The only cure to procrastination.
What would you say is the probability of getting a head when a coin is flipped? 50/50? So that means that you assumed a coin to have 2 sides. Similarly the Productivity Realm has been split into 2 parts.
Since the dawn of time people have been frustrated with the problem of doing a Task B even though they know that Task A is more important. The great philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle also faced this issue and named it, “Akrasia”. Akrasia means the state of going against your better judgement which can be loosely defined as “Procrastination” these days.
Motivation
Motivation, broadly speaking, operates on the erroneous assumption that a particular mental or emotional state is necessary to complete a task.
A fairly large part of the modern society believes that “To beat procrastination you have to be motivated. Motivation is the key to all the problems.” and that’s a fair assumption, even I used to believe the same but when we go deeper down this rabbit hole of productivity we realize that motivation is just a myth. Waiting for a feeling to arrive is like waiting for a billion dollars to magically arrive in your bank account.
Motivation, I believe is the continuous loop of procrastination waiting for a feeling to arrive which will gradually turn into anxiety and stress as the due date closes.
Discipline
On the flip side of the coin, there is “Discipline” which according to the majority of people and also scientifically backed is the only logical and possible way to beat procrastination.
Discipline, by contrast, separates outwards functioning from moods and feelings and thereby ironically circumvents the problem by consistently improving them.
In simpler words, Discipline is the practice of doing your work regardless of how you feel, regardless of how bad you want to take the easy way out. You know you have something due soon so you work on it immediately. But the problem with discipline is that it is not easy to get the mentality of being disciplined. So here are a few rules that the researchers have come up with so as to help us
Pomodoro Method
This is a widely used study or focus method that involves 25 mins of study sessions followed by 5 mins of break. This is said to be useful but I believe that if you are only doing something for 25 mins, it is very easy to be out of focus. You can be in your state of flow but then the timer runs out and suddenly the flow is over.
2 minute rule
I learnt about this rule on youtube on Cajun Koi Academy channel and the rule basically says, If something is going to take only 2 mins to do then do it. Don’t postpone it to a later time or add it to your to do list for a later day, if you have your bed messed up, clean it; if you have to clean your shoes then do it, it wont take long.
2 minute rule
Don’t worry I haven’t messed up, there are two 2 minute rules that I know about. If you are an a significant member of the procrastinator club then you know that you can’t say, “Ok I need to get this done so let’s do this”, you would rather bing chill so here’s an idea, you just do whatever you wanna do for 2 minutes a day. If you wanna be someone who studies everyday, then study everyday for 2 minutes. Logically, you are studying everyday, after a certain amount of days you’ll be automatically disciplined to get yourself to study. You just have to trick your brain into thinking that it’s easy.
2 day rule
Trust me I am not obsessed with the number 2. This is yet another rule that I learnt from the youtuber Matt D’Avela. Matt says that in order to build a habit all you have to do is not miss it 2 days in a row. YES! It’s that simple. Go for streaks but never ever miss 2 days in a row.
Make Systems
In his book, “Atomic Habits” James Clear has made it very evidently clear that the number one goal of building a habit is to build system.
You don’t rise to the level of you goals,
You fall to the level of you system.
System is in simple words the route to a goal. If your goal is to be a writer, you write everyday; if your goal is to be thinner, you be in a calorie deficit. Setting a goal is simple but being someone who follows the system they have set for themselves is hard but that’s where the weak and strong mind separate.
James Clear also said quoted, “The looser and winner have the same goal” and that sank deep in me. If the looser and the winner have the same goal then having a goal can’t be the thing that seperates them, what is it? you may ask. System. The importance of having and following a system is beyond words. If you have ever accomplished a goal, you have gone through a system, it may not have been a written system but you did follow the system subconsciously.
Remember the coin probability question I asked in the beginning and you assumed the coin to have 2 sides? Well there are 3 sides. The one less talked about, the one that separates the knight from guards, the one that seperates the king from knights and the one that seperates the God from kings.
Obsession
The forgotten side, Obsession. Only a few people in this world are obsessed with their goal and they will be the ones to achieve their goal. Why you may ask? Because they are willing to go beyond limits, beyond time, beyond their own expectations to achieve what they want. They won’t just stop working because they have worked on it for 5 hours, they get into the state of flow immediately, they loose track of time indulged in their work, at times they forget to eat food. They are truly the ones deserving to achieve and they do so.
Conclusion
The difference between the motivated and disciplined/ obsessed people is that the motivated people WANT to do the task whereas the others NEED to do the task. The difference is insignificant among all the people in the race but the it’s the small sacrifices compounded over time that fills the gap between the losers and winner.
“At the end of the day you gotta feel some way. So why not feel unbeatable? Why not feel untouchable.
” -Conor McGregor
Cheers!!!
