Procrastination Quotes to Keep You Motivated

Everyone has those days — the ones where you don’t feel like you can pull through to finish all the work you need to get done. When this happens, we tend to procrastinate what needs to be done. Procrastination can lead to stress about completing the work, unfinished projects and assignments, and leads to a cycle of more procrastination. Get back on track with these procrastination quotes that will motivate you to get started right away.

Procrastination Quotes to Keep You Motivated

Procrastinating is a part of human nature. Sometimes we just can’t get ourselves moving to start working. That’s why we’ve gathered some of the best procrastination quotes here to help motivate you to get things done. Find your favorites and write them down, or print the whole list if you need to!

Reasons People Procrastinate

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“We are so scared of being judged that we look for every excuse to procrastinate.” – Erica Jong

There are several reasons why people procrastinate. One of the reasons, as Jong points out, is a fear of being judged.

Fear of failure is another reason. We can be so afraid of failure that we don’t even try.

Others are trying to wait for the ‘right time.’ But there may never be a right time — most successful people argue that you should start right now, as soon as you have an idea.

When it comes to getting work or schoolwork done, people often procrastinate because of boredom or lack of interest. If this is your case, finding a way to motivate yourself is key. If something is boring, make it interesting! The power to overcome procrastination is in your hands.

Tips on Overcoming Procrastination

“If you procrastinate when faced with a big difficult problem… break the problem into parts, and handle one part at a time.” – Robert Collier

As Collier suggests, one great way to overcome procrastination is to break a large problem into smaller parts. Other ways you can overcome procrastination include:

1. Stop making things a big deal:

When you make much ado about something, you might psych yourself out about it. Just start it, and your stress will melt away as you make progress.

2. Be realistic:

Give yourself extra time to complete a project, and don’t sign up for more than you have time for.

3. Make a plan:

Use your calendar, your favorite apps, or a notebook to make a list and pencil in times to complete these items. Give yourselves mini deadlines for each step of the way.

4. Think big picture:

When you start a task remembering the reason why you are doing it, it will be easier to get yourself motivated to get moving.

5. No more excuses:

Stop making excuses today. Start recognizing when you are making excuses, and little by little, you will become someone who doesn’t make excuses at all.

6. Find a partner:

Overcoming procrastination might mean you need some support. Find a classmate, a family member or a work colleague who can keep you on track.

7. Look at your environment:

If your work area isn’t conducive to work, you are setting yourself up for procrastination. Take a look at the place you are working in, and make sure it is free of distractions and set up to be an area for focus.

8. Put your phone away:

Set your phone on airplane mode if you really need to get things done, and exit all tabs you have open on your screen. Don’t tempt yourself to procrastinate with all those notifications.

9. Reward good behavior:

Be proud of yourself when you get things done. Take a break, have a snack — whatever keeps you motivated and feeling charged up.

10. Forget perfectionism:

You and your projects, essays, and emails don’t have to be perfect. You’ll get more done by foregoing the need for everything to be “perfect.”

Quotes On Procrastination

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Time wasted is existence; used is life.” – Edward Young

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” – David Allen

“Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.” – Michael Landon

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill

Inspiring and Motivating Quotes About Procrastination

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“Do something great neon letters”

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

“Don’t wait for someone to take you under their wing. Find a good wing and climb up underneath it.” – Frank C. Bucaro

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand — and melting like a snowflake.” – Francis Bacon

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

Overcoming Procrastination Quotes

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“Often just by taking action, by doing something about the situation can relieve the stress and help correct the situation.” – Catherine Pulsifer

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work. Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.” – Paulo Coelho

“If you put off everything till you’re sure of it, you’ll never get anything done.” – Norman Vincent Peale

“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.” – Victor Hugo

“Getting an idea should be like sitting on a pin; it should make you jump up and do something.” – E. L. Simpson

“The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They’re full of eagerness, zest, productivity. You can be, too.” – Norman Vincent Peale

“We all sorely complain of the shortness of time, and yet have much more than we know what to do with. Our lives are either spent in doing nothing at all, or in doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing nothing that we ought to do. We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end of them.” – Seneca

“Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow.” – James A. Michener

Ancient Teachings Quotes

“Anything worth putting off is worth abandoning altogether.” – Epictetus

“The best way to get something done is to begin.” – Author Unknown

Quotations on Procrastination and Success

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“Following-through is the only thing that separates dreamers from people that accomplish great things.” – Gene Hayden

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.” – Denis Waitley

“The habit of always putting off an experience until you can afford it, or until the time is right, or until you know how to do it is one of the greatest burglars of joy. Be deliberate, but once you’ve made up your mind — jump in.” – Charles R. Swindoll

“During a very busy life I have often been asked, “How did you manage to do it all?” The answer is very simple. It is because I did everything promptly.” – Richard Tangye

“The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Anti-Procrastination Quotes

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“Neither a wise nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage.” – Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby

“There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.” – David Lloyd George

“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.” – David Allen

“My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Charles Dickens

“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” – Victor Kiam

Do Not Procrastinate Quotes for Students

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“Perhaps the most valuable result of an education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.” – Thomas Huxley

“How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time.” – Fred Brooks

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn

“If you believe you can accomplish everything by “cramming” at the eleventh hour, by all means, don’t lift a finger now. But you may think twice about beginning to build your ark once it has already started raining.” – Max Brooks

Conclusion

Want more motivational quotes for students? Here’s 20 of our favorites.

Students attending University of the People also have some motivational things to say — check out those here.

No matter if you are a student, in the workforce, or an entrepreneur, procrastination can happen to you — but hopefully those procrastination quotes inspire you to start working now!