How To Beat Procrastination
Brief: This post covers the best ways to overcome procrastination and various ways to become more productive.
Procrastination is a slippery slope. There are so many distractions in today’s world and if you have a cell phone with an internet connection you can distract yourself for as long as you have battery life. Getting things done that are not a priority can be difficult. It has become more and more easy to fall into the “5 more minutes”, “I’ll do it tomorrow” and “not now” mentality. I personally have been a victim of saying those things to myself and people that I care about. Unfortunately, couple that with being somewhat forgetful and I have overtime adopted the reputation of being a little bit unreliable. Once I realized how negative a trait that really is I knew something had to change. Through all my trials and errors I have found a few things that work! I am in no way cured but I have seen massive improvements in my procrastination and I’m going to share a few tips with you that I have found have worked wonders for me.
Turn up the heat!
There is an old fable that says If you put a frog into a boiling pot of water it will jump out right away without hesitation. However, if you put that same frog in a pot of cold water and gradually increase the heat, it will not notice the increase in temperature and eventually it will overheat and die. The #1 job of the brain in all living things is to survive, so instinctually the frog knows it MUST escape the hot water. The instant pain creates urgency in the brain and the body reacts accordingly. In the cold water the frog’s brain doesn’t feel the need to escape right away so it just sits there, dreaming about flies. Procrastination is the frog in the cold water. Slowly allowing it’s situation to worsen because of its lack of action and then, it’s too late. This story is often used to describe unnoticeable or idle threats and procrastination definitely fits that mould.
Turn your SHOULD’S into MUST’S
If you leave your task too late you run the risk of the opportunity passing or your lack of action hindering your future. We all have stuff that we SHOULD be doing. The problem is we prioritize our lives, and the things we say SHOULD get done are usually not the most fun or stimulating. Therefore those “Should’s” get sidelined and forgotten. In order to beat procrastination you need to create the urgency of the frog when it touches the boiling water. Change all the things you are telling yourself you SHOULD do into the things you MUST do.
Whats the WHY?
Oftentimes whatever it is we are procrastinating over is not the most pleasurable activity but we want, or have, to get it done. We are all guilty of being short sighted and only thinking about the process and not the result, so I’ll encourage you to do the opposite. Take some time and find out WHY you want to do whatever it is you’re putting off. What is the end result and how important is that to you? Why do you want to do it? If you can focus more on the positives associated with the completed task then the task itself may become easier.
Examples
Clean your room because your parents asked you to and when you’re finished they will be happy. Focus on the happiness your clean room will bring your parents.
Go to the gym to get yourself in better shape. Focus on how accomplished you will feel after your workout!
Simply ask yourself WHY you are doing what you’re doing and adjust your focus to the positive outcome of your chosen task.
10 Minute Rule
A close family member gave me this advice and it has yet to fail me. Whatever it is that you’re putting off, do it for 10 minutes. How hard can that be, right? Jog around the neighbourhood, read your textbooks etc. Fully engage yourself in whatever it is you’re doing for 10 solid minutes. Once that time is up, if you want to stop and go back to watching TV or scrolling through instagram, fine, go for it. My guess is, you will keep doing your once procrastinated task because starting is often the hardest part.
Once you get going, it feels good to be making progress and stopping would mean losing momentum. There is also a part of you that WANTS to complete your task so once you’re doing it, that part of your brain will take over and help you stay focused on finishing. The reason why the 10 minute rule is so effective is because it’s a small commitment. Your mind has probably built up your task to be time consuming, hard and just all around uneventful, but 10 minutes is nothing! So you start with a goal that is not overwhelming to your mind and is nearly impossible to fail. So you’re in a sense tricking your brain and body to just suck it up and do it for 10 minutes. Hopefully you keep going after the time expires but even if you do stop you’re still 10 minutes closer to your goal. However, If you’re anything like me, after 10 minutes you’ll just be getting started.
Make a List
List making is quick, simple and effective. Keeping the not-so-exciting things that we need to get done at the forefront of your mind is very helpful. You can download apps or just set reminders in your phone via the reminders app, calendar or the note pad. I personally have a white board in my room that is updated almost daily. Having a list that you look at or walk past inadvertently everyday is really helpful for me. Those tasks and reminders are pretty much forced into my brain on a hourly/daily basis. Erasing them is the best part! Sticky notes on the bathroom mirror is also very effective.
Drown Your Doubts & Fears
In some cases you’re procrastinating because you doubt yourself, you don’t want to fail or maybe the task itself is scary. Do not let fears and doubts dictate how you live your life. If you’re afraid to fail that’s good, it should push you even harder to succeed. If other people doubt you let that should push you even harder to prove them wrong. You should always be stepping outside of your comfort zone. Pressure is what makes you strong. If it’s important to you, that’s the only thing that matters. Fear and doubt have no place in Progress. Those are natural emotions and it is natural to feel them, but never let them take over your life and hold you back from what you want.
Don’t waste anymore time, chase your Cloud!
