How to Procrastinate Productively
Get ahead of the game with these simple productivity tips.
Here’s the thing: if you were a student, you probably procrastinated. A lot.
If I spent all the time I do reading fanfiction, playing Animal Crossing, or watching Grey’s Anatomy on something productive, perhaps like on all the homework I turned in late or hastily finished… I probably would have done a whole lot better in school.
Furthermore, though most of my memories of school blended together in an unpleasant mix of boredom and stress, I mostly remember afternoons and evenings where I would nap, watch random Youtube videos on topics I wasn’t particularly interested in, and take Buzzfeed quizzes on which Riverdale character I was most like based on the desserts I chose, all to avoid the schoolwork that I had to turn in the next day.
None of these activities were productive at all. Though, I don’t mean that we should be productive all the time, reduced to just work and sleep. Just that if I could have taken all those hours I wasted, and funneled it into something good, I could have gotten a lot more done.
In addition, while procrastination as a student isn’t ideal, bringing those procrastination habits into a job or adult life is even worse. Turning in shoddy work at school isn’t that bad, but at work, it would likely get you in trouble. The consequences of procrastination are magnified as we get older.
So here’s how I learned to procrastinate productively.
#1: Make a list of things you need to get done
Before you get to solving your procrastination tendencies, you must know what you need to get done (aka why you are procrastinating). So get out that planner, check your deadlines, and make a list of all the things you have to do. In short, get organized.
This is because if you know what you need to get done, you’re more likely to do it.
#2: Make a list of productively fun things to do
The key to procrastinating productively is to do things that will add value to your life while procrastinating your work. You know that you will procrastinate, so anticipate it. Prepare things to do while you procrastinate.
Some ideas:
You could clean your room, go for a run or exercise, meal prep, or watch a Ted Talk.
For more ideas, check out these articles on productive things you can do while procrastinating:
#3: Ban all “unproductive sites”
In order to successfully procrastinate productively, you should make sure to block sites that you normally procrastinate on. Examples could be Youtube, Netflix, or Buzzfeed quizzes.
There are a couple of ways to do this. If you use Chrome, then you can download Stayfocusd, which is a chrome extension that will set a time limit for sites that you have blocked. For those who really procrastinate, there is a “nuclear” option that will only allow “allowed” sites that you set, such as Google Docs.
The only con to Stayfocusd is that it doesn’t work on incognito windows. If you have a tendency to use incognito windows to procrastinate, consider using Terminal to ban sites from your computer.
#4: Condition yourself to productively procrastinate
Lastly, learn to associate procrastination with the forms of “productive procrastination” that you listed out.
You could put on a certain type of music, bookmark the sites you want to visit, or set a timer to get yourself started.
So these are four tips to get you started on procrastinating productively.
Another benefit to productive procrastination is that usually once I get rolling on any type of work, I tend to transition from productive procrastination to actually getting work done.
Procrastination isn’t ideal, but if you’re going to procrastinate, you might as well be productive while you’re at it!
