We've all heard it said that the hardest part about doing a project is starting it. Easy tasks have the ability to mushroom out of proportion if we don't take care of them in a timely manner. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and with that in mind, I've put together this list of five techniques to for beating procrastination and getting on with your life.

Keep Your Butt in the Chair

I once had a professor tell me that the key to having good study habits was "keeping your butt in the chair." The same technique can help you beat procrastination. Put yourself in a room with what you need to get done, and remove all of your distractions. Then, keep your butt in the chair. If you don't allow yourself to do anything else, sooner or later you'll do what you're supposed to.

Appeal to Outside Help

Ask a friend or a loved one to help you beat your procrastination. Ask them to keep on top of you about what you're doing and what you're supposed to be doing. Tell them that if they catch you procrastinating that they should set you back on the right course. A little nagging goes a long way.

Reward Yourself for Starting Early

Every time you start a project on time, give yourself a small reward. You can reward yourself with a favorite snack, an activity, or even with a little time to zone out. Be creative. Just make sure that you ONLY reward yourself when you start early and keep yourself on track.

Prioritize and Budget Your Time Accordingly

A lot of the time when people aren't getting everything done it's not actually because they're procrastinators, but actually because they're not prioritizing right. If you have six different projects and don't know which one to work on, it's easy to settle on none of them and waste time. Instead of falling into this trap, prioritize your projects by importance and due date, and then make a schedule for each project. Make sure to stick to your schedule.

Don't Get Discouraged

The road of a recovering procrastinator is a long and difficult one. You will most likely have relapses. When this happens, don't be discouraged. Just think of how much better your life will be when you've beaten your procrastination. Free time is so much more enjoyable when you don't have a deadline looming over your head.