How to Stop Procrastinating

I am one of the biggest procrastinators on the planet. I rarely want to do the things I'm supposed to do. But as a stay-at-home mom, there are things that I have to do in order to keep the household running smoothly, so I've had to change my lazy ways. Procrastination is a hard habit to break, but it can be done with a little bit of planning and determination. Here are five simple steps to breaking the cycle of procrastination.

Define your goals

If you can't see the bigger picture, it's easy to put off the things you need to get done. Set some goals and write them down. Seeing your goals in black and white can help motivate you to get them done. Cross things off the list as they are completed - this will give you a sense of accomplishment, which will in turn motivate you to get more things crossed off the list.

Break larger goals into smaller tasks

"Clean the house" is a pretty big goal, and it's intimidating. It's hard to motivate yourself to start a project that's too large. So break larger goals into smaller, more realistic ones. Instead of "cleaning the living room," try dusting the tables, picking up the kids' toys, Febreezing the couches (because you know they need it), vacuuming the floor, and emptying the wastebasket. Do one small task at a time, and don't worry about the others. You'll get some satisfaction in knowing that you've succeeded at one or two smaller goals, which will give you more motivation to tackle the rest.

Eliminate distractions

Find the thing that makes you procrastinate the most and get rid of it. For me, it's the computer. When I need to get things done, I simply turn it off. Then I know that I won't turn it back on to use it because I hate to wait all that time for it to reboot. If you watch too much television, unplug it. If you read magazines, put them in a cabinet out of sight until you're finished. You may not be able to eliminate the distraction completely, but every little bit helps.

Set a timer

I hate cleaning. But I've found that if I set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and promise myself that I will clean for that amount of time, I can get a lot done without burning out. Work on your project exclusively for whatever time frame you've set aside, and then promise yourself that you can stop when the timer goes off. But you must use a timer with an alarm - if you keep checking the clock every so often to check your progress, you'll slow yourself down and sap your motivation.

Give yourself a break

If you make a lot of progress and want to take some time on the computer or reading a book, do it. Don't work yourself into the ground before you take a break - that will only make it harder to get started up again later. If you're really struggling with being productive, you might want to use that timer to restrict your play time too, until you start getting a handle on your bad habits.

Follow these simple steps, and you're sure to break out of the endless spiral of procrastination.