How to Stop Being a Last-Minute Person

Do you find it relatable: you are always procrastinating too much, thinking that you still have a lot of time ahead to complete a task, and then you spend an entire night doing everything in total haste right before the deadline hits? Then you are probably a last-minute person with bad time management skills and weak self-discipline. Do you want to solve this problem? Well, this blog post is just for you.

Why Do We Do This?

A lot of us go through periods when we just procrastinate and can’t force ourselves to start another task. And that is totally okay. However, when you find yourself in such a situation over and over again and it becomes your habit, you better do something with it. It might be a total life-changing moment but you need to go through these changes if you don’t want to let your procrastination ruin your future career.

Admit the Problem and Find Its Reasons

Putting everything aside until the very last minute might be a symptom of a larger problem. For example, a lot of perfectionists face procrastination because of their fear of not being able to complete the task the way they imagine it. The fear of being not perfect, not the best one makes the situation even worse and blocks the entire motivation to do anything.

Another problem that might be the reason for procrastination is the lack of self-discipline and lack of interest. When you are bored with the task or afraid of its complexity, you might be tempted to put it aside. Until you have the right mood or motivation. But time goes by and the right mood never comes. Because it doesn’t happen by itself. You need to make yourself find the motivation and here is where the lack of self-discipline and self-belief is the key problem.

So, in order to understand why you tend to have things done at the last moment, you need to understand what makes you do that. Is it the wrong major or job that makes you bored with tasks and assignments or maybe it is some mental issue that makes you too overwhelmed? Think of it and reflect on the core of the problem. 

In any case, you might want to take some steps in order to solve the issue. And we have a few good tips for you on how you can do that.

Plan Your Day

A plan is what you should start with. A great way to stop being a last-minute person is to write to-do lists and plan your day so that you learn how to manage your time. 

To-do lists are the number one helpers here. They allow you to sort tasks out, learn how to prioritize, discipline yourself, and manage big tasks. Create a habit of taking five minutes in the morning to write a list of the chores, assignments, reminders, and tasks for the day. It will massively help you to get off the burden of keeping everything in your head.

And once you have everything written on paper, you just need to move through the list and complete your tasks one by one. 

Set Realistic Goals for the Day

Let’s say you want to become a new person and get things done. Well, that’s great but make sure you start slowly. Don’t try to chew more than you can bite. There is a reason why it’s important to take small steps until you can move forward.

So, when you are planning your day and setting your goals, don’t put everything that is waiting to be done on that list. It will not motivate you but scare you instead. Moreover, you will feel terrible that you were not able to finish 15 essays in one day though you really wanted to catch up with your homework.

Start with smaller tasks and fewer assignments a day. You will surely be more satisfied if you complete all of the three points on your list compared to completing three out of ten. So, don’t rush, and don’t put much on your shoulders.

Learn How to Prioritize

So, we all have only 24 hours in a day but still, some manage to do a lot of various stuff while others are not even closely productive. But why? That’s because of time-management skills and prioritizing. If you have a few tasks on your hands but prefer to spend the majority of your day doing something less important and urgent, like sorting your socks (though sometimes we need to do that) after washing, you will surely find yourself running out of time. 

Create a habit of starting with the most important and urgent tasks first even if they seem like boring or challenging things to do. It is called the ‘eating a frog’ technique and it makes the rest of your day as bright and easy as it can be.

When you know that the hardest part of your to-do list is over, there is nothing more satisfying as you feel like a powerful, fulfilled, and calm person. Moreover, if you delay completing hard tasks, chances are you feeling tired and less focused when you finally get to start them.

Use Incentives

Motivation is always the key. It affects productivity, the quality of the final result, the time you spend completing the task, and your emotional status. To keep your motivation high, you might want to try various incentives that would help you feel satisfied with each milestone of your work. For example, when you take a break in between tasks or steps of your work, get yourself something that brings you hoy – favorite music, TV show, candy, or snack. It would make it easier to cope with stress and feel energized for another part of your work.

Wrapping Up

We hope that you will be able to use our tips and cope with procrastination. Believe in yourself and your power – you can cope with bad habits and you can stop being a deadline person. This change will surely help you become less stressed and more productive. Good luck!