Shortcut: 4 Ways to Conquer Procrastination
Do you find yourself delaying important work until right before the deadline? Do you get distracted and overwhelmed by your daily tasks, unable to even begin them? Everyone procrastinates, but there are specific techniques you can use to counter that instinct. In this article, we’ll explore advice from four authors on how to overcome our tendency to put things off.
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Time is finite, and we only have so many minutes every day to take care of tasks we need to. And yet, we often put off those tasks until we’re almost out of time—we procrastinate. This leads to stress, rushed work, and errors that make us need more time to finish. In this article, we’ll look at advice from experts on time management, focus, and willpower on how to conquer procrastination and get things done.
1: Focus on Starting, Not Finishing
In The Now Habit, Neil Fiore argues that procrastination isn’t caused by laziness—it’s a psychological coping mechanism we resort to when we have anxiety about succeeding at a task. The most common reason we have this kind of anxiety is perfectionism; we set impossibly high standards for ourselves and tell ourselves there will be dire consequences for not meeting those standards.
Perfectionism makes it hard to even start working on something. If your goal is to be perfect, you’re all but guaranteed to fail—so why even put in the effort? To counter this mindset, Fiore recommends that you stop thinking about the finished product; instead, view your project as a series of small starts. This psychological shift can help you break down your project into smaller chunks, which can make it seem less overwhelming, and it can remove the pressure to get things right the first time.
2. Focus on the Process
In A Mind for Numbers, Barbara Oakley offers similar advice, writing that instead of thinking about the finished product, you should concentrate on your working process. This will help you quell the instinctive unpleasant feeling that’s triggered when you anticipate doing an activity you don’t like. She notes that procrastination always starts with this cue: a feeling that registers in your brain as pain and prompts you to find a distraction, such as email, social media, or television—essentially, any stimulus you can shift your focus to in order to escape the pain of anticipation.
By focusing on the work you’ll need to do rather than the necessity of finishing the task, you’ll redirect your emotions to something you can control. Oakley recommends using the “Pomodoro Technique,” in which you set a timer for 25 minutes and give your task your undivided attention. When the timer goes off, take a five-minute break, and then repeat the process. The regulated structure of this routine can keep your mind off stressful thoughts about the finished product, thus quelling your anxiety and allowing you to overcome your motivation block.
3. Chat With Your Future Self
In The Willpower Instinct, Kelly McGonigal writes that most of us mistakenly believe that our future selves won’t struggle with procrastination like our present selves do, but will instead have more motivation, energy, and time to dive into a task. But, we’re usually wrong—we’ll be just as busy and unmotivated later as we are today. Thus, if you decide to organize the basement next month instead of this month, you’ll likely put the task off again once next month rolls around—and you’ll repeat that process indefinitely.
McGonigal says that strengthening your relationship with your future self can shore up your future willpower. If you make a close connection between who you are now and who you will be later, you’ll be more willing to shun short-term impulses and more likely to work toward being the best version of yourself.
To make your future self feel less abstract:
- Snap a mental selfie of your future self: Picture yourself a week from now doing your normal activities. How will that future self feel about the choices you’re making right now? For example, if you’re currently choosing between getting started on your project or scrolling social media, which choice will make your future self feel empowered? Which will create benefits for your future self?
- Email your future self: Schedule an email to yourself for a future date in which you write down your dreams, hopes, and ambitions. This can help redirect you back on track at a later time when you need extra motivation.
4. Distinguish Must-Do’s from May-Do’s
In Procrastination, Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen write that you can procrastinate even while you’re working on a task—by endlessly researching, planning, or otherwise preparing, you can convince yourself you’re making progress when you’re actually putting off doing the true work.
To counter this instinct, distinguish “must-do’s” from “may-do’s”: Determine which steps are essential to completing your goal (must-do’s) and which you can ignore unless you have extra time and energy (may-do’s). For example, if your goal is to grow a vegetable garden, a “must-do” task might include planting kale seeds, while a “may-do” task could be researching and planting three different varieties of kale.
The Bottom Line
Overall, experts agree that procrastination is an emotional response, but by anticipating your emotions and recognizing them for what they are—a fear of producing sub-par work—you can stop those emotions from controlling your decisions. In this way, changing how you mentally approach a task can help it seem less overwhelming and easier to get through, which can push you over your motivation block and get you started on your project.
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