Procrastination
“Knowledge is not power, Knowledge is only potential power. Action is power” - Tony Robbins
Procrastination is not a character flaw, nor is it bad time management.
What it is
Procrastination is delaying something that you know is important to do and almost always is something that you anticipate will be unpleasant to do. You don’t do it in favor of something that is more pleasant in this current moment.
Why do we procrastinate?
Results of procrastination
Procrastination is a success killer.
Procrastination is negative momentum.
When we put off a task, the last-minute efforts that become necessary usually mean a sub-standard job overall.
More importantly, the final and overall level of negative affect is likely to be even greater than if the person has worked on the task all along.
When we procrastinate on something (e.g. taking the trash out), the next time we look at something related to it (the trash can), we feel real crappy about ourselves. That can be a very bad thing to the way we feel about ourselves.
Procrastination proves to be an enemy, ever watching and waiting to thwart our accomplishments.
The procrastination-anxiety vicious cycle
Ways in which we do it
It’s very easy to put things off – maybe there’s a new film to watch or a book you’ve been meaning to read that’s more fun than writing that report.
Some people procrastinate by staring anxiously at a screen, trying to will themselves to start. This is passive procrastination. Others take a more active approach. Instead of working on a task with a tight deadline, they will clean their rooms or wash the dishes – anything but focus on the highly pressured task at hand. This is active procrastination.
How to beat procrastination
Remove choice and make it a habit
How can people kick the procrastination habit?
Habit is the key word. Notice the way we described procrastination. It’s where you choose to do something other than what, in the long run, you kind of wish you had chosen to do. If you can remove the choice, then you’re going to remove procrastination.
How do people remove choice?
Habit is really your friend. Habit is something that you do without really making a conscious choice about it, like brushing your teeth. For students, making studying habitual is the best way to avoid procrastination.
Think of organizing your work by time rather than by task. Say you have three hours a day devoted to doing your work. There’s no choice involved. The first thing you do is, you figure out what’s most urgent. Work has become a habit.
Habits are formed slowly. You need some other tricks up your sleeve to get to the point where work is a habit.
Trick yourself into just starting. A lot of times, people overestimate how unpleasant it’s going to be. Give yourself permission to stop if you really hate it. “I’m going to set an alarm for 10 minutes. If I’m miserable doing math, I’m allowed to take my first break and read my novel for English or something that I like better.”
Set modest goals. Break down big projects. “My goal is I’m going to sit down and do preliminary research for the next hour. That’s going to help me choose my topic.” Now, you’ve got a much more modest goal. If you know how to do it, break the task down. If you don’t know how to do it, get some advice about how to break it down.
Being prolific and working quickly
Use Complexity Partitioning when you are Overwhelmed by things
Tips by Jordan Peterson
Research proved that the following are effective :
- Self imposed deadlines - create urgency
- Accountability systems; commitment with friends, or a coach - responsibility
- Working or studying intervals - improves focus
- exercising 30 minutes a day - more energy
- a healthy diet
- eliminating distractions - take away temptations
- internal motivation - answer the question for yourself - why do you do what you do?
If you combine the right productivity tactics, you have a productivity system.
Some more tips
It is possible to beat procrastination and work to become more productive.
Once understood, It is not difficult to conquer. No man willingly permits the thief to rob his bins of grain. Nor does any man willingly permit an enemy to drive away his customers and rob him of his profits.
When we recognize that our enemies are committing such acts, we conquer them with determination. So every man must master his own spirit of procrastination.
- Improve your decision-making skills
- difficult problems can be overwhelming but having good decision-making skills can make tackling the issue much more manageable. Describe your issue in detail and list the actions you can take to solve it, including alternative plans. You can then pick the best one!
- Break down your tasks
- breaking big tasks down into smaller, bite-sized chunks makes the problem much less overwhelming and helps remove some of the anxiety around the issue.
- Use the five-minute rule
- the five-minute rule is an excellent technique for those who struggle with procrastination. Set a five-minute timer and complete one small task – it could be part of a larger project or be as simple as starting laundry.
- Reward yourself
- finishing your tasks should be fun! Have some set rewards to give yourself after you have tackled a particularly menacing task, such as your favourite coffee or watching a movie.
- Practice self-compassion
- chronic procrastinators are often very harsh on themselves, telling themselves that they are lazy or selfish. Practising self-compassion and talking to yourself kindly can help to increase motivation and overall mental well-being.
Tags
- 30 Year Thinking
- Collectors fallacy
- Create a list of low-energy, low-brainpower, non-difficult tasks
- Don’t let personal knowledge management hold you down
- Endless student syndrome
- Getting The Ball Rolling Is The Best Antidote To Procrastination
- Good and Bad Procrastination
- Mini Habits and Marginal improvements
- Outwork everyone by being bored
- Sophisticated forms of procrastination
- Unproductive habits - Overworking
- Using interesting moments in tasks as self-imposed cliffhangers for later makes it easier to return to them and finish them