Research suggests that 20 percent of people in the US are chronic procrastinators. We all delay the execution of important tasks every now and then. When procrastination stands in the way of productivity, happiness and personal fulfillment, however, it’s time to do something about it.

Eradicating the habits and behaviors that cause procrastination doesn’t have to be challenging or life-shifting. Starting with a few simple steps can help you yield amazing results in the long run. Here are few of the top things that make you procrastinate and the best ways to address those.

Being Biased about Certain Tasks and Not Willing to do Them

If you don’t feel like doing something because you already have some bias against it, chances are that procrastination will be coded in your mindset right from the start.

People often have biases because they think they’ll be bad at a certain task or that they will need a lot of time to do a good job. Such biases could be based on past experiences or they may be completely irrational.

The best thing to do is open your mind. Challenge yourself even if you’re not confident about the eventual success. Putting off essay writing, for example, because you can’t come up with a perfect intro and opener is not a good enough reason. Instead of focusing on the thing you cannot do, start with the part of the task that you feel most competent at. Once you tackle this part of the challenge, you will feel more inspired to move on to the rest of it.

Boring Tasks

Expecting something to be boring is another reason why you may decide to delay your involvement in a certain project.

A mindful approach, however, is always focused on the positives.

You can begin a simple meditation practice to get in touch with the positive emotions. Think about the way you will feel when you complete the task. No matter how small it is, the sense of triumph will be there and it will keep you pumped enough to go on and on… and on.

Engaging your senses in a pre-task meditation is such a simple exercise. Dedicate five minutes per day to it. What will you hear when you get it done? It could be praise, it could b recognition of the accomplishment. What will you see? Chances are that you will have a finished product in your hands, a product that’s 100 percent the result of your efforts.

Tasks that don’t Mean Anything to You

When the things that we do have a personal meaning, we tend to be more engaged and more “present.” This is why people often procrastinate because they’re faced with tasks and responsibilities that they have to tackle but that they feel no emotional attachment towards.

One of the simplest ways to address this problem is to just get started. Once you begin and become involved, chances are that the activity will provoke at least some emotional response.

You don’t need to be motivated or inspired – just try to get it done. It can be an automatic response and it can help you accomplish a lot.

Perfectionism Getting in the Way

Perfectionism is usually described as a good thing but more often than not – it’s a bad characteristic. Many people don’t start doing something because they’re not confident in the ability to do it perfectly. You tell yourself that something has to be perfect. You tell yourself that you can’t accomplish this perfection. As a result, you don’t get started at all with the task at hand.

The key to overcoming this type of procrastination is accepting things with their shortcomings and imperfections. Reward yourself for doing something, even if the outcome isn’t 100 percent to your standards. You will soon notice that people will be happy and they’ll appreciate the effort, even if the final outcome has a tiny glitch or two.

In a sense, you have to disconnect with the rest of the world and with the little doubting voice in your head when you have to get something down. Procrastination gives you a way out and you will usually give in because the alternative necessitates a proactive approach. If you, however, resist the temptation once or twice, you will soon have a healthy new routine that will enable you to get a lot more done.