1 Commit to 5 minutes

Motivation follows action, not the other way around. Doing the first five minutes of a task is usually all that’s needed to demystify it and get the ideas and actions flowing. It also works with exercise – if you’re always putting off going for a run, tell yourself you only need to do five minutes.

2 Make a ‘done-it’ list

Instead of a to-do list, try a ‘done-it’ list instead, adding every task you complete throughout the day, however small. You get a little dopamine hit by writing down and crossing off every task you’ve already done, which can make you want to finish more tasks to tick off.

3 Be specific

Putting ‘clear out garage’ on your to-do list means it will never get done. Think about the first step you need to do and put that on your list instead. So if you know there’s a lot of rubbish to get rid of, put ‘hire a skip’ on your to-do list instead. Set a deadline for when you need to do it by.

4 Create a ‘power hour’

Ringfence an hour a day for the most important thing you need to get done right now. It helps to stop that mental loop of thinking ‘I really must get on with X’ all day, because you know you’ve allocated it time.

5 Be imperfect

Avoid perfection at all costs as it can seriously stifle momentum. Perfection is generally a pointless waste of time. Try aiming for ‘good enough’.

READ MORE – Why do I procrastinate?