{"id":91118,"date":"2023-01-30T13:48:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T17:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=91118"},"modified":"2023-02-06T17:35:33","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T21:35:33","slug":"5-second-rule-procrastination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/5-second-rule-procrastination\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Second Rule: Procrastination’s Worst Enemy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you procrastinate often? How can the 5 Second Rule help you overcome procrastination<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procrastination is a terrible habit that’s hard to get rid of. Luckily, Mel Robbins’s book The 5 Second Rule<\/em> teaches you how to overcome two types of procrastination: procrastinating on daily tasks and procrastinating on life changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn the 5 Second Rule’s procrastination techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Procrastinating on Daily Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To understand how the Rule will help you stop procrastinating<\/a> on daily tasks, it\u2019s useful to first explain why<\/em> we procrastinate. Robbins argues that we procrastinate to temporarily relieve stress as we avoid a difficult or daunting task and replace it with things that boost our mood for the moment (like scrolling on Buzzfeed instead of washing your car).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that procrastination is a response to stress, you can stop procrastinating on daily tasks using these 5 Second Rule procrastination strategies<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Stop beating yourself up<\/a>.<\/strong> Robbins points out that feeling shameful over your procrastination only leads to more stress, which will continue the cycle of procrastination because you\u2019ll want to avoid that stress. Forgiving yourself breaks the cycle so that your tasks feel less stressful and you\u2019re less likely to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Ask what the ideal future version of yourself would do. <\/strong>Robbins cites research showing that <\/strong>you\u2019re more likely to do something that will benefit you in the long run if you visualize yourself in your ideal future, living as the person you want to grow into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Use the Rule. <\/strong>Robbins advises counting down from five and beginning the task you\u2019re procrastinating on when you reach one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overcome Stress by Focusing on Growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The authors of Procrastination<\/em><\/a> confirm that procrastination is the impulse to seek quick relief from stress<\/a>. Additionally, they dig more deeply into the source <\/em>of that stress\u2014many people procrastinate because they fear confronting the fact that they\u2019re not as \u201cperfect\u201d as they want to believe. If they try to complete a task<\/a> and fail, they must face the painful reality that their skills have severe limits, but if they continuously procrastinate on those tasks, they can go on believing that they\u2019re exceptional. Additionally, people fear that failing will cause them to lose the love of those around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To overcome these sources of stress, the authors of Procrastination<\/em> recommend that you accept the fact that you\u2019re imperfect and focus on your potential for growth<\/a>. Intentionally doing so will likely make it easier for you to implement Robbins\u2019s three strategies to curb procrastination:<\/p>\n\n\n\n