While none of us really encourage procrastinating, we are often guilty of it. So, what’s the best I can make of that? Being productive while procrastinating. Is that even a real thing? Isn’t it the same as working? No. It’s not quite tedious as getting your work done and it makes you feel less guilty than just dilly-dallying around.

How to do it? It’s simple :

• Take small, repeated breaks in between working. Take 10-minute time-outs for yourself every 30 minutes or so. This will let you step away from work, avoid feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you have and help you split your work into smaller more achievable tasks.

• Complete a chore. A chore might be the last thing you might want to do when you’re flooded with work but it might end up being far more satisfactory than you realise. Whether it’s doing the dishes, re-organising your desk, cleaning a room or just folding your clothes, completing a chore can help you feel like you finished doing something productive. This will leave you feeling motivated and ready to take on work that you were previously avoiding without feeling too guilty that you hadn’t done it sooner. (Now, don’t take up a chore so big it takes up your whole day. Just something small and content).

• Give yourself a well-being goal. This could be preparing a healthy meal for yourself, exercising or maybe trying to survive the day without using social media. While this might sound like a challenge, it could surprisingly leave you feeling less distracted and in turn more focused on your task at hand.

• Practice a skill. Try to take up another activity you’ve also wanted to pursue for a while. It could be learning a language, doing a graphic designing course, reading up on financial planning, etc. The key here, is not to be doing an activity you already enjoy. You could do that on any day. Pick an activity that was challenging to begin with but seems less demanding than the work you’re procrastinating.

Some of the most successful personalities in the world have inculcated these habits in their daily lives and have accounted the same for their success. CEOs, celebrities, and experts of their fields such as Elon Musk, Ratan Tata and Steve Jobs to name a few.
Now you’re well informed on how to go about your day while productively procrastinating. The crucial aspect of these methods are to only use any one of them. Or else, before you know it, you’ll have done everything but the most important thing on your to-do list which isn’t the goal here. Remember to prioritise!