In this article, we will explain how procrastination controls our lives, so you can easily understand and apply some strategies to stop it.
Why do we procrastinate?
The weirdness of procrastination is that we try so hard to avoid accomplishing a task we have already chosen as the best way to spend our time. We know that what we want to do is so great, but we prefer to do anything else.
Two theories explain this: time inconsistency and the Dust model:
1. Time inconsistency
Time inconsistency means that our minds value immediate rewards more than future ones. The easiest way to understand this concept is to imagine that you are made up of two people: your present self and your future self. When you set a goal, such as establishing your own company, this goal is specific to your future self. It recognizes that taking actions with long-term benefits is very important.
Your future self can set goals, while only your current self can take action. But the problem is that your current self is only interested in instant gratification, so if a task doesn't bring immediate benefit, you won't be motivated to do it.
This creates a gap between what you want to do and what you already do. You want yourself in the future to work on starting a company, but your current self wants to watch TV; this difference is the main motivation for procrastination.
2. Dust Model
Although procrastination begins due to time inconsistency, our emotions also exacerbate the problem. The Dust model is a simple way to identify the feelings that trigger procrastination. This model includes:
- Difficult Tasks: Difficult tasks lead to procrastination, usually when we lack confidence or skill.
- Unclear tasks: Unclear tasks make it difficult to get started because you do not specify an exact result to work on.
- Scary tasks: Fear contributes to procrastination; our brains are designed to keep us safe, so we'll procrastinate to keep us comfortable.
- Tedious Tasks: We may postpone some tasks because they are boring necessities; they do not bring any pleasure or happiness but must be accomplished, such as filling a spreadsheet at work. As the American author George H. Lorimer said: “Postponing an easy thing makes it hard, and postponing a hard thing makes it impossible”.
How to stop procrastinating?
Because long-term benefits do not motivate our current selves, we need to make future rewards and consequences part of the present.
This happens when you postpone a project until the last minute, as you feel a little anxious before the deadline. However, it's not enough to do anything about it, and then suddenly, the day before the deadline, the future consequences become a present concern. So, you write the report ahead of schedule. In this scenario, the report is no longer a future target, and now, it becomes obligatory.
So, to stop procrastinating, you have to make it easier for your current self to get excited and start working, and there are two ways to do that:
1. Measuring Progress
It's easy to feel unmotivated when you need to know whether you're making progress or not. That's why you need to make your success measurable in some way. Getting started is easy when you know exactly how close your current accomplishments will bring you to your goal, and a great way to make tasks measurable is to use visual cues, such as the paperclip strategy.
Assuming you have 100 sales calls to make a day, to use the paperclip strategy, you must bring two jars: one is empty, and the other has 100 paper clips; move one paperclip to the empty jar with each call you make until they are all transferred.
This method often works because of the granted progression effect. People get excited when they see their progress toward their goal. Seeing your progress motivates you to productive work and gives you a short-term goal.
2. Division of Tasks
The most frustrating tasks take many days to finish, such as writing a report. Sometimes, you spend a whole day at work without finally completing the project, which is one of the biggest causes of procrastination.
Dividing the task is an excellent way to overcome this hopeless feeling. That is, you break your big task into many smaller parts.
An example of this method is the "15-minute routine" used by author Anthony Trollope. Instead of measuring his progress after completing chapters or books, he measured it by writing small 15-minute parts, 250 words every 15 minutes. His strategy gave him short-term wins while contributing to the massive task of writing an entire book.
Small achievements reduce the difficulty of starting tasks and give you more motivation at work. They motivate you in the present and contribute to achieving your future goals as well.
Dealing with DUST model
To reduce the role of our emotions in procrastination, we can use the following solutions to deal with the DUST model. They are not distinct ideas but helpful messages that remind you to take action when experiencing these negative feelings rather than enduring them.
1. Difficulty
If your task is difficult, giving yourself enough time to get it done is one of the most valuable things you can do, so use this extra time to learn the necessary skills and create a proper action plan. It will also increase your self-confidence.
2. Lack of clarity
When your to-do list is so unclear that you can't parse it, you must set a clear starting point and end goal. It's essential to ensure the task is doable and finishable. For example, instead of saying, "Preparing for the presentation," say: " I'm going to record my presentation to get some opinions." This small change gives you a tangible action that you can complete.
3. Fear
When your fears prevent you from completing a task, demystifying it is one of the best approaches.
Author Tim Ferriss explains the technique in his book The 4-Hour Work Week, thinking about what he fears and describing each possible outcome, positive or negative, and then measuring each possible outcome on a scale from one (i.e., without any impact on his life) to ten (i.e., the result is able to change his life forever).
In doing so, he realized that most of what he feared was a temporary score of three or four on the scale, while the positive results got eight and nine, meaning that he would have given up an opportunity that might have changed his life due to some possible discomfort.
4. Boredom
When a task is tedious, the best solution is to provide a pleasant environment or motivate yourself; the key here is to add as much fun as possible to the task.
For example, if you have to fill out a spreadsheet at work, you can listen to music or a podcast or take a break every 30 minutes to walk or browse social media.
In conclusion
Procrastination forces most people to put up with life as it is. They sit, suffer, and give up their chance to live it, and this guide will help you stop procrastinating so you can live the life you want.
Add comment