7 productivity tips and tricks for perfectionists to gain mindfulness

Are you a perfectionist? 

Let’s be clear. If you have very high but rigid standards, then you might have trouble adjusting to the daily demands of life. To overcome perfectionism, it’s important to grow your mindset. Accept that you will give it your best shot instead of feeling as if you are cutting yourself short. By trying one of these seven simple productivity tips and tricks, you can motivate yourself back into action. 

Give each of these tips a try over the next few weeks and find the ones that work best. You will know that they positively work for you when you suddenly realize that you are dancing in your kitchen out of pure joy. Your to-do list will be checked off automatically with no excuses. Whenever you find yourself procrastinating, needlessly postponing decisions or actions, come back to this list. Then, employ one or several of these productivity tips and tricks. Your productivity will soar. 

Sure to Work Productivity Tips and Tricks

Being mindfully aware of procrastination is a skill in itself because those individuals who procrastinate can do a great job of hiding it from themselves. You might find excuses like waiting for inspiration or needing more information before tackling a project. You convince yourself with more excuses and it becomes harder to differentiate which are the true hurdles. Be honest with yourself and you will start overcoming true challenges not those which you have imagined.

1. Pick Something Small 

One of the big reasons we procrastinate is because we become overwhelmed. There’s too much to do, so we choose to forget about it for a little while. It’s a coping mechanism, just not the one giving you accurate results. Instead, pick one thing, something small that you can do right now to move you in the right direction. Making small choices creates momentum and forces you to take action. 

2. Set A Timer and Go 

Another trick that works like a charm is to set a timer. Your cell phone has one built-in, as do most smartwatches. If you misplaced your smartphone or are procrastinating, setting the alarm, then let Alexa know that she needs to remind you. She usually replies that she didn’t get that. But no worries, Alexa understood you correctly. She’s just procrastinating like you. Repeat your command and allow double the amount you need for a particular task to complete it. For instance, if you plan for fifteen minutes to pay your bills, make that thirty. The same applies for uncluttering your closet. Again, the goal is to start and do something. 

3. Bribe Yourself 

Make up your own rewards. Remember there’s nothing wrong with bribing yourself if that’s what motivates you. Your boss bribes you with a paycheck, so you know this tip works to perfection. Work on a home improvement project for an hour. Then watch as someone else does the same work on an episode of Property Brothers on HGTV. Maybe promise yourself ice cream when you finish painting the living room. Just come up with something that motivates you and go for it. Remind yourself of the prize at the end of the project whenever you’re tempted to put things off for another day. 

4. Find An Accountability Partner 

It’s all about competitive accountability and peer pressure. First, find someone else who’s either trying to be more productive or beat procrastination themselves. Second, start check-in with each other daily. Third, share what you want to accomplish and what you will get done today. Knowing you have to report to someone else makes you take action. It’s also motivating to see the other person do the same.  Accountability is the principle behind weight loss and other self-help groups. It is widely recognized as a highly effective approach. 

5. Measure Your Progress 

When you’re working on something long-term, such as losing thirty pounds, it can be tempting to procrastinate. Simply, it doesn’t seem like you’re making much progress. Your confident that those initial fluctuations are just changes in water weight. Instead, prove to yourself that you are getting closer and closer by tracking or measuring it. Make a chart, use a spreadsheet, keep a bullet journal. Find a way to measure your progress towards your goal and use it to motivate yourself to keep going. 

6. Remind Yourself Of Your Why 

There’s a reason you’ve decided to do that thing you keep putting off. Think about why you want to get it done. Is it so that you can get your tax refund? So you can find the clothes you want to wear? Find out your reason why. Write it down and then keep it front and center on a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Look at it every day before you get ready to get to work. 

7. Just Start

I’ve saved the best for last. It’s the easiest but also the most powerful. Just get started. That’s right, sometimes all you have to do is just get moving in the right direction. Do something. Do anything even if it’s something minimal. You get over that initial hump and start to build some momentum with the use of these productivity tips and tricks.

Disclaimer: Procrastination is a habit – a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior. That means that you will not just break it overnight. Habits are broken when act on not practicing them. Please use as many approaches as possible to maximize your chances of overcoming procrastination. 

Don’t let your perfectionism stop you from reaching your goals

You wake up in the morning motivated and ready to tackle whatever it is you’ve been procrastinating on. Maybe you’re excited about a new project. You drink your coffee, get dressed, and get ready to get to work. Then something suddenly comes up. You are a perfectionist so you get suckered into a non-productive task because you find your to-do list not good enough or pretty enough. 

Perhaps you open your Instagram and get sucked into spending the next few hours on your phone. Maybe you feel that you need to finish your binge-watch marathon on Netflix. It doesn’t matter what it is, the point is that there are things that will try to distract you into procrastinating. 

Gain Mindfulness

Listen to the clip above. In less than one minute, you will gain mindfulness to overcome your challenges.

Take Action With A Simple Productivity Strategy

There’s a simple strategy you can use to keep procrastination from happening. It’s to make the important project you’ve been delaying a priority and work on it first thing every morning. The whole process starts with planning the night before. Before you call it a day, sit down, and think about the tasks you want to get done the next day. Identify what needs to get done.

Write these three tasks down in your journal. 

These tasks don’t have to be long (see tip. 1). In fact, I find it helpful if they are all items I can take care of quickly. When you get up in the morning, look at your list and work on these three most important tasks before you do anything else. Don’t look at your email. Don’t text. If at all possible don’t even answer the phone or attend meetings before these three tasks are crossed off. Make them your number one priority. 

Aside from that, simply being mindful of smart devices that decrease your productivity is helpful. When you find yourself putting something off, look back and see if you can pinpoint what caused it. Then take action towards preventing it from happening in the future. 

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