There are many writers out there who write about productivity.

But how many readers are there who know when to stop reading about productivity and start being productive?

Get rid of the cracks on the road to productivity… – photos by Plusverde

I did a (very) brief search for recent blog posts about procrastination. There’s so much written about it that the mind boggles. You could spend a lifetime wasting time reading about the many ways you can stop wasting time!

So here’s a post with lots of tips and loads of links on the subject, which means you needn’t realistically look elsewhere.  After you’ve read this lot, it’s time to DO.

Below, I present 20 quick tips to help you break out of the annoying habit of putting things off.  They form an introduction to the next part of the post…

…Which consists of links to 20 posts related to banishing procrastination. The short tips provide a taster, the posts provide an in-depth guide to getting it done.

A vast amount of reading.  Yes, they are good articles, but don’t read them just to put off what you should be doing!  The tips and links only bring you closer to where you want to be. If you actually want to reach your destination, get into the driving seat and DRIVE! Good luck.

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20 Tips to Get Rid of Procrastination

1. Don’t try to do all your work in one go – you’ll get bored and cranky and you’ll want to find other things to spend your time on;
2. Make a time plan;
3. Listen to yourself;
4. Be honest with yourself…
5. …and NO excuses!
6. Get the initial research/workings/readings out of the way first;
7. Focus on chunks, rather than the whole thing;
8. Prioritise;
9. Don’t look at the end point at the beginning – If you hope to be finished as soon as you’ve started, you’ll only become overwhelmed and tired;
10. Work in frequent bursts, taking frequent breaks too;
11. Eliminate distractions;
12. Stay energised;
13. Don’t wait until there’s not enough time…start when there’s plenty;
14. Many distractions are psychological – they wouldn’t be distractions if you didn’t have a more important task at hand;
15. When overwhelmed by tasks, leave anything that can wait until tomorrow…until tomorrow;
16. Set specifics – define your activities, don’t leave them vague;
17. Link your work and play. Bring everything together (i.e. planning isn’t just for one task, and it’s not just limited to work with deadlines);
18. Start a ritual to your day to keep you focused by default;
19. Understand your reasons for completing a task and ask why it’s important;
20. Stop looking for a wand to make everything finish by magic…you’re not Harry Potter!

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20 Links to Stamp Down Procrastination

1. Scott H Young – How to Stop Making Excuses

2. Zen Habits – 7 Powerful Steps to Overcoming Resistance and Actually Getting Stuff Done

3. Study Hacks – The Science of Procrastination

4. My Mind Expert – Dealing With Procrastination

5. TheUniversityBlog – Learn to want it

6. Lifehack.org – The Power of Ritual: Conquer Procrastination, Time Wasters and Laziness

7. Lifehack.org – 50 Simple Ways To Stay Productive

8. Litemind – 15 Time Boxing Strategies to Get Things Done

9. Personal Development Blog – 3 Rules to Help You Fight Procrastination

10. Martha Beck – Death to procrastination: Use the 4-day win to get your goals moving

11. CollegeStudentsRule – Don’t Interrupt Me, I’m Procrastinating!

12. Lifemuncher – Do It Tomorrow

13. Achieve IT! – Discover the Reasons for the Distractions That are Killing Your Progress and Become Free From Them for Good

14. Your best just got better – Are you procrastinating?

15. PickTheBrain – 5 Reasons You Procrastinate and How to Overcome Them

16. Dumb Little Man – 6 Simple Steps to Achieve Laser-Like Focus

17. Alex Shalman – From Slacker to Productivity Monster in 23 Days

18. Slacker Manager – How to be a Productive Slacker

19. Lifedev – Keeping Focus While Beating Back Distractions

20. Ian’s Messy Desk – Inside the mind of a procrastinator