Did you resolve to cut down on procrastination in 2012? Are you easily distracted? Time management plays a major factor in your progress, especially when your work is not your 9-5 living.This array of tips was written for web designers but is applicable across the board.

1. Set achievable goals

Everyone works at their own pace, and that’s okay. Know what you’re capable of achieving and set a realistic plan for how to go about completing your tasks.

Don’t overextend yourself. It’s better to have a little bit of breathing room and get to bask in the satisfaction of knowing you fulfilled your goals at the end of the day than to do a sloppy job while racing to meet a self-imposed deadline. It’s a matter of learning how to use deadlines to your best advantage.

2. Attain solid focus

If you’re able to work straight through completion of a task, you have it good. The rest of us need to know ourselves and implement a strategy to squeeze the maximum possible amount of productivity out of a day without burning out.

We’ve all been there – a two-minute break turns into an hour-long session on Lolcats. Even if you’re able to reign yourself in and cap yourself off after just five minutes on your favorite social networking site, it’s astonishing how unsettling that distraction can be. Regrouping and refocusing after looking at colorful things on the net can murder your train of thought without you realizing it.

Know what kind of work you want to focus on when you sit down at your desk. This is another reason scheduling is good. It will keep you from bouncing between projects. If you can manage the willpower to stay away from videos of cute babies doing funky things, you’ll be impressed with what a mean lean production machine you’re capable of becoming.

3. Find a proper source of motivation

If you’re able to score freelance work or a commission, money may be a motivating factor in your work. But what happens when it’s not enough?

Remember that your work represents your artistic vision and commit to turning out the best possible result. If you allow it to become a chore, you will lose interest and procrastinate, which will inevitably come back to haunt you later on.

4. Take care of yourself

It’s remarkable what a healthy snack or a walk around the block can do when you’ve been sitting at a desk for seven hours. Fresh air will do more for your creative side than your Facebook newsfeed will.

If you find yourself up late at night and feel like you’ve hit a mental dead end, you probably have. The best thing to do is go to sleep, wake up feeling refreshed, and start over anew. A lack of sleep can make distractions an even more appealing pitfall.

Tell us how you stay focused and reach your goals!

Photo Credit: Viktor Hertz