“I’ll do it in a minute”: How to stop putting things off

Many of you will recognise the phrase “I’ll do it in a minute”. Often, it’s connected to moving from a comfy spot, leaving good company or stopping something we’re enjoying. It happens to everyone: we savour the moment a little longer. Generally, we do eventually get up and get on, and things get done.

But what happens when this process gets bigger and starts to feel out of control? What happens when we put off doing something really important? And what if it’s something that would genuinely enhance our lives, but we just don’t get around to doing it? That’s when it can become a limiting factor in your life, and it may be time to find a different strategy.

How to stop putting things off and just start

So, what can you do? The following steps may help you understand and overcome some of the obstacles.

The first thing is to check that whatever you’re procrastinating about is worth doing. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a pleasure, but you need a reason or motivation to do it. You might not want to do the cleaning, but if it means you can take pleasure in your surroundings, then it’s worth doing. You might be worried about contacting a coach to discuss making some changes because you know it could take some work, but if it may help you progress in your career, it could be worthwhile.

It’s also possible that the motivation comes from a desire to help someone else, so it might be about seeing the outcome for others. You may not want to clear your neighbour’s drive of snow, but you know they’ll be less likely to slip, so it feels worth doing.

If, however, you can find no reason at all for undertaking the task, consider whether it’s worth your time and energy. You might have to give something up to put time and effort into it, so it’s important that you are comfortable with this, or that you have taken care of other priorities so they don’t knock you off course. This might affect the timing of your activity too. If the cost of pursuing your goal feels too high, you may need to rethink or adjust it.

Once you’ve decided that you really do want to tackle the task, the next thing to do is consider the outcome. How will you know you’ve finished? What will it be like when you’ve achieved your aim? How might you feel? Who might be there when you do it? What might you notice about your surroundings? Could you experience a sense of achievement?

If visualisation works for you, try making this picture colourful and imagining the sounds clearly. Keep that outcome in mind. Another way to maintain focus is to create a mood board: cut out pictures or articles from magazines and use printed images or photographs in any format you like. This can keep your target in mind and provide a visual prompt. If you do not think visually, writing or speaking about the outcome may work better.

The third thing to do is to cut the task down into chunks. Often, we procrastinate because the task seems too big or daunting. Sometimes, it seems too big even to begin, let alone to imagine completing. Break it into smaller pieces. If those pieces still feel too big, break them down again. Imagine all the individual blocks that will make up your final goal and get specific about them.

Once you’ve broken things down, find an action that you can do now. Choose something you can complete before you go to bed. There you are – you’ve made a start! Sometimes, drawing this out can help. There are many tools you can use to do this, such as spider diagrams.

When you’ve decided what you want to achieve, make sure you have the tools and resources you need. Get everything ready at the start and account for practical considerations such as time. Discovering that an important resource is missing can interrupt your progress and make it harder to regain momentum.

It’s also worth acknowledging whether you feel worried about undertaking the task or part of it. If that’s the case, be honest with yourself about what is concerning you and consider tackling it directly or talking it through with someone.

Finally, who will you tell about what you’re doing? You may have someone to celebrate with when it’s complete and someone who can hold you accountable by checking in and encouraging you to make the progress you promised yourself.

If procrastination is persistent, affects several areas of your life or is accompanied by difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, stress or problems with concentration, it may be helpful to explore the underlying causes with an appropriate professional.

Now that you have a guide to approaching procrastination, when will you start?