What Is Procrastination? Part 2
Finally, here is the second part of this blog! If you want to read the Part 1, you can find it here.
If you have already read Part 1 of What Is Procrastination? You will have noticed that at the end of the blog I invite you to discover if you are a procrastinator, so let’s start!
How To Know If You Are A Procrastinator?
I’m not going to give you any exam or anything like that. Simply answer briefly the following questions (which, in part, I have already told you before):
- Do you put off for later what you know you should be doing now?
- Do you feel like you leave everything for the last minute?
- Do you prioritize trivial tasks out of laziness over those you know are important?
If you have answered yes to any of them, you already have your answer to the question.
Let’s break down the explanation behind it a little more in detail.
A Procrastinator’s Brain
We start with knowing what is in the head of a person who procrastinates.
But I’ll let Tim Urban of the Wait But Why blog do it. And he does it in this fun TED Talk below.
Please, dedicate 15 minutes to this funny video where it explains all the factors that go through the mind of a procrastinator. (You can activate the subtitles in Spanish if you need it).
What do you think? Tell me in the comments when you’re done 😉
In the same way, I leave you my summary of this TED talk.
We are people who make rational decisions and think in the long term, until the short-term benefit factor appears.
This factor (from now on, the monkey), will be the one that throws to the ground any start-up of an important task that you have to do. The monkey prefers that you spend time on trivial tasks, on distractions that lead nowhere.
That’s when the monkey takes the helm of your decisions and you put aside what you really should be doing. This scene lengthens in time until it takes up all the available time you have.
How much longer?
Until the next figure appears on the scene: panic.
The panic to see that the time limit has arrived and that we have not done what we should have done. Now chaos reigns on the scene and the monkey disappears. Now it’s only you facing the panic and that’s when you get to work.
Your job here is to make sure that panic does not arrive and that the monkey does not make the decisions for you 😉
Please watch the video. It’s a great one!
The Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower matrix is a concept brought to light by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Widely used to see what you are investing your time in and to know if you are productive or not. Taken from Tim Urban’s blog, I put it below:
A person who achieves important goals is focused on the first two quadrants. Many times they are tasks that require greater concentration, research, dedication. And for this reason, it is common for people who suffer from procrastination to avoid them and focus on the other two quadrants (the third and the fourth).
Only when the panic figure appears is when it pushes you into quadrant one again, but not before.
You have more detailed information about the procrastination matrix in this article by Tim Urban.
How To Overcome Procrastination: The Perfect Strategy
You already know everything the theory says, the studies, the causes and consequences. If it has removed something in you, it is time to put an end to it by carrying out an action plan.
If the monkey is next to you, get it out of your head and take action once and for all. The long-term benefit is much better than what you can have right now, I assure you.
Obviously, you do not have to take all the points that I am going to break down at the same time into practice. Start with the first, and when you don’t have to think about it (when the habit is mastered), move on to the next.
You’re going to experience a brutal change, you’ll see.
1. Plan your action plan the night before
When you wake up in the morning, the less you have to think about what lies ahead, the better.
I am not going to talk to you here about the importance of having a daily (or weekly, or quarterly, or annual) action plan. I recommend that you have a list of actionable tasks for your day.
Why? Because you are going to feel a great relief by not having to waste time in the morning to see what you have to do, where you had left off, etc.
So do not hesitate, and when you end the day, take even a piece of paper and write down the tasks you have for the next day but not 87 tasks. You have to be realistic. And remember that at least one of them has to be really important. It will be that task with which you should start.
The successful person has the habit of doing the things that the unsuccessful do not like to do. -Stephen R Covey
A day of trivial tasks it’s a day you don’t get close to your dream.
2. Set a deadline
With no deadlines, your task has a high chance of never getting done.
Remember Parkinson’s Law:
Work expands to fill the time available for it to be completed. –Cyril Northcote Parkinson
As Tim Urban also explained earlier at the beginning of the video. It is extremely easy for you to rush to the maximum and leave everything to the last moment, even if you end up finishing it.
But if you don’t even tell yourself when you want to have it ready, the monkey will always be by your side.
When you have a goal in mind, get it out of your head and start putting a date on it. Both the fat target and the sub-tasks that you have to complete that depend on it.
Perhaps new tasks may appear that you had not taken into account. No problem. You recalculate and continue.
3. Combine the activity with something you like
Recommended if you are one of those people who do not enjoy important tasks at all.
A study concluded that the tasks that people considered boring are those that tended to be postponed over time.
Combining a task that your mind understands as boring with something that your mind likes, may be the push you need to stop procrastinating.
Get to work with a cup of coffee, on a terrace if you wish, or with the music that you like. Look for what incites you to work on that kryptonite that is killing you.
4. Divide and conquer
When you first see that big target you have in front of you it can be scary.
Regardless of the field in which you are working, and as I mentioned in point one of the strategy, a list of actionable tasks is basic.
Try to take the target and break it into pieces. Little ones you can do now.
For example, objective “Make a vacation video”. Laziness from minute 1. Let’s break it down:
- Download videos and photos.
- Sort by days/places.
- Clean what doesn’t work.
- Order by day/place.
- Find background music.
- Final assembly.
- Export and enjoy 🙂
Be careful, I have no idea about making/editing videos, but it is the example that has come to my mind. I hope it serves as an example 😀
5. Eat the frog!
This is what Brian Tracy says in his book Eat that frog:
It resembles the “frog” to that tedious task that bores you, that you do not stop leaving for another day and that by far motivates you to do.
Brian tells us to eat that frog and get over that unpleasant experience as soon as possible so we can enjoy the rest of the day without thinking about it anymore.
Otherwise, your mind is going to go round and round. You are not going to stop procrastinating, and when the end of the day comes, it will be the last thing you are going to want to do. And start again.
Start your day with the frog, dedicate if you want a time that you stipulate, like one or two hours, before starting with something else. At least, you will have made some progress towards your main objective 🙂
6. Do not hold back defining the task
A goal is nothing more than an uncertainty if it is not shaped and properly followed up.
To do this, and without getting tired of commenting on some of the blogs, I talk about smart goals.
It is about defining an objective in the most specific way that you can, that it is realistic (and not a utopia) and that you can measure it in time to keep track of it.
In this way, you will be able to give yourself feedback on whether or not what you are doing is on the right track and you will be able to change direction if necessary.
7. Support yourself and surround yourself with like-minded people
As with all the new challenges you have to face, if you go hand in hand with someone who has already achieved it or who wants to share the path with you, much better.
If you work on common goals with other people, you can move forward at the same time, setting common delivery dates to force both of you to comply.
Make the challenge public among family and friends, to create a commitment that motivates you to give results. The figure of the Accountability Partner is great in these cases. Someone to account for what you’re doing.
Remember:
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. –Jim Rohn
Be very aware of those people you surround yourself with. They are key in advancing your goals and stop postponing tasks.
8. Detox distractions
No distractions in moments of concentration for that frog we talked about before.
Television, social networks, mobile, etc.
Choose a time when you are going to work outside in which all sources of distraction are blocked.
I don’t want to repeat myself too much if you already know what I’m talking about. I just remind you that you have everything about distractions and how to keep them under control in this blog.
9. Power management
When are you most productive?
Statistically, and due to the behavior of the human being, mornings are usually the period of time where the body has the most energy. From the moment you wake up, your batteries are draining until it is time to go to sleep again.
Below you will see a daily energy graph as an example:
Study yourself and look for the ranges where you have the most energy. That is when you have to place the important task, where you can give your best, and not outside of it.
If you don’t know where your highest energy range is, you can start measuring it now. Take paper and pen from the hours you put to work and start writing down how you feel. Do it for hours, for at least two full weeks. You can also do this test.
From there, pull data to make a graph similar to the one above.
If you are a night person, nothing happens. I love you anyway 😀
Find your comfort to stop procrastinating.
10. Train your discipline
Here you are going to have to do a lot on your part.
You have to stop fooling yourself and take a next step. Train your discipline, be consistent with the actions you take, and be aware when you know you’re procrastinating.
Lack of discipline and self-control can appear, even more so in the early stages or when you are beginning to change this bad habit.
Maintaining and even strengthening willpower is possible. I have spoken about it, since it is a fundamental pillar. But in order not to lengthen, I leave you this article where I tell you how to train willpower.
11. Visualize your future self with homework done
How does it feel?
I bet you feel great, gratified, and even a little proud.
Have a vision for meeting your goals it’s very important.
For a moment, close your eyes and imagine what you will be doing or how you will feel when you finish that task. Think about what you can do next, imagine the benefits of it and the classic “it’s finally ready” that will come out of your mouth.
Cool, isn’t it?
It’s one more way to help you get over procrastination right from the start.
Bonus: 2 Minute Rule
Since I discovered this rule, it has become one of my favorites.
It’s about the following. If a task appears that will take less than 2 minutes of your time, do it immediately. It is faster to do it right now than to plan it for another time.
It is a simple way to avoid postponing small things that you see as almost insignificant and that in the long run you never find a place for them.
Make this rule a habit in your life. You will experience a before and after in your day to day. You will not have time to procrastinate many of the tasks! 😀
Are you going to postpone now too?
It is time to get down to work. Now, and not later, tomorrow or some day.
Don’t make everything you just read stay in a corner of your brain next to the monkey 😛
- Do you procrastinate your tasks and goals?
- Do you feel how the monster of panic is approaching the end?
- Do you have any other tips to help you avoid procrastination that I haven’t discussed?
Tell me in the comments. But do it now, don’t procrastinate 😀
