Stop Procrastinating!
Today, we will talk about a challenge we’ve all faced at some point: procrastination. Whether it's delaying sitting for the MCQ exam or organising the paperwork required for the Eligibility Assessment
👉🏻 Procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at one point or another. We have struggled with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that matter to us 🎧
How to Stop Procrastinating → Right Now
Option 1: Make the Rewards of Taking Action More Immediate
If you can find a way to make the benefits of long-term choices more immediate, then it becomes easier to avoid procrastination. The basic format is:
*Only do [THING YOU LOVE] while doing [THING YOU PROCRASTINATE ON].*
Here are a few common examples of temptation bundling:
- Only listen to music you love while reading a book.
- Only drink your favorite tea while studying.
Option 2: Make the Consequences of Procrastination More Immediate
There are many ways to force you to pay the costs of procrastination sooner rather than later. For example, if you are studying alone, skipping your study/review time next week won’t impact your life much at all. Your study plan won’t immediately be affected because you missed that study day. The cost of procrastinating on study only becomes worse after weeks or months of lazy behavior. However, if you commit to studying with a friend or group every week, then the cost of skipping your study becomes more immediate.
Option 3: Make the Task More Achievable
As we have already covered, the friction that causes procrastination is usually centered around starting a behavior. Once you begin, it’s often less painful to keep working. This is one good reason to reduce the size of your habits because if your habits are small and easy to start, then you will be less likely to procrastinate.
One of the ways to make habits easier, as named in the book *Atomic Habits*, is to use The 2-Minute Rule, which says, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” The idea is to make it as easy as possible to get started and then trust that momentum will carry you further into the task after you begin. Once you start doing something, it’s easier to continue doing it. The 2-Minute Rule overcomes procrastination and laziness by making it so easy to start taking action that you can’t say no.
Another great way to make tasks more achievable is to break them down.
Making your tasks more achievable is important for two reasons:
1. Small measures of progress help to maintain momentum over the long run, which means you’re more likely to finish large tasks.
2. The faster you complete a productive task, the more quickly your day develops an attitude of productivity and effectiveness.
✨ Recommendation
I recommend the TED Talk “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator”, It's brilliant.
Want the right support? Check out our courses at brainybilby.com.au
With love,
Anto & Nat 🩺