Best Apps for Beating Procrastination

The problem with procrastination is that our brains like it. When you think your focus is in the right place, either on a solo project or being successful at your job, your mind can zip away to something you heard on the TV last night or where you want to go on vacation in the summer. It wants to be distracted purely because it's easier than staying focused. Of course, the trick to increased productivity is a focus, but how to achieve it consistently when the pressure is on? Get your thoughts in order with a task management app as the first port of call – it'll help break out your tasks for the day, so you can work out which are priorities and which you don't need to spend precious time on. By physically visualizing the tasks, it can motivate you to tick them off.  

Of course, laying your tasks out in front of you is a great start, but procrastination can hit in the middle of your activity, as well as at the beginning. The trick is to remain focused through those difficult times, ensuring your motivation doesn’t burn out within the first few minutes. An interesting trick here is to stimulate your senses positively rather than negatively. Music is an excellent example of this. The Focus@Will app combines science and productivity to help focus your mind on the task at hand. Playing specially formulated music and sounds provides the brain with enough stimulus not to go looking for it elsewhere. You should end up finishing your task quicker than before, saving you time. 

To fully beat procrastination, your brain itself needs to be in tip-top condition. This means getting enough sleep, so it feels well-rested and ready to go again the next day, but it also means taking time for yourself to recharge. Meditation is a good tip here and is becoming more popular with each passing year. No longer the medium of just Buddhists or hippies, meditation is something many people use to calm themselves at the end of a particularly stressful day or suffer from anxiety. Even if you don’t suffer, you can improve the state of your overall wellness and productivity levels by engaging in the activity for five minutes or so per day. It could make the difference you need in beating procrastination.