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

STEP #1: IDENTIFY YOUR CURRENT
COMMITMENTS
One challenge of modern living is that it’s easy to let your to-do list
snowball into numerous tasks, projects, and obligations. For some folks,
it’s impossible to complete every item on this list, which often causes that
stressful feeling of overwhelm. You might even reach the point where you
think it’s impossible to get out of the massive hole that you’ve dug for
yourself.
But don’t worry if that sounds like you.
If you make a commitment to follow the advice that I’ve outlined in How
to Stop Procrastinating, then you’ll remove much of the anxiety and
stress that comes from having too many tasks on your to-do list. Plus,
you’ll learn how to build a solid framework that prevents you from
procrastinating on future activities.
To get started, I recommend a simple exercise that can take anywhere
from 30–60 minutes. In the same notebook that you used in the previous
exercise, write down all your current commitments and any goals you’d
like to accomplish within the next year.
You can pick one of two options for completing this task:
1. The Getting Things Done (GTD) method.
2. How to Stop Procrastinating method.
Let me briefly go over each one.
Option #1: The Getting Things Done (GTD) Method
Detailed in one of the classic books on productivity, the GTD method
rests on the idea of moving planned tasks and projects out of the mind by
recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work

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items. This allows one to focus attention on taking action on tasks instead
of recalling them.
I’ll be the first to admit that the GTD method is a vastly superior strategy
for identifying all the “stuff” in your life. With this approach, you will
gather 100% of all your incompletes. This includes any personal task,
professional task, long-term goal, and random idea that you’ve ever had.
This includes items like:
current projects;
bucket lists and “someday” goals;
appointments;
routine checkups (e.g., dental, medical, and appointments for your
children);
financial investments;
commitments to others;
responses to email messages and phone calls; and
household chores or repairs.
These are just few examples. If you want to get the full picture of all that’s
included in the GTD method,
then check out the full list that’s provided
courtesy of the site 43 Folders
.
Again, I highly recommend the GTD approach because it’s the most
thorough method for identifying all the “open loops” in your life that
require an action. That’s why you might be interested in checking out
David Allen’s
book
Getting Things Done to complete this step of the
process.
That said, I will say the following with as much humility as possible. The
GTD approach is not for everybody—especially for people who already
struggle with procrastination.
The time requirement for completing this life review can take at least a
day or two of focused effort. It also requires a specific organizational
structure for files and the stuff in your life. If you’re someone who

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struggles to keep up with your day-to-day tasks, then you might find
yourself overwhelmed by the GTD process.
That’s why I’d like to offer an alternative solution in the paragraphs that
follow.