How do you overcome procrastination?

Reading through the other comments and thinking it through-- you've probably already thought about this, but some kind of way to identify the "important, non-urgent" tasks that we NEED to do but also keep putting off-- and then helping users either a) break down those tasks into something more manageable and/or b) set aside time to get them done. Think about the number of people who say "I've been putting off X and stressing about it for months and months and then it really only took me [some small amount of time]"

Lists. Lists to manage my lists. Throwing out all the lists and starting fresh. I used to procrastinate much more when I was younger so there is an aspect of maturation and being more responsible to myself and my team. Working on small teams also prevents procrastination as it elevates my accountability to others.

I feel the pain when I am designing I can get caught in a world of Procrastination. This did not happen working for agencies as time pressures and account handlers nagged me into action, managed budgets etc. Operating as a start-up I have learnt small goals with achievable output. Output has to be realistic, cost effect and the fastest solution. If you nail defining output you can become super productive.

A question that never gets old. For me a tip that has helped is setting a 5 minute timer. I tell myself I'll just work on a task that I dread for 5 minutes, and that is it. A lot of times, I end up working way past the 5 minute mark. I think the issue for me is getting started on a task and getting over that initial anxiety hump.

Hey Derek, This is a great question and something we all struggle with! I think dealing with a task in small pieces is one way to avoid procrastination, since we often put things off because the task is too big and too difficult to overcome. If you break up the task into manageable pieces, you are more likely to get it done in a timely fashion. Your app rewards that behavior and I love that! We're actually launching on PH today (**nervous breathing**) and would love any feedback you might have! :) https://www.producthunt.com/post...

By doing what you love. I can tell you endless things but in the end if you don't love what you are doing you will keep on later mode. Real and straight 😉

hahha. i just made a blog post on this very topic: https://www.simplecto.com/how-i-... tldr; I enjoy writing and keep a sort of "journal" in my drafts folder. When I want to goof off or clear my head from the current context, I browse around in my draft folder and "putter" around, editing here and there....adding a thought...until eventually some thoughts are complete and ready to publish. The blog post really breaks it down.

I procrastinate like crazy for work I don't care too much about. Like maybe it's my personality, but if I'm bored doing mundane tasks, I delay working on them even if they are inherently straightforward. I rarely work on my startup (which will launch on March 4th) because I'm more engaged. I haven't overcome it yet. I trick myself into feeling engaged, or I wait until the last second.

This is not about procrastination, this is about willingness, keep trying !

Not sure if this applies to most people, but I tend to procrastinate *not* because I am a lazy person, but because I have no idea where to start something, either because there is a learning curve ahead of me that I am not ready to climb, or because I am tackling something big that I haven't taken the time to break down. So instead of asking myself how to avoid procrastinating, I'll look at what I need to get done and ask myself: "why can't I start this thing?". If I can answer that question, I'll have a better idea where to start: - Should I learn a bit more about the topic? Then I'll spend some time googling and doing a bit of research, which will help me start. - Am I tackling something too big? Then I'll need to take my hammer and break this thing down a little bit, and maybe a structure will emerge with tasks that are more manageable. Either way, I am still not starting doing that thing I need to do right away, but rather I am enabling myself to do it, like a warmup time. That said, sometimes I just don't want to do something now, and I'll push it to address later (and maybe regret that decision later on). In this case (and this might be better aligned with your objectives with Lively), it seems like I have a mindset problem, and my solution here is to do whatever I can to change that mindset. How to do that? Well we're lucky enough as humans to have, in general, a lot to do in our lives, and not always work related things. Basic stuff like home duties (cleaning, washing dishes, get up and exercise...) are very easy to postpone but also make it very easy to identify if you have a mindset problem. What to do then? start noticing when you tell yourself "I'll do that later" (no matter the task) without any other reason than procrastination, and maybe count how often this happens, but also how often you are able to overcome that thought and do your task anyway, with the objective of making that happen more and more often.