You Cannot Fix Procrastination with Productivity Hacks
Try this instead
I have been a procrastinator for 10 years. You are likely to think of me as lazy. You would not be the first or alone. In fact, I was one of you.
It was easier this way. It felt like something I could fix whenever I wanted but just could not get around.
Jenny Yip, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the Los Angeles-based Little Thinkers Center said:
Laziness is like, ‘I have absolutely no desire to even think about this.’ Procrastination is, ‘It troubles me to think about this. And therefore, it’s hard for me to get the job done.’ That’s a big difference.
My social media feed kept telling me to try harder, hustle, or get more willpower. And despite the prevalence of “productivity hacks,” focusing on the question of how to get more work done didn’t address the root cause of procrastination.
I realised that, at its core, procrastination is about emotions, not productivity.
Calling someone “lazy” is a lazy way to explain their behaviour because it ignores the many underlying factors driving it.
Dr. Hershfield’s, a professor of psychology at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, research has shown that we perceive our “future selves” more like strangers than ourselves. When we procrastinate, our brain thinks that the tasks we’re putting-off and the accompanying negative feelings that await us on the other side are somebody else’s problem.
Procrastinators are very good at everything apart from the task at hand.
As I was getting ready to write this article, I thought, I’m not smart enough to write this; let me do some more research. Even if I am, what will people think of it? What if I do a bad job?
I consider myself good at research and deep-diving into a topic. While it helps build authority, it mostly leads to delays in the task that I was researching for.
Over a period, this became a deeply ingrained pattern. It became a habit.
Procrastination is a habit.
Psychologists Sirois & Pychyl showed in their 2016 study on behavioural studies that procrastination can exhibit characteristics of habitual behaviour, such as automaticity and resistance to change.
For example, individuals who frequently procrastinate tend to repeat the same procrastination patterns across different tasks and situations, even when they are aware of the negative consequences.
In my example, I collected information or data rather than focusing on how to accomplish the task.
As per Dr. Judson Brewer, an addiction psychiatrist & worldwide-known expert in mindfulness training for habit change:
To rewire any habit, we have to give our brains the “Bigger Better Offer” or “B.B.O.”
In case of procrastination, we have to find a better reward than avoidance — one that can relieve our challenging feelings in the present moment without causing harm to our future selves
I started to bundle an activity or behaviour that was important to be done in the long-run with a behaviour that felt good in the short run.
- Started listening to my favourite audiobooks or podcasts while exercising
- Watched my favourite show doing household chores
- Listened to music I love while writing
This has helped me considerably to overcome the feeling of challenge in the short run.
The solution must therefore be internal and not external.
At the end of the day, how we approach life is all about our belief system. If we believe we can, we can. If we believe we cannot, we can’t. So whatever we believe, we’re right.
Thanks for staying till the end. If you liked the piece, I would love to hear your hack for beating procrastination in the comments section.
