Today's video will focus on 5 things you can do to beat procrastination and accomplish the goals you set out to do.

These five ways to beat procrastination can be individually used, or you can use them as a process that you can apply whenever you feel like you are being dragged down for lack of motivation.

My first tip is to find your natural trigger.

This is a habit, a behaviour, or some factor that almost invariably makes you feel more productive.

Some people take a long time to find out what their natural trigger is, but as soon as you discover it, employing those methods can get you a focused and productive mood in the blink of an eye.

For that, try to find a pattern during your most productive sessions.

Were you doing something different during that particular day?

Was something missing from your routine or were you into a new habit?

Tracking your productivity based on the type of day you had is actually a good way to track your natural trigger and find out the small things in your daily life that get you into a productive mood.

Personally I have two natural triggers—taking a quick shower or working out.

Every time I feel like my attention span is dropping to dangerous levels while I am trying to concentrate, I will do either one of those things.

Sometimes you need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward, and activating your natural triggers actually does this.

Although you are spending time you could be using for studying, the effort you make into getting that productive boost will make it worthwhile.

Brain dump more.

One of the main factors that can get you feeling stuck and unproductive is not knowing where to start.

That's why a good brain dump is so important.

Putting all of your worries, tasks, anxieties, and big deadlines into paper or a note-taking app is a relaxing and productive routine that can be a game changer in beating procrastination.

Despite the number of things you need to do or you need to worry about, write it all down on paper.

And by the way, these brain dumps can even include menial tasks like paying your phone bill or ordering groceries.

Either way, don't worry about randomly jotting down these notes as it is one of the most important steps to get you in a productive mood.

As soon as you see all the things you need to do, you will want to start doing them right away.

Closely tied to the second tip is to get into the concept of checklists or to-do lists.

Regardless of your planning method, a to-do list is that basic organization method that should be part of anyone's planning routine, as it gives you a visual and rewarding way of doing things that will give you a sense of accomplishment.

Just take your brain dump and either start dividing those tasks and events by day or week, or simply put them all together in a piece of paper with a checkbox next to each item.

Checking boxes gives you a sense of accomplishment and takes you out of the procrastination mood.

As you check a box, you are doing something, and that sense of doing something slowly removes that sensation that you don't want to do anything, and that's because you are already doing something.

For my fourth tip, do the small, menial tasks first and work your way down the list according to task complexity.

This will allow you to check tons of things on your list and make you feel like you are progressing.

Although this might not seem efficient for someone who is already in the swing of things, working your way from bottom to top is great for people who are procrastinating,

as you'll probably be able to do a ton of 5-minute tasks in under one hour, and that will make your productivity skyrocket.

Finally, a good way to make sure you avoid a slump is to switch between physical and intellectual tasks.

I've found recently that this is one of the best things I can do to make sure I stay productive for hours.

Since I need to do a lot of cleaning around the house, I like to switch between cleaning or household tasks and schoolwork.

Both have to get done, and at least for me, they have the same degree of urgency.

But since they are things that require completely different approaches, I feel that switching off my brain for ten or five minutes is the well-deserved pause or break while also being something that I need to check off my to-do list.

Before I end today’s episode, I want to thank Skillshare for sponsoring this video and be such a great partner in spreading the word about self-learning and development.

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I hope you enjoy today's video, and I'll see you next week. Bye.