Strategies to Conquer Procrastination and Boost Mental Health
What is Procrastination & How to Boost Mental Health?
Psychology proves that procrastination is caused by anxiety, fear of failure, and a lack of structure. Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing things that are important to us or have high priority.
Procrastination often occurs due to a lack of motivation, fear of failure, perfectionism, or feeling overwhelmed by the task that has been bestowed upon us.
In this article, we will discuss 9 effective strategies to conquer procrastination and how to boost mental health.
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse: 47
The meaning of the verse is—
You have the right to work only, but never to its fruits.
Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
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“Stress primarily comes from not taking action over something that you can have some control over.”
People get stress wrong all the time, in my opinion. Stress doesn’t come from hard work; for example, you know you can be working incredibly hard and loving it.
— Jeff Bezos
How to Boost mental Health & Beat Procrastination
1. The 2 -Minute Rule: Quick wins to Beat Procrastination
If a task can be done in less than 2 minutes, then do it immediately.
This helps to eliminate small tasks that can quickly add up and make you feel overwhelmed.
So the 2 minutes rule helps you tackle small tasks and prevents them from piling up.
Example: Reply to an email quickly, wash a few dishes, or organise your workspace or your room.
2. The 5-Second Rule: Overcome Resistance Fast
When you feel the urge to procrastinate, count down from 5 and take immediate action.
Count Backwards 5-4-3-2-1
This 5 Seconds Rule helps to overcome the initial barrier or resistance to starting a task.
3. The Pareto Principle: Focus on High Impact Tasks
This principle is named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto.
He made some observations in 1896 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.
After his observation, this idea has been applied to various fields such as business, economics, time management, and productivity.
This principle simply explains that focus on 20% of the tasks that will produce 80% of the results. This is how you can boost your mental health by completing the tasks.
4. The Pomodoro Technique: Time Management for Better Focus
This technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to create a sense of urgency and prevent burnout.
The method is named “Pomodoro,” which means “tomato” in Italian, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo initially used.
It is a time management technique that involves working with complete focus for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break.
After completing 4 cycles, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes.
This helps you rest more deeply and prevents burnout before starting another set of Pomodoros.
Benefits:
- Improve Focus & Concentration
- Reduce Mental Fatigue
- Increase Productivity
- Build Discipline & Motivation
5. Try the 1-3-5 Rule: Prioritize Your Day
At the start of every day, identify 1 big thing to accomplish, 3 medium things, and 5 small tasks.
Knock out those priorities first and eliminate every distraction like Social Media, Unnecessary notifications, etc.
6. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: Manage Overwhelm
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream speech (1963)
Most of the time, one of the main reasons to procrastinate is that a task seems so big and overwhelming that we try to avoid doing it or taking the first step.
Example: Instead of writing an entire report, focus on writing just the introduction or outlining the main points first.
To make it more manageable, try breaking down the tasks into smaller and more doable parts.
7. Practice Mindfulness & Stress Management:
Techniques like mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, or Yoga can reduce anxiety and increase focus, making it easier to start tasks. You can watch this TED Talk episode by Dr Richard J. Davidson on Mindfulness.
To get more details kindly go through my other Blog Post- “Transform Stress into Serenity: Achieve Mental and Physical Harmony with 10 Focus Techniques”
8. Eat the Frog: Tackle Your Toughest Task First
“Obstacles are those Frightful things You see when You take your Eyes off Your Goal.” – Henry Ford
Start each day by tackling the most challenging or least appealing task.
Completing it early can give you a sense of accomplishment and make other tasks feel easier afterwards.
Example: If writing a report is your hardest task, start with that first thing in the morning.
9. Create a To-Do List: Stay Organized & On Track
“The Man who removes a Mountain, Begins by carrying away Small Stones.” – Chinese Proverb
When you have a to-do list, it will remind you reminded about your task, and when you accomplish that, it will give you a sense of joy and victory.
Write down all the tasks you need to complete in a day.
By doing this, it will give you a sense of accomplishment and positivity. In lif,e the small steps matter a lot.
Thank you for reading through my article. There are many different methods mentioned here that you can incorporate into your life on how to boost mental health for greater happiness and well-being and to stop procrastination. Remember, small steps matter—start today & keep moving forward.
“You cannot Escape the Responsibility of Tomorrow by Evading it Today.”
― Abraham Lincoln
7 thoughts on ““9 Proven Strategies on How to Boost Mental Health””
This article is very worthy and informative for anyone ….Thank u Maverick mindspace for your beautiful words ❣️
Very nice 🙂 article…
The list seems to good but bringing in real life practice is hard. Still would atleast try to bring few. Good one keep writing
Good concept 😍😍 keep growing bhai😍😍😍
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Very engaging and informative article