How do you beat procrastination? (Additional question: Do you know why you procrastinate?)
Mistreanu Ionut
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Ankita Arora@ankitaarora
I recently learnt in Atomic Habits 2-minute-rule of procrastination.
Basically, start with doing that task you have been procrastinating for 2 minutes, and slowly increase. You'll see yourself at it in a couple of days.
This is also the reason we procrastinate. We set ourselves big and huge goals, and keep waiting for the big motivation to come.
more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/...
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I try to add deadline to my project. It help me focus and keep going.
And I also love to procrastinate & rest, it's not a bad thing :).
MyFocusSpace
@jacquelinclem time-pressure works for me as well, but I found that having someone who keeps me accountable , doesn't put so much pressure and the bonus fact is that I get to have nice conversations every time.
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@viorica_vanica what do you mean by someone accountable ? Someone in the project with you, or more like a client ?
MyFocusSpace
@jacquelinclem I started with a friend, who was checking on my progress, but I faced the problem that she was not available all the time I needed, so now I use myfocusspace.com for forcing myself to show up in a session and work, I set a few sessions per day to work on things I know that have to be done
I think your second question is more important than the first. Treating the cause is better on the long run than treating the symptom i.e. the act of procrastinating.
For me, the source is almost always having to do something too big or too abstract or uncomfortable.
If the thing is too big - I will split it in multiple tasks and start somewhere. Usually, if I start with the harder things first, I am more motivated to get it all the way through.
If the thing is too abstract - this is a bit more trickier. I find way harder to research or learn something consistently than actually doing something. I will allow myself to work in sets of 40 mins or something like that with breaks in between. Eventually, I'll get enough to do some actual work which can again be too big. If it's too big, well, repeat the previous point :)
I reserved last category, the uncomfortable, for things which I don't like but have to do. They usually simple things like making phone calls or sending e-mails to people which are way more experienced in something than I am. Each one of us have these things. You know the feeling :) To-do list and the swoosh principle - just doing it. One by one. Often, the simpler things are the harder ones.
MyFocusSpace
@johnofardeal super valuable that you introspected the last question and shared your experience, I am wondering how you motivate yourself to do the last ones (the ones you don't like doing). Do you allocate a specific part of the day to do them?
@viorica_vanica glad you found it useful!
I don't have a silver bullet for the last category, but I found it helps to:
- tackle them as early as possible in the day when my motivation tank is full
- not overthinking. You know the drill - a lot of talking to yourself, fooling yourself that it may be better if you do it later or the outcome will be substantially different if you postpone it because you have more important things to do etc.
- not think about other people's opinions of me or my output. I try to constantly remind myself that it's not my business what others think about me. I tend to do this when dealing with tasks that make me uncomfortable.
These are all thoughts derived from the "Eat the frog" method:
If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.
MyFocusSpace
@johnofardeal it's the first time I hear about "eat a frog" method, this is awesome, thank you for sharing!
keypup.io
Procrastination is in my DNA 😅 I usually work better under pressure, so I create my own emergency context to get my work done.
Put a deadline and track my progress on things I am doing, be that professional or personal. But to be 100% honest, I will take a day off, usually Saturdays, to just relax and do things I like without any deadline.
MyFocusSpace
@priyanka_mehta404 thank you for sharing your experience, I am wondering what is the downside of applying a deadline approach for you personally?
KosmoTime
I block time in my calendar for the important tasks I really need to complete during the day, and commit to it.
MyFocusSpace
@audrey_rampon love this approach, but at the same time I am wondering if you have a day allocated for seeing the bigger picture of why you do those tasks?
KosmoTime
Hi @viorica_vanica! I usually take 30 minutes on Friday to review my week, and see what the priorities are for the following week. It's also the day when I catch up with my team to discuss achievements, learnings and goals. I've actually written a blog post about this, feel free to have a read (https://www.kosmotime.com/how-to...) Hope that answers your question!
I do know why I procrastinate...most of the time I avoid doing stuff because of my anxiety. I still haven't found a way to beat it though
InAppStory
@marcelo_ephraim Same! I try to think that step by step is better than nothing – it helps
I'll share an article on procrastination that Walkover had shared for its team members.
When Is Procrastination A Problem And How You Can Overcome It?
https://docs.google.com/document...
It worked really well for me. I set two deadlines for any task I commit to and I try to meet my first deadline. But at times, procrastination is the best thing as it breeds focus.
MyFocusSpace
@younissideeq thank you Younis for sharing your experience, I am wondering why do you set up 2 deadlines?
@viorica_vanica my pleasure. Simple, I try to meet the first deadline (which I set prior to the actual one). Once I meet the first deadline, it gives me ample time to focus on other things until the actual deadline.