Cooking, chai, or to-do lists? BYJUites save the day with their quirky methods to fight procrastination

• Set your alarm. 
• Create a to-do list. 
• And tackle the tasks you’ve been procrastinating about, head-on! 

This is probably what the internet tells you when you search for ways to fight procrastination. But hey! We all know this is easier said than done, more so because the way we look at this common everyday struggle is not quite correct. Contrary to what many would say, procrastination has little to do with time-management issues and more with the negative emotions associated with tackling complex or arduous tasks.

The key to beating this? Figuring out which strategy works best for you, and then building a discipline around it. 

This Fight Procrastination Day, meet five BYJUites who have a unique and quirky (after all, everyone has their own quirks) method to beating procrastination and getting things done.

P.S: The methods are not scientifically tested but recommended by our colleagues (read: procrastination-fighting ninjas). No harm in trying, right?

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Roshan Kumar, Assistant Manager – Student Experience

We tend to procrastinate when our to-do list becomes monotonous or overwhelming. This leads to distractions, and you end up putting off tasks. In order to fight procrastination, I have created a dashboard for myself, which helps me track every task I do. It includes various parameters, like the number of hours and percentage of work put into one project.

To celebrate an accomplished task, I reward myself with a little positive reinforcement in the form of a sweet treat aka ice cream. Apart from that, after a long day, I wrap up work, sit down in a quiet place, and practice sound meditation. Listening to positive affirmations helps me improve, focus, and increase productivity. 

Anushree Ghosh, Senior Designer – Marketing Design

When it comes to creating an impactful design, designers tend to dwell on visual ideas. Researching, layout designing, and conceptualising, is a time-consuming process, which sometimes leads to procrastination. To fight this, I have an unconventional approach. I tend to cook between work. You may wonder, doesn’t multitasking distract one? Not me!

As a designer, it is important to keep your creative juices flowing and look at your design with a fresh pair of eyes. Taking small breaks and coming back to the task, gives me a brand-new perspective. When it comes to celebrating accomplishments, I treat myself to some sushi because it’s all about the joy of little things.

Sweta Bhushan, Student Success Specialist – Student Experience

Besides my determination to work, chai floats my boat. On hectic days I chug four to five cups. I also bring some for my coworkers while they are working. I believe the tasks we delay, end up in our own to-do lists and that leads to piling up of work.

To avoid that, I always try to address bigger tasks first. Asking for help from my manager and colleagues to get the job done on time is also important to resolve any difficulty. I usually divide my tasks before and after a lunch break. 

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Mohammed Adnaan Shafique, Senior Associate – Content Development 

Everyone, on some level, tends to procrastinate. However, to fight it you have to focus on figuring out a strategy. I prefer the old-school method of creating a to-do list and ticking off every completed task. I also quickly run down the tasks for the day and prioritise them according to what can be done in the first half and what can be done in the second. 

There are days when you tick all your tasks off the list and some days you don’t, but the aim is to keep going and break it down into smaller chunks. To keep myself motivated, I go for early morning runs and I also cook every now and then. If I accomplish these two tasks in the morning, I feel everything else will remain on track on that particular day. This routine is rewarding and satisfying for me. 

Aditya Kini, Assistant General Manager – Sales 

I believe if you are deferring today, you are wasting time borrowed from the future. My day starts with making a list of tasks and committing time slots for each. I design my schedule in such a way that my breaks will not conflict with any of my tasks. That for me is the best way to fight procrastination.

To keep myself motivated, I also lean on self-rewards, which keeps me driven for the rest of the day. Apart from that what keeps up my drive is energy drinks. One or two don’t hurt! But I always think it’s all about the placebo effect. Just like you believe caffeine makes you alert and productive, if you reward yourself for an accomplished task, you can trick your mind into taking charge and checking tasks off your to-do list.

Do you also have a quirky technique that helps you fight procrastination? Share your comments below and tell us what helps you get things done.