February 28th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina 
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One of my most popular productivity articles was “Overcoming Procrastination,” which I originally wrote in 2001. Since then it’s been republished many times and translated into other languages. I decided to give it a fresh editing pass to update it, and I’ve posted the updated version of “Overcoming Procrastination” in the free articles section.
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on Monday, February 28th, 2005 at 5:45 am and is filed under Career & Work, Getting Things Done, Motivation, Productivity, Time Management.
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February 28th, 2005 at 7:26 am
Steve, why don’t you make podcasts from your articles? I’d love to listen to them, inctead of reading.
February 28th, 2005 at 8:18 am
I may eventually do that (it’s on my someday/maybe list)… podcasting just isn’t a big priority right now though.
March 4th, 2005 at 5:55 pm
My best tips for overcoming procrastination:
1. Make a to-do list of only of the most important things. Just cut out all the fluff.
2. Break up tasks into small pieces. Sometimes it’s better to do it on paper because the large surface of the paper allows you a better view.
3. Always choose the most important or the most urgent thing. The #1 item. Think very carefully. The fact that you know that the thing you are working on now is the most important thing will really motivate you.
4. Read “Getting Things Done” by David Allen
5. Some hypnosis tapes (or CDs) really work.
March 6th, 2005 at 7:38 am
Very nice article. I read its previous incarnation some time ago, and was happy re-reading it now. Doing so, it struck me how much parallels there are with a book I just finished, and which I can strongly recommend: “The Now Habit” by Neil Fiore.
April 22nd, 2005 at 12:55 pm
What happens when your procrastination leads to shame, self-loathing, failure, or depression? What if it becomes a compulsion and you can’t stop procrastinating? Can procrastination become an addiction? Is there a way you can learn to accept it and accept yourself while at the same time working on changing the behaviours which are self-defeating or self-destructive? We don’t have the answers but we try and help each other figure them out.
April 22nd, 2005 at 2:23 pm
You can dig your way out of the pit of chronic procrastination by building self-discipline. Set small self-discipline goals and achieve them. Then set bigger goals, and continue building your self-discipline. When your self-discipline is high enough, procrastination will dissolve.
Procrastination itself isn’t a bad habit. We’re always putting something off because we can only do one thing in the present. It only becomes a problem when we put off doing what really matters.