But first, what exactly is “work from home”? Researchers have defined WFH as the digital transformation of the workplace setting from a physical office into a home setting or personal space. This arrangement allows for alternative ways of working in terms of balancing hours, saving up on commutes, and accommodating certain circumstances, such as the case of the global pandemic.

But with the fear from the pandemic significantly dialing down, and peoples’  lives leaning back to normalcy, the work-from-home phenomenon is still lingering around. Why you might ask? That is because working from home has opened a frontier of benefits that both employees and employers enjoyed alike.

Benefits of working from home

Apart from the main importance and function of WFH which is the physical health security of the communities, it is coupled with numerous benefits that will likely have WFH sticking around a lot longer than expected. 

Contrary to popular assumption, especially from the perspective of executives, WFH is not always necessarily coupled with poor performance and productivity. A study found that employees working from home do not experience what is known as the “cake in the break room”, referring to the distracting nature of the office. It was found that one-third of the productivity increase was due to having quieter work environments, and the other two-thirds was due to taking shorter breaks and working more due to avoiding commuting and experiencing fewer sick days. 

Another contributing factor to the increased productivity of working from home was a noticeable increase in job satisfaction.  When high levels of job satisfaction and gratitude are prevalent in a person’s outlook on their job, it increases their happiness and productivity, which usually results from the autonomy and liberty WFH can provide the employees. 

Furthermore, many remote jobs tend to have flexible schedules, allowing employees to start when they want and end the day when they want, and adjust working hours and schedules accordingly to their needs. 

These points overall contribute to a desired work-life balance, which if maintained satisfactorily, can lead to higher loyalty and retention rates. 

What the stats say

The above benefits are further supported by statistics that generally shed a positive light on the reality of working from home. 

A study discovered that 71% of remote workers were happy with their jobs, while 55% of office workers were satisfied with their jobs. 

When it comes to the perception of working from home, 73% had a positive sentiment toward it, while only 27% had a negative outlook toward it. 

And finally, as much as 77% of people reported feeling more productive when working from home in comparison to working in an office setting. 

Therefore, observing the trend of the statistics and the benefits working from home has to offer, one can conclude to a certain extent that working from home is a practice that is generally liked, and desired and comes with a bevy of benefits. That being said, how can you make sure you do so productively to ensure you sustain good performance and do not compromise work quality?

How to work from home productively

Getting started

Treat the beginning of a workday as if you are going to an office

When you work in an office, tasks like brewing a cup of coffee, making a quick breakfast, and going on your commute mentally preps you that you are about to start working. The situation is quite different when the journey is simply from your laptop to your desk which is a 5-second walk. Nonetheless, you want to apply the same mentality that preps you for work. 

Do not go to your work desk wearing your pajamas. Do not go straight from your bed to your work desk either. Make sure you do apply a sort of routine that you practice consistently. Brew a cup of coffee, make that nice quick breakfast, and make sure to change your sleeping clothes to another set of clothes to have the placebo effect of you “actually” going to work. 

Failure to do so makes your morning sluggish and most importantly blurs the barriers between work time and home time, which brings about the below second point.

Designate a location in your home just for work

It is important to designate an area in your home for work. Ever since remote working became a trend, and as positive as it can be, one downside to it is the blurring of the barrier between work and home as they are now both in the same place. When you leave an office you feel like you left it because you physically did, but that is not the case in a home setting. 

It can be as simple as having a room for work if you have the space for it. If not, it can be as simple as having a chair for work at your desk, and another chair for entertainment and Netflix. It can be a stowaway table in a corner, or a removable desk that you pack when work is done. Whatever works for you, go for it, so long as you allow yourself the experience of somehow detaching from work when office time is over.  

While working

Minimize distractions

Whether you are living with your family, friends, or alone, you need to make sure to cut out distractions while you are working. As mentioned previously, the ideal setting is to allocate one room for work. If you are unable to, then inform those whom you live with that during a specific set of hours, you are not to be disturbed and they should not intrude on you. 

If you’re living alone, social media can be a productivity blocker as it is very tempting to check it out, especially with no one around to monitor you and check up on you. To avoid that, place your phone in a separate space completely while you are working and turn notifications off, or activate Do Not Disturb mode. 

Plan your workflow for the day

One way to ensure your efficiency when working from home is to plan out your day before commencing with it. An important factor in succeeding as a remote worker is to have a strong sense of autonomy. To do so, you need to be smart about planning your work day. 

Set the challenging tasks that need to be prioritized at the start of the day, or at a time when your energy is at its prime. Provide a rough estimate for how long each of your tasks will take and spread them out for your day reasonably to get a good overview of how your day will look like. 

Use the Pomodoro technique to make sure you stay focused for significant periods and take breaks when necessary to make sure your energy levels and time are used well and resourcefully. One tip to efficiently create goals is to apply the SMART goals method which generates goals that can be achieved and are created with precision and practicality. 

Habits to stick to

Adapt a healthy routine

For the sake of the longevity of any life practice, it must be eventually coupled with a sustained healthy routine that allows the practice to become a sustainable one. You must preserve your health when you are working from home, especially given that most remote jobs are desk jobs that require a lot of sitting down and thus lack mobility. That can be detrimental in the long run. 

Make sure to exercise regularly to ensure a healthy amount of blood flow and circulation into your system. If you struggle to have time for working out, seek exercises that are achievable within short time frames — it could be a simple walk around the park or a quick stress-relieving swim!  

Make sure to also get sufficient sleep which is the body’s ultimate healing and recharging mechanism, especially in the context of productivity, sleep is vital for its sustenance. 

And finally, it goes without saying that your food choices play an impactful role on your energy levels and thus your productivity, so make sure you opt for natural, non-processed foods and avoid junk foods and those high in sugar which deplete your energy and put you at high risk of a plethora of other diseases. 

In conclusion

Summing things up, working from home has become a rising trend that opened up a whole new frontier in the professional domain, and it is one that left a significant and eye-opening impact, so much so that it still lingers around even after its purpose has been met. If done correctly, working from home can be a very productive and efficient way to go about your working life as well as achieve a good and healthy work-life balance, which should after all be your ultimatum in life. Remember work to live, not live to work.

If you would like to take your reading on working from home further, visit the Personal Productivity Science Labs. Using the research of the Institute for Life Management Science, the lab produces tools and resources such as courses, certifications, podcasts, videos and many more. Check out Personal Productivity Science Labs today.

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One of the most important ways of maintaining one’s health is to exercise regularly, yet for some people, it can be a struggle due to multiple reasons such as laziness, a lack of motivation, and a lack of time — the central interest of this article. 

For exercise to be efficient, you need to accommodate it into your lifestyle, by either making time for it or by generating a workout routine that is time friendly and not too lengthy. 

What is efficient exercising?

Researchers Hötting, K. & Röder, B. (2013) define exercising as a form of physical activity that is usually planned in a repetitive and structured way aimed at improving and sustaining one’s physical health and overall well-being. 

Similar to this definition, efficient exercising is the kind of exercise that takes time into account and makes a workout more friendly and tailored to an individual’s capabilities and availability. Efficient exercising aims at making workouts more routine, more sustained, and above all, achievable. 

We must make time for exercise because the benefits of doing so are immeasurable, mainly as it promotes every area of one’s health status, from physical to mental well-being. 

The vitality of physical activity is further highlighted when we reflect on the repercussions of its absence whereby risks of not exercising regularly have been associated with a multitude of diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, obesity, hypertension, bone and joint diseases, as well as depression.  

Research has also revealed that individuals who were physically fit and healthier exhibited better performance in the workplace and thus we also notice how exercising touches upon benefiting an individual’s personal productivity. That being said, we now acknowledge ‘why’ we need to exercise regularly, now let’s have a look at the ‘how’ to do it efficiently and make it time-friendly.

How can you exercise efficiently?

The matter of understanding efficient exercising dials down basically to: how many calories as possible can be burned as a function of time. The trick lies in doing activities that are high-calorie burners and that usually consume little time. Let’s dive into some ideas and how to pivot around them:

Before exercising

The efficiency of your exercise routine will be determined even before you start. Here are some of the things you can do to set yourself up for success.

Keep your workout clothes within reach

Preparation for working out can sometimes be a demotivating factor because not knowing what to wear, or not having workout clothes ready at hand, may generate an excuse for delay and could set the trigger for you to drop the workout. 

Therefore, always make sure to have your workout clothes available and ready, by either having a designated space in your closet for workout clothes or perhaps by leaving your gym bag in the car so that it’s with you wherever you go.

Have a pre-set schedule 

Allocate a time of your day for working out — one that fits in your calendar — and choose a time when your energy levels are in optimal condition. If you constantly return from work exhausted and lethargic, then perhaps setting a workout after that time may not be efficient as your energy levels may be depleted and it can serve as a demotivating obstacle for working out. Waking up earlier in the morning and squeezing in a short 30-minute workout may prove to be far more effective in this instance. 

During exercising

Try to aim for short, effective workouts. Some exercises that can come in handy, when we take into account time shortage, are workouts that burn high amounts of calories in a short amount of time. Such examples include HIIT workouts, jump rope, and free weights. 

HIIT workouts

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) are workouts that include activities such as lunges, squats, pushups, and burpees. They can be effective exercises as they can burn up to an average of 15 calories per minute!

Jump rope

The same goes for jump rope which can burn around 100 calories for 10 minutes when performed at a moderate pace. One of the many perks of jumping rope is that it is a simple equipment to acquire and is rather mobile as it can be performed at home, in a park, or in the gym as well.

Free weights

When it comes to free weights they can be more effective than machines as they require more muscle group involvement and more fibers, as opposed to machines that tend to target specific muscle groups.

Choosing to include such types of exercises in your workouts increases the efficiency level in a short time frame.  

After exercising

An important aspect to take into consideration, to make your workouts overall effective, is to ensure their longevity. Working out with the aim of physical bodily improvements, be it losing weight or gaining muscle, are not the sort of change that will have results materialize quickly. It will take at least several months before you can see visible and sustainable results. With that in mind, you need to take into account how your workouts can be sustainable and practiced in the long term.

Apply the SMART Goals principle when creating your workout

One way to make your workouts genuinely sustainable is by customizing your workouts and aligning them with your circumstances and one very effective way to do so is via the SMART Goal-setting method. Making sure that your workouts are achievable and realistic in particular would greatly enhance the efficiency of the workouts as it will ensure their sustainability as well as their actual completion and performance. 

Lead a physically active lifestyle

If you struggle with your time to incorporate workouts, then you can also try adopting a physically active lifestyle. Sometimes being physically active does not need to be necessarily limited to a gym or at-home workout. You can get creative and disseminate your exercising via other areas of your life where working out can be incorporated almost unnoticeably. 

For example, instead of constantly using the elevator, use the stairs instead so you can activate your leg muscles similar to squatting workouts. If you have a work call, conduct the call while you are walking, so you’d burn more calories and get your steps in. 

Another approach can be merging social life with your workouts. If you want to catch up with a friend, instead of going to grab coffee, why not meet at a park and have a nice jog from time to time? 

Though such ideas may not seem as significant or decent enough, any small inputs, over time eventually do add up and make a valuable difference. As James Clear highlights in his book Atomic Habits, every small habit counts and is worthy especially as it adds up in the long run. For reference, imagine this: 20 flights of stairs to get to the office would be 20 climbs per day, 100 per week, and around 33,500 per year. 

In conclusion

Remember that workouts do not need to be set in stone and are not meant to be rigid. Feel free to always amend and enhance your workout plans and routines, and accommodate them to your lifestyle. At the end of the day, what matters is that you are physically moving and sustaining a decent level of health. 

We all lead different lifestyles and different jobs and we have different time availability. Some may afford to work out for hours in the gym, some may struggle to spare half an hour a day. It all dials down to at least taking care of your health and getting the blood flowing in your system by exercising as much as you can. 

As mentioned in this article, take into account the readiness for a workout, prioritize workouts that are high-calorie burners and consume the least time, and finally make sure these workouts are achievable and realistic so that you can actually stick to them. The end goal after all is to stay healthy and it shouldn’t be regarded as a tedious task but an easily incorporated aspect of our lifestyle.  And finally, physical fitness and exercise are not the only factors to take into account when considering overall health and well-being. A balanced diet, as well as sleep, are vital factors to look into as well.

If you would like to take your reading on efficient exercising further, take a look at the Personal Productivity Science Labs. The lab uses the research of the Institute for Life Management Science to produce courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other learning materials. Visit the Personal Productivity Science Labs today.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article pertain to exercising for individuals who are short on time or want to engage in workouts that are effective within short time frames. This article does not represent the ideal way of exercising or the optimal way to achieve physical fitness. Always check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise regimen. 

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If you seem to be questioning your financial management strategies, odds are you aren’t very comfortable with your current status, and you seek more efficiency in budgeting. Though it may seem a bit daunting, doing so can be quite simple. The key is understanding yourself first, assessing your status, and then applying a rule of management.

Overview of budgeting

Budgeting is defined as the creation of a plan to spend and manage an individual’s financial resources. It involves a calculation of how much money is earned, how much on average is spent, and how this money is to be disseminated across different aspects of the individual’s life according to their lifestyle as well as their needs. 

Elements of budgeting

Before commencing with the budgeting process, it is important to understand what are the elements that comprise a budget. A good budget would include a few basic elements which if not considered can render the budgeting process inefficient and incomplete. When budgeting, matters to take into account include: 

1. Income which is the source that provides you with your money; you ought to keep note of your income before and after taxes,) 
2. Fixed Expenses are the type of expenses that you have least control over and are usually of high importance, for instance, rent or mortgage payments fall under this categorization,  
3. Flexible Expenses which represent items you desire to spend money on but are not of essential need, and finally 
4. Unplanned Expenses & Savings which revolves around unforeseen expenses/emergencies and savings. These two are distinct from each other — savings should not be drawn from unless necessary, even in emergencies. 

Common budgeting items to consider include: 

• Housing
• Food
• Transportation
• Credit card payments
• Savings plan
• Insurance coverage
• Entertainment costs
• Personal care
• Child care
• Pet care

Feel free to amend the above list as per your needs and lifestyle to proceed with the budgeting process. This should help serve as an outline for what your budgeting plan will comprise. 

Budgeting efficiently 

To ensure efficiency in your budgeting methods, you need to take into consideration what is to be done before you begin budgeting, what you will do while you are budgeting, and what you shall do after implementing your budget plan to promote its sustainability in the long run.

Before you budget

Select the time frame

Before commencing with the budgeting plan, you need to clarify its duration and period. Is this plan going to be limited to a month? A year? A holiday week spent abroad? Or will this plan be a standard one which you will follow regularly,  every month for example? If you choose to standardize, note that not all your costs will be consistent each month, they can differ between seasons or occasions during the year. Make sure these factors are taken into account when you lay out the time frame. 

Differentiate between wants and needs

Another very important consideration to be made before laying out the budgeting strategy is to make the distinction between things you need and things you want (or desire). Begin by establishing a list of items you want to save for, then determine whether each item on that list is something you absolutely need or something that you simply desire. After that classification, consider whether you’ll be content in a month if you purchase these items. Next, rank each item in order of importance. Finally, following the establishment of your priorities, decide whether or not to include each item in your budget. 

When you budget

Now that you have laid out the necessary outline for your budget, it is time to delve into the actual process. Below are some of the common approaches used in doing so: 

The 50/30/20 rule

The 50/30/20 rule is one of the most commonly used budgeting methods, whereby costs are cut up into 3 categories which are as follows:

• 50% for needs: Half of the net monthly income should be allocated to life necessities such as housing, food, transportation, insurance, and utilities.
• 30% for wants: This category would include clothing purchases,  entertainment, dining out, travel, and monthly subscriptions. (NB: though these are classified as ‘wants’ they have still desired items that are deemed worthy of expenditure).
• 20% for savings: This is the sum of money that is meant to be set aside for future use. Depending on the individual’s financial status, this sum could be used for debt repayment, retirement contributions, or emergency funds.

Reverse budgeting

This approach to budgeting is characterized by its approach of prioritizing savings and investments first. Essentially, when applied, the money intended for savings and investing is put aside first. After that, required bills and expenditures are tended to. Prioritizing savings does not imply abandoning one’s basic needs like housing and food; it instead ensures that the money is used to meet the fundamental necessities before spending it on things like eating at restaurants or shopping.

After you budget

Having set the method you wish to adopt in implementing your budgeting practices, it is important to promote the sustenance of this practice, in the long run, to ensure your financial well-being remains in a healthy and steady state.

Make your goals visible

In cases where you get tempted to overspend, it is a good approach to remind yourself why budgeting was implemented in the first place. To do so, make your goals visible by setting reminders for yourself so that it motivates you to keep going and sticking to your budget plan.  For example, if you are saving up for a car, hang a picture of it by your fridge. Hence, it serves as an indication as to why you are dining at home instead of ordering takeout, or why you cut down on certain purchases to prioritize this one.  

Adopt healthy spending habits

Finally and most importantly, your approach to the budgeting process must be a good and healthy one. Remember that it is not a process that is set in stone but it can be flexible where needed. Keep track of your costs every month, and check where you are going overboard and in which categories. Revisit your budget plan regularly and tweak and amend it where necessary. Seek the aid of technology by using budgeting apps that accurately take note of your costs and calculate statistics and categories for you for the sake of simplifying the process to promote its longevity and sustainability throughout your lifetime. 

In conclusion

At the end of the day, efficient budgeting is a mechanism that allows us to be in proper control of our financial resources. It is of significant importance because one’s financial status could dictate lifestyle quality. The better the care and the thought process we provide to our budgeting plans, the better they shall serve us and enhance the quality of our lives, especially in the long run. It’s never too late to start a budget. So get started soon and take your time in developing it efficiently to suit your needs and lifestyle, for it is a wise act to do that will benefit you and your future! 

If you would like to learn more about efficient budgeting, check out the Personal Productivity Science Labs. Based on the research of the Institute for Life Management Science, the lab produces courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other learning materials on how to budget efficiently. Visit the Personal Productivity Science Labs today.

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What is fatigue?

Fatigue is defined as the state of constant physical and/or mental exhaustion, usually distinctly characterized by the fact that this feeling of tiredness does not easily go away even after resting. 

There are multiple types of fatigue that can exist separately or simultaneously. Even though they are different, they are all very serious and all carry the same weight. The three main types of fatigue are: 

1. Physical Fatigue is the state of extreme physical exhaustion coupled with a decreased capability to partake in physical tasks and activities such as manual labor. 
2. Mental Fatigue is a case of extreme mental depletion characterized by a diminished capacity to participate in cognitive processes such as decision-making. 
3. Emotional Fatigue is when emotional exhaustion is experienced alongside the diminished ability to participate in emotional activities such as empathizing with or caring for others.   

Fatigue is a matter of significant importance, especially when we consider some of its aftermaths, particularly in the context of productivity. In a study conducted by diFabio et al., in 2021, it was found that work-related fatigue affects 35% of employees in the EU and 38% of employees in the US. 

Furthermore, constantly experiencing fatigue carries grave risks, where a report by the NSW Government for road safety states that between the years 2008 and 2016, there were 532 fatal accidents, resulting in 583 fatalities, with fatigue accounting for 17% of all fatalities. These numbers set the stage for the vitality of tackling fatigue.  

Symptoms of fatigue   

As mentioned earlier, fatigue is distinct from other feelings of tiredness and exhaustion, in that it is particularly unique for its prolonged period. Fatigue can lead to an array of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms, some of which include: 

• Chronic tiredness or sleepiness
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Sore and aching muscles
• Slowed reflex responses
• Impaired decision-making and judgment
• Moodiness
• Irritability
• Appetite loss
• Poor concentration

If you experience any of the above consistently, then it is time to take into consideration that the matter is quite serious and requires resolving. So this begs the question, how can fatigue be resolved?

Remedies and ways to overcome fatigue

One practical way to start tackling fatigue is by beginning at home. Try to get a good night’s sleep daily. Eat a nutritious and well-balanced diet. Drink plenty of water and exercise regularly. Incorporate relaxing activities into your lifestyle such as meditation and yoga. 

To deal with fatigue, you also need to go beyond the realm of tending to your physical needs and also resort to solving what affects your mental well-being. Do so by ensuring you have a good work-life balance by maintaining a balanced professional and personal schedule. Seek to reduce stress in your life as much as possible by eliminating stress-inducing factors. For instance, you can take a break from work or work on relationship issues. Here are more ways to keep fatigue at bay:

Adopt a healthy lifestyle

Home care remedies are a good start and can help, but what matters is sustaining the practices in the long run. To keep fatigue at bay, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle. Firstly, watch out for your food intake, it is after all your main source of energy, and how it is handled is essential. Make sure to not skip out on your meals, because going too long without eating can lower your blood sugar levels. 

Target the psychological roots

According to studies about fatigue, nearly 50-80% of fatigue cases are mainly due to psychological factors. To resolve that issue, there are some steps you can take such as sharing and talking about what is bothering you. Evidence suggests that talking therapies like counseling or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy might help in combating fatigue.  Assess your lifestyle and consider whether or not you are putting yourself under excess or unneeded pressure. Ask yourself if there are any persistent issues in your life that might be causing you to feel anxious or depressed for extended periods.

Seek professional help

Finally, in some situations, fatigue can indicate a symptom of an underlying medical condition that would require professional attention. Professional counseling can serve to be beneficial in resolving matters like family, career, or personal concerns.  If after implementing good practices and your levels of fatigue have not dialed down, then it would be wise to consult a medical professional.  

In conclusion

To sum it all up, experiencing tiredness and exhaustion occasionally is a normal occurrence in one’s day-to-day life if not even inevitable at some point. However, it becomes concerning when these occurrences are ongoing and consistent — then interference and termination are required. 

Fatigue is problematic but not an impossible feat to tackle. With the right approaches and methods, it can be dialed down and eradicated. Finally, acknowledge that, if you are experiencing fatigue, there is a reason behind it and that it did not stem out of thin air. Aim to identify what the cause is and seek to target and eliminate it, to prevent the recurrence of fatigue again to ensure the preservation of your physical and mental well-being, which are after all our greatest and most important assets. 

If you would like to take this reading further, there are more in-depth resources available at the Personal Productivity Science Labs that tackle the topic of fatigue. Based on the research of the Institute for Life Management  Science, the lab produces courses, certifications, videos, and other learning materials. Visit the Personal Productivity Science Labs today.

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That is what procrastination looks like. It is defined as a problematic self-regulation failure that involves the intentional delaying and off-putting of an intended course of action even when the individual is aware of the potential consequences resulting from their voluntary delay. When constantly experienced, procrastination can lead to increased stress, impaired work performance, and deteriorated sleep quality, thus trying to overcome it is an essential practice. If you’ve ever procrastinated and felt bad about it, don’t worry; you are not the only one who’s experienced it. 

In fact, several studies point to how many people procrastinate. One study done in 2015 by Piers Steel & Katrin B Klingsieck showed that around 70% of college students procrastinate on their studies. Darius Foroux, an author specializing in productivity, surveyed in 2019 and found that around 88% of the workforce procrastinate at least one hour a day at work.

Levels of procrastination  

According to Alexander Rosental et al. in their 2015 study, procrastination can range from mild to severe levels. The level of intensity is determined by the frequency as well as when it occurs instead of a deadline. The more serious the level of procrastination is, the more severe the consequences would be. 

Mild procrastinators are people who procrastinate early on before the deadline of a task. Since they procrastinate only from time to time, they only suffer relatively minor consequences. People who are mild procrastinators would occasionally delay getting started on an assignment but would still have some time to finish it before the deadline. An example can be an employee who works on a project a week before it’s due despite having a month prior notice. 

Average procrastinators are those who do it regularly. They habitually put tasks off up until a day before the deadline. This can look like a student who usually delays commencing their assignments until right before they are due or studies for a test the night before.

Finally, severe procrastinators are characterized as those who consistently put things off up until the brink of the deadline. Even though they make all efforts to finish a task, they usually miss crucial deadlines and suffer the most consequences. If you have been that student who delays working on a research paper until the last day and unfortunately fails to finish it on time, that is what a severe case would look like.

How to overcome procrastination

Regardless of whether you’re a mild, average, or severe procrastinator, there are ways to dial down procrastination and overcome it. Here are just five of the many possible things you can do to avoid the temptation to procrastinate: 

Reaffirm your capabilities

One common reason why there is a tendency to procrastinate is that people have a general uncertainty about themselves, such as their abilities or goals; because of this lack of confidence in themselves, they tend towards the natural default of fleeing or avoiding the task at hand. Therefore, you must gain assurance of your situation to eliminate the feeling of uncertainty as much as possible. 

You can do this by answering the question “why are you doing this?” to remind yourself of your end goal. If you are not sure of your goal or your tasks, write them down; you can dissect them into smaller, achievable tasks if they are too big or complex.

Avoid physical and mental exhaustion

Another factor that contributes to a person’s habit of procrastination is their physical and mental state – in particular, their energy levels. It is vital to avoid exhaustion as much as possible because it will not only impact your productivity negatively but also further fuel your desire to procrastinate. To counter that, you should have a good routine for your sleep as it helps in the preservation and promotion of your physical health as well as your brain functions. 

Take short, regular breaks during the day and make an effort to ensure you have healthy, sufficient sleep to recharge your energy levels. You can also map out your energy levels during the day by determining when you feel most energized and productive. From there, you can prioritize urgent and important tasks within these timeframes to avoid any possible delays from working while your energy is at its low point.  

Limit sources of distractions

Eliminating elements that can potentially distract you from doing your tasks is key to avoiding procrastination. Put your phone or electronic device on silent to avoid the temptation to look at any notifications that might distract you when you’re working or studying. 

If possible, you can also put any electronic device that you don’t need at the moment in a separate room. If your colleagues are constantly messaging about non-work-related topics or your friends are actively chatting in a group conversation, you can put your phone in another room or at a distance that’s not as easily reachable to avoid reaching out and using it. If your work area is loud and noisy, find a quiet area or a place with white noise that can help you focus. You can also invest in abilities and practices that promote your focus and help you in removing distractions as much as possible. 

Visualize your future goals

When procrastinators are confronted with situations they deem too difficult for them to handle, they tend to lean toward addressing their negative feelings instead of focusing to pursue their goals. This leads to them avoiding situations that trigger unpleasant feelings which further delay the completion of a task. One way you can counter this negative onset of feelings is by visualizing what you want to happen when you reach your goal. This can range from short-term to long-term goals that you want to achieve in the future. Practicing this can increase your motivation to keep moving forward in accomplishing your tasks and thrive productively by resisting the temptation to procrastinate.

Assess your procrastination tendencies

To tackle your procrastination, a very important initial step is to perform a self-study. Instead of beating yourself up for how long you’ve put something off, investigate your brain’s procrastination tendencies. Consider the following questions to better understand the root causes of your procrastination:

• What kind of feelings do you experience when performing a task?
• Why is the task meaningful to you or others?
• Did you clarify and lay out the action plan to complete the task?
• Are there any consequences if you avoid doing the task such as my disappointment or others’ judgment?

In most circumstances, simply asking yourself some honest questions and expressing the sensations you’re having, a technique known as “affective labeling“, will deactivate your brain’s urge to procrastinate. The answers can also assist you in addressing the underlying issues that are contributing to your procrastinating habits.

In conclusion

At the end of the day, one thing to keep in mind is that procrastination is subjective. People procrastinate at different levels and are productive at different levels. Therefore, it is important to work on yourself to mitigate the urge. Instead of flogging yourself with detrimental comparisons between yourself and others, be self-compassionate and prioritize what the best way is for you to overcome procrastination so you can reach your goals. 

In addition to procrastination, the Life Management Science Labs’ (LMSL) Personal Productivity Science Labs provides content that is aimed at improving your productivity in life and at work. Based on the research by the Institute for Life Management Science Labs, the content comes in the form of courses, certifications, videos, podcasts, and many others. Visit the Personal Productivity Science Labs today.Photo by DilokaStudio on Freepik

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