. You need a strong incentive to break the pattern:
1. Negative Visualisation
Visualise the worst possible outcomes if you continue procrastinating. Imagine the stress, missed opportunities, or negative consequences.
Why it works: This technique creates a sense of urgency and pushes you into action by making the cost of inaction more tangible fueling your determination to take the first step.
Example: Sit back, relax, and imagine the worst possible scenario if you continue doing nothing with the project at hand. Picture how quickly you’re turning procrastination into a habit, delaying the completion of other tasks as well. See yourself, day by day, pushing everything on your list further back until one day, that list towers above you. Notice what you look like weighed down by the burden of tasks you can no longer even imagine attempting. Observe how unfinished tasks start to take over your space. When that picture becomes vivid, see your life through your own eyes, and recognise what it’s becoming. Observe your feelings as a habitual procrastinator, watching life pass you by. Do you like that image? That feeling? It might be a small task or a minor project you’re currently delaying, but bad habits develop quickly and can drastically harm our lives. Once established, they are much harder to shake off.
Break the Pattern
2. Gamified Tasks
Turn your to-do list into a game. Use apps or systems that reward you with points, levels, or prizes for completing tasks.
Why it works: Gamification taps into the brain’s reward system, making the task more engaging and fun.
Example: Use the app ‘Habitica,’ which turns your daily tasks into a role-playing game where you earn rewards and level up as you complete tasks.
3. Structured Procrastination with a Chunky Twist
Work on less critical tasks that still need attention as a way to sidestep more daunting ones. This approach helps you build momentum and make progress on various fronts.
Why it works: By breaking down big tasks into smaller, manageable chunks and grouping similar tasks together (a method known as chunking), you make the information easier for your brain to handle. This process also helps maintain focus and reduce overwhelm.
Example: If you need to write a report or tackle a major project, don’t get sidetracked by cleaning your workspace. Instead, focus on the challenging project by breaking it down into smaller tasks. Identify and address the most daunting parts. You’ll often find that the biggest obstacles are tied to uncertainty or lack of confidence. Tackling a few smaller tasks first can quickly build your confidence. If some obstacles involve waiting for feedback from others, work on other related tasks that you can control in the meantime.
4. Random Timer
Set a timer to go off at random intervals. The randomness adds an element of surprise, keeping you on your toes.
Why it works: The uncertainty of when the next break will happen can increase focus during work periods.
Example: Use a random timer app that goes off at unexpected times throughout the day. When it rings, take a short, fun break — a quick walk or do another activity — for a few minutes.
Get Into State
5. Mindfulness and Meditation
Use mindfulness exercises or short meditations to calm your mind and reduce stress, making it easier to focus on tasks.
Why it works: Mindfulness helps reduce anxiety and clears your mind, making it easier to concentrate on the task at hand.
Example: Spend 5 minutes practising deep breathing or a quick meditation before starting your work to centre yourself and improve focus.
6. Reverse Psychology Approach
Convince yourself to start the task for just five minutes. The idea is to lower the barrier to starting, and often you’ll find momentum builds, making it easier to continue.
Why it works: Starting is the hardest part, and once you’re engaged, the task becomes less daunting.
Example: Tell yourself, ‘I’ll just work on this for 5 minutes,’ and you might find yourself continuing well beyond that.
Stay Focused
7. Distraction-Free Ritual
Establish a specific ritual to signal the start of focused work time, which helps train your brain to switch into productivity mode.
Why it works: A consistent routine conditions your brain to associate certain actions with productivity, making it easier to get into the zone.
Example: Set up an alarm to notify when it’s time to focus and crack on immediately with a task requiring your undivided attention without hesitation, having all other reminders turned off.
8. Work Hat
Designate a specific item of clothing or accessory that you only wear when working. Putting it on signals to your brain that it’s time to focus.
Why it works: This creates a physical and mental ritual that helps trigger a productive state of mind.
Example: Wear a particular scarf, bracelet or watch when it’s time to work. When you put it on, your brain knows it’s time to get serious.
9. Unconventional Environment
Alter your workspace to break the monotony and stimulate creativity. A new environment can refresh your focus.
Why it works: A new environment can refresh your mindset and reduce the mental block that keeps you from starting.
Example: Try working from a different location you wouldn’t normally associate with work, like a café or a park, or even a different room in your house. Alternatively, you can redecorate your workspace to make it more inspiring.
10. Top Priority Zone
After identifying the most urgent and important tasks, dedicate time to the most important one, getting other tasks, no matter how important in general they are, out of your sight and out of your mind for the time being. This helps you get into the flow and feel empowered once you complete the most precious task, even if only partially.
Why it works: Focusing on the most important task first helps you build momentum and reduces the stress of unfinished business.
Example: Use an Eisenhower Matrix to sort tasks by importance and urgency, then focus solely on the top priority task in a distraction-free zone.
11. Fun Pomodoro
Combine the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break) with unusual breaks, like doing a quick dance or a brief physical challenge.
Why it works: This combines peak brain activity with physical exercise, helping to reset mentally and avoid losing focus.
Example: After each 25-minute work session, do a 5-minute physical exercise, like jumping jacks, a few pushups or popping outside for a quick stroll.
Reward Yourself
12. Temporal Motivation Theory
Set self-imposed deadlines and immediate rewards for task completion. Only allow yourself to have a reward when a project/part of it is completed though.
Why it works: Creating urgency and rewarding yourself can make tasks seem more pressing and gratifying.
Example: The moment you get to a logical completion of a task, reward yourself to build positive neuro-associations. Rewards don’t always have to be extraordinary, sometimes having a little walk outside or clapping yourself on a shoulder is sufficient. What’s crucial here is to mark the completion point and take a quick break to appreciate every little accomplishment.
13. Reward Jar
Write down small rewards on slips of paper and place them in a jar. Every time you finish a task, draw a slip for a surprise reward.
Why it works: The random nature of the reward keeps you motivated and adds an element of fun to completing tasks.
Example: Fill a jar with slips of paper listing rewards like ‘15 minutes of video games’ or ‘a piece of chocolate.’ Draw one every time you finish a task.
Small Tasks that Turn into a BIG Monster
14. Two-Minute Rule
When you’re stuck and feeling down, to warm up the ‘engine,’ start with tasks that take less than two minutes. Completing these small tasks can build momentum and reduce the urge to procrastinate.
Why it works: This method helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed by large tasks and builds a habit of taking action quickly.
Example: If a task will take two minutes or less, do it immediately. This could be sending an email on the back of a just-completed call.
NB: avoid doing a whole pile of 2-min tasks, or else a day might be gone by before you notice and you never get to tackling a major project, and that in the long run will lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction.
15. Procrastination Jar
Write down small daunting tasks you kept delaying on slips of paper and place them in a jar. Every time you have some spare time, draw a slip for a surprise task.
Why it works: This breaks the ‘must-do’ pattern, making the tasks seem more fun and manageable through a gamified approach.
Example: Fill a jar with tasks you’ve been putting off, like ‘organise the bookshelf’ or ‘respond to an old email.’ Draw one randomly when you have a few minutes to spare.
Building Momentum & New Habits
16. Just One More Rule
Commit to doing just one more unit of work before taking a break or switching tasks. This helps develop a habit of going the extra mile.
Why it works: Setting a slightly higher bar pushes you to exceed your own expectations, which can boost confidence and lead to greater rewards over time.
Example: If you’re writing a report, decide to write just five more sentences before stopping. This can help push through mental barriers.
Summary
Beating procrastination can be achieved through creative and unconventional methods. Whether it’s turning tasks into a game, changing your environment, or using psychological tricks like the Procrastination Jar or Random Timer, experimenting with different strategies can help you find what works best for you. Incorporating these unusual techniques into your routine can provide the boost you need to overcome procrastination and achieve your goals by making tasks feel less overwhelming, more engaging, and even fun.
