Procrastination: we’ve all been through it. You want to get to a better place, but you just can’t seem to find how to get yourself there. You need to get this one thing done, but you can come up with endless things that suit you better to do in that moment. In fact, here I find myself writing this piece after a whole lot of procrastination. How did I get there? Let me introduce you to the most unsexy, boring solutions there is.
Table of Contents
You already know what to do
Your procrastination doesn’t come from you not knowing what to do. It comes from the fact that you do know what to do in order to get where you want to be.
However, your brain sees this as the most boring, unbearable thing to ever exist. So it will do anything to not have to do that certain thing.
Your procrastination comes from boredom. You don’t want to do the thing because it’s boring to your brain. This boredom is your problem, but it will also be your solution.
All the distractions that you’ve got around you, sound so much more entertaining, than doing the thing. So you always have a backdoor.
Why would you start writing your essay when you can go on Instagram or TikTok? Why would you do the dishes when yioiu can watch a movie?
The key realization here is, that your brain doesn’t see objective entertainment values, these are always relative.
When you go from the bright sunny outdoors to a darker supermarket, your brain will see it as relatively dark inside.
Your brain interprets things using contrasts, it uses comparisons. So the thing which you know you need to do, are boring compared to something that sounds more exciting.
However, you know what you need to do in order to get there.
Secret sauces
There are endless “secret sauces”, “sexy tricks”, and “need-to-knows” about overcoming procrastination. However, they can get old pretty quickly.
Here are some of my favorites:
- 321 method: Count from 3 to 1 and then start doing the thing immediately. So 3, 2, 1, GO!
- Pomodoro technique: Work in focused intervals (e.g., 25 minutes) followed by a short break (5 minutes). This method can increase productivity and make daunting tasks more approachable.
- Eisenhower matrix: Divide tasks into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither. This strategy helps you see what really needs your attention and prevents “urgent” distractions from eating up your day.
- Peak productivity window: Everyone has natural fluctuations of energy and focus. Identify which part of the day is the most optimal FOR YOU and leverage this 1.5 – 3 hour window for your most demanding tasks.
- 5-minute rule: Reduce the initial friction when getting started by committing to only 5 minutes of working on a task before deciding whether to continue. I have found 8 out of 10 times that I will complete the entire task, because I’ve entered a flow states and began dismantling some of the perceived complexities.
You will NOT like this
“If you do this, you will…”, These are just tricks that will help you one time, so here’s the hardest, yet the best solution to our procrastination.
The solution is boring and you will absolutely not like this.
You need to eliminate the ability to do anything other than the thing you need to do. Get rid of your backdoor. You’re going to set yourself up that the only thing you can do is doing the thing you need to do.
You need to get bored of not being able to do anything.
Why? Because you will get so bored by doing nothing that the thing you don’t want to do will look really tempting because it’s way less boring than doing nothing.
And while you’re doing that thing, that thing will feel so much more entertaining than doing nothing. So, you will just keep on doing it.
Humans don’t like to be bored
You might say: “I will do nothing.” No, you won’t. Humans despise being bored, there’s a study that shows that 67% of men and 25% of women would rather get shocked than be alone with their thoughts and be bored.
This isn’t like some dopamine detox that you gotta do over weeks and months and years, although that will help you get used to finding the entertainment value in difficult things.
This is something that works right away because your brain needs to survive. It hates feeling bored. So it will make whatever your only option is as entertaining as it needs to be.
Feel the reward
After having done a whole of procrastination don’t reward yourself, feel the reward. Feel and be aware, contempt and happy that you did the thing.
So get the reward from your internal voice, not from getting to eat a whole chocolate bar.
Of course you may reward yourself, but get the reward out of you doing the thing, not from you finishing the task and then getting to do something.
You doing the thing is your reward, your reward is your own effort you put in for yourself.
Interested in creating a different approach and mindset towards yourself? Read this.
So, bore the shit outta yourself and overcome procrastination: put away and eliminate all possible distractions. Make yourself so bored that you will force yourself to do the thing you need to do. Combine this boring trick with the 321 method, the Pomodoro technique, the Eisenhower matrix, the 5-minute rule, and your peak productivity window and you will beat yourself. Afterwards, you will feel rewarded just by having done the thing you needed to do.
Go and do that thing you need to do, because you know what you need to do!
With love,
CECA
C’est ca ~ That’s it
