You VS Procrastination: How To Win

If you’re anything like me, then you know procrastination is a sport, not a hobby. Now in my 30’s, I truly feel like I could give a solid performance at the procrastination Olympics.

Between “productive” procrastination where I mow my lawn but only to avoid real work, or just blatant Netflix binge-ing where you “lose” the remote so you can’t stop it from going to next episode before the crushing anxiety and guilt catches up to you, I’ve become really efficient at not being efficient. But, I came across a new method that has really changed up the game. The “pomodoro” method is a way to get chunks of work done and increase productivity for whatever needs to get done.

It all started when I bought a productivity journal (while procrastinating with online shopping) and started writing down my to-do lists. It’s great because it has you prioritize your tasks from most important to least. Then you estimate how long each task will take you. The key is to be as realistic as possible and break up tasks into bite-size chunks. Now here is where the pomodoro comes in… you work for 25 minutes and only focus on the task at hand. When the 25 minutes are up, you take a 5 minute break, and then do another 25 minutes. It feels a lot easier to commit to 25 minutes then getting the entire thing done in a flurry of panic. The journal also lets you keep track and check off each 25 minute period completed, so even if the task isn’t done, you still can get that positive reinforcement for making progress.

The final step is to record how long the project actually took you.. and then on to the next thing! It’s really upped my game and I’m finding myself with so much more time to do the things I actually want to spend time doing, anxiety free! What are some productivity tips that work for you?