What do you do if your productivity is hindered by procrastination?

⚠️For Neurodivergent Thinkers ⚠️ Procrastination may come to us naturally but it doesn’t mean we can't overcome it. As you think through the root cause of your procrastination, remember that often you just need to transition to an environment that’s conducive of productivity for YOU. This can also include just thinking about why it’s challenging for you to get a task done to completion. Remember to celebrate each one of the wins, no matter how small. This will keep you motivated to keep moving forward.

A procrastinação é uma consequência da ansiedade e da falta de rotina dos seus processos de trabalho, por muitas vezes o sujeito ao se deparar com uma quantidades tarefas, lhe falta a capacidade de gestão e priorização, gerando ansiedade e a procrastinação.

Rather than think of the negative- Procrastination, let's think of the positive. What is one key habit of high productivity individuals? They have a need to get things done or a "compulsion to close" an activity or task. If we build compulsion to close, procrastination won't happen. How to build - Pomodoro is a good technique. A simple to-do list with 3 things to do in a day is a simple way to start.

Slice your tasks into smaller bites. Make a list of the smaller tasks. Start working & tick them off. This will be a proof of progress and will encourage you to keep going. At the end of the day you will have something concrete to be proud of. And most important, don't forget to celebrate!

I think the second portion of this advice is so important, it should be the first step. You may be struggling to get a task done because it doesn’t align with who you are and what you’re passionate about fundamentally. It might be worth taking a step back and thinking about what your values, interests and purposes are and seeing how what you’re working on now can connect to that space. Even if it means that work is just a means to a better end.

Ahh the beauty of emotional regulation. It’s challenging to understand whether your procrastination is due to the task or motivation or if it simply boils down to emotions. Hit the emotional reset for yourself by pausing to do a task that you love and makes you happy (but set a timer-no more than one hour). Once you’re in that happy space, start your task again. You’ll find that those happy emotions may start to transfer to your task, making it a little easier to get through.

In my experience focusing your attention to only where you are and to what you’re doing diminishes emotional turbulences. Something about being in the now works on your favor. And keeps your attention away from emotional distractions. Right now for example as I type I take the time to type each letter consciously. So all my focus is on the doing. It immediately eliminates any attention directed towards emotions. In consequence they diminish. In time this becomes a habit as the brain understands that those emotions are not necessary for anything rather than affecting itself negatively.

I think that creating a supportive environment is a huge part of helping (myself) overcome procrastination. I have a team member that knows when I am putting something off, it is usually an administrative task that can wait to get done. She helps me with breaking the task down into smaller more manageable pieces that I can get done throughout the day. By her doing this it helps me to get things done in a timelier manner than I would have otherwise.

I tend to find having multiple projects to work on simultaneously helps with this issue - in such that while I'm procrastinating on one project, I can work on the other. I'll add that procrastination shouldn't be viewed negatively, quite often it occurs when you haven't identified the best path forward in progressing a solution. Taking some time off can allow for your subconscious to process the issue and determine a solution that would have taken much longer for your conscious mind to arrive at