Two things I struggle with a lot: procrastination and distraction. Whether it is with completing my homework or putting away my clean laundry, it often takes me a lot longer to complete important tasks because of procrastination and distractions getting in my way. One thing I have come to realize is that I procrastinate more when I am feeling anxious. When my stomach feels jittery and I have a lot on my mind, I have a really hard time focusing on tasks I should be doing. This being said, something I will do (but should probably do more tbh) is just fully take a step back. I realize that I am having a hard time getting anything done, so it will honestly be more productive for me to fully step away from the task, do something to settle my anxiety, and then come back. Although sometimes it may feel like this will take longer and you don’t want to stop doing the task because you just want to get it done, you really will get it done faster if you just take a 5-10 minute break to regroup and then start again (and you will probably complete the task better when you come back, too).
So, what to do in this five to ten minute break time? Well that depends on why you are feeling distracted. First, if it is purely because you can’t focus, I would go outside to get fresh air and get your body moving a little to snap your brain back into attention and get your blood flowing. If it is anxiety, you have to think to yourself where this anxiety is coming from. Is it coming from something you can or cannot control? If it is coming from something you can’t control, use a coping tool (you can find some of my favorites in the “coping tools” page). For this type of situation, I’ll usually do a ten minute yoga class because it both calms my mind and gets my body moving. Whatever you think will ease your anxiety, at least just enough to be able to do the things you need to get done, you should do in this short period of time. If your anxiety is coming from something you can control, if you can get it done in five to around twenty minutes, just do it. There is no better way to ease anxiety about something than just getting it over with. And I promise, you will feel so much better and less stressed after you’re done. However, I understand there are some things you can’t just do in the given moment, so if that is the case, set a timer for 20-30 minutes to grind out whatever task or tasks you need to complete. No distractions and nothing stopping you in that chunk of time. Once the timer goes off, leave and go wherever it is you need to go or do whatever it is you need to do to complete the thing that is causing you to feel this anxiety. Remember, the best way to relieve anxiety about something is to just do it. You will feel so much better after.
This is something I struggle with quite often, but being in touch with my emotions and being able to identify what is causing me to procrastinate or be distracted is the number one solution to being able to get past it. Procrastination and distraction are two things that are not easy to tackle, but we can do it together!
– Avery
Mentally, I’m Here 