1 Get enough sleep
You’ll be more concentrated if you’re well rested. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about 1 in 3 American Adults do not get healthy amounts of sleep. And stress can make the problem even worse. Here are some suggestions to help you get more sleep.
- Go to sleep at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning, even on the weekends.
- Don’t take naps after 3 p.m, and don’t nap longer than 20 minutes.
- Stay away from caffeine and alcohol late in the day.
- Avoid nicotine completely.
- Get regular exercise, but not within 2-3 hours of bedtime.
- Don’t eat a heavy meal late in the day. A light snack before bedtime is OK.
- Make your bedroom comfortable, dark, quiet, and not too warm or cold.
- Follow a routine to help you relax before sleep (for example, reading or listening to music).
- Turn off the TV and other screens at least an hour before bedtime.
- Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, do something calming until you feel sleepy, like reading or listening to soft music.
2 Break down large projects
Break big projects into smaller bits and tackle one thing at a time. By setting priorities and breaking the bigger project into smaller tasks, the work is more manageable and less intimidating. Here a few ways to break tasks down.
- Look at the big picture. Make sure you understand what the end product is supposed to look like.
- Examine the parts of the task. Figure out step-by-step what you need to do because it’s not going to happen through magic.
- Think about the logical order of completing the pieces. What should you do first, second, third, etc.?
- Create a timeline for completing your tasks. Having a deadline will make you more focused for each task.
- Have a plan to help you stay on track. Put the time you will spend on the project into your schedule so that you can set aside the time for it. Stick with this plan. A plan is only good if you see it through.
- Complete your task early enough to have some time left for a final review.
3 Find your peak time of day
Find your “productivity pockets” and keep them distraction-free. You should work around your energy levels; working on more important tasks when you have the most energy, and less productive tasks when your energy dips. Below is how to calculate when your energy peaks.
Experiment. Try doing your most important piece of work for the day as soon as you get into work for a couple of weeks and see how that feels.
Keep a journal. Write down or keep a journal detailing when you start and stop a task. “If you are able to maintain focus for 60 to 90 minutes, you’ve identified a time of day when you are highly productive.
Note patterns of inactivity. Everyone cycles through rhythms of proactive, active, and inactive times throughout the day. Pay attention to yours.
Be aware of your ecosystem and continue to reassess. You need to evaluate your “ecosystem” in trying to understand your productive rhythms and peak performance times. What this means is that the bedtime routine you have with your 2-year-old is going to possibly affect your performance in your 8am meeting the next day.
4 Start a “done list”
Write down what you’ve accomplished at the end of each day. A done list is the opposite of a to-do list. Instead of writing down all of the things you need to accomplish, you write down all of the things you’ve already done.
5 Be nice to yourself
Stop beating yourself up about putting things off and just start. 
- Focus more on positive self-talk.
- Make a conscious effort to stop putting yourself down.
- Practice kindness towards yourself.
- Stop comparing yourself to others.
- Think of mistakes as learning opportunities.
- Be patient with yourself.
At WOWzer, we care about your success, we know that getting it done pushes you closer to your dreams. Procrastination is a tough problem to solve, but if you’re willing to follow the necessary steps in order to create a good plan of action, and if you’re willing to then put in the effort in order to follow through on your plan of action, you have a great chance at being able to overcome your procrastination.