That’s nothing. I didn’t even get my learners permit 'till i was 19 and then never got around to using it before it expired. I’ve still not went back and got it renewed.
At any rate what works best for me is to tell someone i’m going to do something. If i’ve made a promise, or even something that only vaguely resembles a promise, i’ll damn well keep it if it kills me. If i tell a roommate that i’ll clean the kitchen tonight then i wouldn’t be able to live with myself if i didn’t. I’ll still probably procrastinate as long as i can but it’ll be clean by morning.
Is there something wrong with waiting to do a thing until the time is ripe? I’m joking of course.
I truely believe that procrastinators, like myself, like to have a thing that is waiting to be done. I almost regret doing that one chore I know has to be done, because then what would I do? Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown (what task will be next?) or something else, I wish I knew. Anyway, I fight procrastination with lists. I do 90% of the list without a problem and then can’t do that last bit. If I number it correctly I can get myself to do the important stuff and leave the useless stuff.
Somethings I can do things if I create a habit out of it, then I just have to turn off my brain when the time comes; like taking out the trash or going to the gym. Hard to get started but once the habit is in place I just have to ignore the little voice that wants to do nothing.
Schedule things in and then go to do them as soon as you get up or within a set time after.
That isn’t to say you need to schedule your whole life, just say “I have the day off on Friday, so Friday I will begin cleaning the house by 10 AM and take no more than a 15 minute break every 2 hours until it’s finished.” and then commit to it.
Or for smaller things, schedule them in and set an alarm on your watch. Like set it for an hour after you get home from work (so that you have some time to rest first) and then change the time by a few minutes for new tasks. I find that when my alarm goes off, I always remember the reason I originally set it, which is usually some mundane thing. The alarm serves as a kind of string around the finger (because often, I’m mostly just putting something off because I keep forgetting) and also a “do it NOW” prompt. So this is good for stuff like calling to make appointments or looking stuff up online and such… stuff that isn’t staring you in the face (like dishes) and has no urgent deadline (like homework), but needs to be done.
Rewards are good, especially if it’s something you a) really want and b) have easy access to. I was going to go to the zoo as a reward for something in like June and I still haven’t actually gotten around to it. I’m procrastinating my own reward, go figure. And I was going to use getting new lip balm as a reward for something, but after trying and failing a few too many times, I decided it’s not really worth the lip balm. But not letting myself have the diet pepsi in the fridge until at least homework and dishes are done for the night works well.
I think I found that same rule. And yeah, I believe it was a fitness magazine. I use this for making myself work out, which I’ve had particular trouble with since I got pregnant. But once I get on the treadmill, especially if I can read something good, I’m much more likely to stay on (yeah, I know, I know, if you’re able to read you’re probably not working hard enough - but, dammit! I got there, didn’t I?).
As for everything else, I try just not to think about it. Not in the sense, “If I don’t think about it, it’ll go away,” but as in, “I’m just going to do this, no questions asked.” I try to put myself on auto pilot so I just do it without thinking. So, if I walk through the door with a bag of groceries, they have to be put away. Now. If I get a bill, once that sucker is open, it has to get paid right now.
Larger projects can be more difficult, but I try to have the same mindset, only with the bigger steps broken down.
You people are way out of line here. Procrastination is not the problem, it is the solution!
You would be amazed how many problems will go away if ignored for long enough. I have a whole pile of problems on my desk. If someone comes screaming about one, I’ll dig it out and see what I can do. But mostly nobody really cares, and I don’t have to do a thing. Except, after a year or so, if no one comes back to me about that problem, I toss it. That gets rid of about three quarters of the pile, and I’ve never yet had to go digging through the trash to find something that reappeared on the radar.
The OP’s REAL problems is a comfort issue about idleness. Don’t worry, like most worthwhile things, inactivity takes practice. Soon you’ll be practically catatonic, AND LOVING IT!
For me, it was getting a good cellphone with a calendar. Being reminded constantly, and then resetting the time or day a couple of times, let me slip but not forget completely.