How to Stop Procrastinating: a simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit

Practice #2: Do a 5- to 10-Minute Daily Review
A simple way to fight procrastination is with a 5- to 10-minute review

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session. The idea here is to spend a few minutes going over the day’s
priorities and identifying the tasks that will have the strongest influence
on your immediate goals. You should ask yourself these key questions
during the review session:
What appointments and meetings require me to be somewhere at a
set time?
Are there any emergency emails that need to be immediately
addressed?
What specific tasks, which relate to the batches or blocks of time
that I’ve scheduled for the day, can I complete?
Is there an appointment or activity that could take longer than
expected? How will this change my schedule if it does spill over into
another task’s time?
What are the 80/20 tasks that will have the biggest impact on my
long-term success?
How does each task relate to my quarterly S.M.A.R.T. goals?
What is the hardest, most challenging task that I’m dreading?
This quick review session is critical because it provides structure for each
day. When you constantly remind yourself which tasks are important, it’ll
be hard to put them off because you will recognize that your inaction will
negatively affect your immediate goals.
Practice #3: Focus On Your MITs
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed (and then procrastinate) if you start the day
with a to-do list full of tasks, appointments, and projects. You can
simplify your list by identifying the tasks that have the biggest impact on
your career or life and do them first thing in the morning. This is a
concept commonly known as your most important tasks (MITs).
My suggestion is to pick from one to three MITs that absolutely must be
completed by the end of the day. Two should relate to an urgent project
with an immediate deadline and one should be part of a long-term goal.

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For instance, many years ago, I determined that one of my core 80/20
activities is writing. So, even if I have a bunch of urgent tasks that are due
at the end of the day, I always set aside at least 30 minutes for this task—
usually right after my morning routine. From there, I spend the rest of
my morning on the other two MITs. By focusing on important activities
right away, I create an energized state that allows me to work on any
project in the afternoon.