Break tasks down into smaller tasks

Break tasks down into smaller tasks

Procrastinators procrastinate because they cannot handle the enormity of the task ahead of them.

For example, Clara is a landscape gardener. She landed a big client—a hotel— and they want her to redesign the entire front area of the hotel. Initially Clara dives into work but the enormity of the task soon daunts her and weeks later, her plans are just that, plans scattered on her table.

When you are faced with large tasks, it makes sense to break them down into smaller, more manageable ones. Instead of diving into the plans outright, Clara could have started with planning the types of shrubs, bushes and flowers needed for the landscape project and continued on from there.

It helps to make a list of what you need to get down, very much like goal setting but instead, for a task. The added advantage is that crossing out items on the list will not only bring a sense of accomplishment but a feeling that for every item crossed, you are getting closer to your goal.

Another way to avoid procrastination is to give a little bit of time to the task daily instead of tackling it all at once. It reduces the resistance of having to deal with an enormous task you do not like and will eventually get things done.