Overcoming procrastination can be one of the hardest things to do since the people who need to do this the most always delay in taking action. Procrastination is a serious example of an 'epic' lack of motivation which the longer it is allowed the more deeply rooted it becomes.

This 'social disease' can be and is the 'killer' of many dreams and goals. The only and most logical cure to be found is learning to how to better motivate yourself to take the necessary actions.

Discovering how to stop procrastinating can be broken down into simply breaking old and often times psychologically based habits. Here is a simple 5 step plan to help you overcome your lack of motivation and take charge of your life once again.

Sort and Prioritize

One common reason for procrastination is due to the overwhelming feeling you can get from having too many things that need to be done. This feeling can severely hinder your ability to motivate yourself. The problem can be handled in a logical manner by sorting out your 'to do' list. By prioritizing them into a workable list according to their urgency, time deadlines or overall importance you now know where to start.

Simplify Tasks

Some 'undertakings' may be intimidating due to the enormity of the goal itself. Something like this typically involves many steps and/or tasks to be completed before the goal is reached therefore it is common for people to put it off. The best approach for this is to break this goal down into a series of steps and focus only on the immediate task at hand. The result will be since your focus is ONLY on the immediate task you are not allowing the size of the overall project to intimidate or overwhelm you.

Peak Performance Time

Everybody has got a particular time of the day or night that they find themselves the most productive. This may be due to your energy level or perhaps a there are less demands upon your time. It matters not what the reasons are just determine when it is the easiest time to motivate yourself and schedule time to complete some of those tasks you have been putting off.

A quick note here and something to be consider with any of these steps is perhaps only schedule a little at a time. As you begin to see results it will be easier for you to motivate yourself to tackling even larger tasks or goals. With results comes confidence and a surge of energy to accomplish even more.

Schedule the Time

We spoke of scheduling some tasks during your most productive hours and that should give you the added energy or 'edge' to make some progress. Well a 'spin' on that would be to take a task and simply schedule it into your 'work' day for completion like any other item you may have scheduled for that day.

By incorporating it into the 'routine' of your day you are NOT allowing it to build up the psychological barrier that develops when it is repeatedly 'put off' till later. This barrier builds up a lack of motivation and a feeling of dread. By scheduling and completing it within the course of a busy day its seems easier since no barrier or dread has a chance to build.

Just Do It!

Sometimes it works best just to grab an assignment or unfinished task you are not too fond of and simply complete it without any prior 'dread' or anticipation. As I mentioned earlier our lack of motivation offer stems from a psychological barrier and it is normally one we create ourselves. The more we 'dread' something the more dreadful it actually becomes and this feeling is something we create.

Overcoming procrastination is simply a matter of breaking old habits and restoring your lack of motivation to accomplish even the smallest of tasks. Learning how to stop procrastinating draws parallels with learning how to motivate yourself since motivation is the root of the problem. The simple 5 step plan reviewed above targets restoring your drive. By 'chipping away' at these old habits new ones can then be developed. The results will allow you to once again become the 'pilot' of your life instead of simply a passenger along for the ride. This will now put the goals and dreams that have eluded you in the past back within your reach.