How to stop procrastination

 

"Tomorrow - A mystical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation and achievement are stored"

We all deal with the productivity scourge of the modern era - procrastination, regardless matter how many productivity books we've bought (and never read) or how many motivating videos we've seen (and never acted on).

Procrastination is not a new phenomenon. The word akrasia was used by ancient Greek philosophers to describe acting against our better judgment by doing one thing when we know we should be doing something else. Since then, this innate proclivity to act against our better judgment, postpone necessary action, and procrastinate on personal tasks has progressed to the point where the humor in the opening quote is derived from the fact that it is based on the fact that we all know we have to work but choose not to.

In this post, we'll discuss

 (1) Why we all procrastinate,

(2)How we can stop procrastinating.

 

Why do we procrastinate?

Present bias is exemplified by procrastination.

The concept of present bias states that, while we can establish as many goals for our future selves as we like, it is our present selves who must take action to get there. Unfortunately, our brains aren't wired to appreciate long-term benefits and our present self will always prefer short-term pleasures in the form of instant gratification which often comes at the expense of longer-term outcomes.

Here's what a 2013 study called procrastination:

Procrastination is the primacy of short-term mood repair … over the longer-term pursuit of intended actions.

In other words, procrastination is more concerned with the immediate necessity of coping with bad emotions and avoiding the problem than with getting on with the task at hand. When we put things off until some point in the future (eg: tomorrow, next week, or worst of all, 'at some point'), the tension we feel disappears. The task is lifted off our shoulders. We feel happy that we've assigned a time to get the task done, even if that time is 'at some point in the future.

The confusing thing about procrastination is that, in certain scenarios, we know we can't afford to procrastinate.

But when we have the space and freedom to manage our own time, suddenly that world of distraction and the ability to make excuses to ourselves means that we feel able to offload many tasks onto our future self.

And yet we know that procrastination isn’t good for us.

Delaying tasks that we simply must complete will eventually catch up with us. Especially if the tasks have deadlines or have consequences if they are not completed on time. We'll eventually experience the consequences of our delaying tactics.

 How To Deal with procrastination?

Well, for me, understanding the truth behind two key factors - motivation and momentum - and using a couple of simple rules - the two-minute rule and the ten-minute rule - have all helped reduce the burden that procrastination brings to my life.

Motivation

It's typical to hear people say "I just can't summon up the motivation", "I wish I had more motivation" or "I need some motivation to start".

Source: Screw Motivation What You Need is Discipline

The truth is, we've got motivation wrong.

Motivation is not the spark or the cause of action, it's the result of that action.

As Jeff Haden says in his book 'The Motivation Myth'

Motivation isn’t something you have, motivation is something you get, automatically, from feeling good about achieving small successes.

Waiting for the proper mood becomes a particularly insidious form of procrastination when action is conditional on sentiments. Motivation, whether we like it or not, is essentially an illusion.

So, if motivation isn't an option, what is?

 

I've come to think of discipline as a substitute for motivation. Discipline functions similarly to an engine that, once started, provides energy to our system. It also establishes habits, which means we don't have to rely just on willpower to generate a quick burst of energy.

 

Discipline, in essence, results in action.So, if not motivation, then what?

Discipline has become a stand-in for inspiration for me. Discipline works in the same way as an engine does, providing energy to our system once it is started. It also builds habits, allowing us to generate a surge of energy without relying solely on willpower.In essence, discipline produces action which leads to a more sustainable form of motivation.

Source: Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

Getting over or overcoming the idea of 'finding' inspiration can assist you in getting started. The key to the other crucial concept - momentum - is to get started.

Momentum

Before we start a task, we usually have the most resistance to it. Procrastination thrives in the simple act of starting and overcoming that resistance.

In fact, Steven Pressfield in his book, THE WAR OF ART, the sense of 'the resistance' is described as a universal force with a single mission: to retain things as they are, inhibiting action, creativity, and advancement. In other words, procrastination's beating heart is resistance.

However, the anguish begins to fade as soon as we begin, as soon as we cross the action line. The issue isn't doing the task, but rather getting started on it.

You can't develop momentum by putting things off. A ball cannot begin rolling down a hill until it has been pushed over the brink, but once it has been pushed over the edge, it gains momentum and becomes impossible to stop.

Source: Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

Because of how it relates to Newton's First Law of Motion, or the Law of Inertia, which states that: Everybody remains in a state of constant velocity unless acted upon by an external balancing force, James Clear refers to this as the "physics of production."

We're in a condition of rest while we procrastinate; motivation doesn't get the ball going. Only activity can operate as an "external unbalanced force" that propels us forward. Once you start going, a feedback loop forms, making it more difficult to stop because they desire to finish tasks offer the motivation to keep moving forward.

I became more conscious of maintaining this momentum as soon as I realized this. It emphasizes the significance of getting started in any way imaginable, because any action will get things moving, making following acts easier and procrastinating more difficult.

The Two Rules for Beating Procrastination

For many of us, procrastination usually revolves around tasks that are either:

• Small and annoying
• Large and daunting.

I've discovered two approaches that are extremely effective in overcoming each of these types of assignments after learning to comprehend the value of motivation and momentum: the two-minute rule and the ten-minute rule.

The Two-Minute Rule

David Allen, the productivity expert, proposed the two-minute rule in his book Getting Things Done. The primary notion is that if we have work that can be performed in less than two minutes, we should complete it immediately. There will be no hesitancy or delay. We should jot it down on a list to return to when we have more time if it will take more than two minutes.

It's as simple as that.

This strategy removes unnecessary procrastination

 

The 10-Minute Rule

Clearly, some things are beyond our ability to perform in two minutes. A YouTube video's planning, writing, and production cannot be completed in two-minute parts. It would be impossible to finish a thesis in 2-minute intervals. It's challenging to make a presentation in two minutes at work. You get my drift.

If we do find ourselves procrastinating over these larger, more frightening activities, the 10-minute rule is another strategy I employ to get started.

The 10-minute rule is straightforward. When I feel myself procrastinating on a task, I convince myself that I'm only going to complete it for ten minutes. There isn't anymore, and there isn't any less. It only takes ten minutes.

Despite the advice that I've given in this article, I still struggle with moments of procrastination. We all do.

However, the power of this strategy may be traced back to the concept of momentum.

I don't want to stop once I've started and completed 10 minutes, especially if I'm making improvements. Suddenly, momentum builds, and one work leads to another, then another, and so on. You may become bored after 10 minutes, but we don't enjoy leaving projects half-finished, so 10 minutes rapidly becomes 20, then 30, and you're making progress.

It doesn't matter what you name it: the 30-minute rule, the 20-minute rule, or the 5-minute rule, the premise is the same: we're deceiving our brain into getting started because we think we won't be doing it for very long.

We all have procrastination as a character fault. What counts is that we can recognize it, learn to manage it, build methods to overcome it, and create a system that reduces the likelihood of it resurfacing in the future - something we can all start working on today, or perhaps tomorrow...

 If you like reading this give it a like and also share in the comment section about your experience with procrastination.