Three strategies to do what you say you want to do. Starting Now!

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Why so regularly do we delay what we know we need to do, feeling bad about it afterward?

Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, says that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

In a way, all the universe is procrastinating :-)).

Anything we what to have done will require effort.

That may be why we find ourselves going for the 4th time to the coffee machine during our last hour at the office. Or gazing at the white computer screen without writing a single word for minutes. Or maybe realizing we’re watching advanced violin lessons on YouTube (when we don’t even own a violin?!).

Still, the worst part is about to happen: we will regret all that wasted time. We’ll suffer from deadlines approaching (or passing by), and we’ll sense that the opportunities are slipping through our fingers.

Finally, we may decide to beat ourselves down for not doing what we knew we should have done.

All in all… a disaster…

Procrastination is the consequence, not the cause.

To have a real and sustainable solution for “Doing what we say we want to do:” we need to work on the roots, not on the leaves.

So here are the roots:

1. Fearing it will be unpleasant. We never procrastinate on the task; we procrastinate on the feelings we associate we will experience when doing that task.
2. Negative reinforcement. Every time we put off a task that we associate with unpleasant feelings, we create a sense of relief for ourselves. The brain interprets that comfort as a reward… in this way, our procrastination gets reinforced.
3. Fear of not doing a great job. We rarely know how anything will turn out before we do it. If that uncertainty tangles with fear of doing it wrong… we get paralyzed.
4. Permission-giving thoughts. Self-licensing is how we deceive ourselves, as there will be a better moment, we have already done a lot, later maybe more efficient, etc.

And here are the Solutions :-)

1. “Beware of the virtuous avoidance.”

When motivated to avoid a task, we can become creative to make our brains ‘feel’ productive. It is built-in on us falling into the thinking: “at least I’m doing X that is useful.” Instead of doing the work we know we need to do, we could clean cupboards, organize cabinets, or repair the sink tube.

So…Do not buy into this compelling rationale to make your procrastination easier.

2. “Just darken one-page mindset”

Learn to commit to starting a task Imperfectly. It is a frequent tendency to stop when things feel not ready. If perfectionism kicks in, matters worsen, and the only antidote is embracing “imperfections”: just get started.

Example: Commit to the idea of “only darkening one page”. You dont need to “write a great introductory summary of your research.” You need to “darken one page” with words. This process is a shortcut to get you in the mindset to start.

3. “Accept discomfort.”

Discomfort may appear throughout our day; it is part of our human experience. The issue happens when we treat discomfort as a reason to postpone doing something. Discomfort is “just” that…discomfort. It will disappear sooner than later if we experience it fully. Learning to lean into discomfort is one of the most powerful tools to raise our productivity.

Break the association discomfort -> stop doing.

One last consideration

Perfectionism and procrastination are linked.

The belief that your outcomes and quality of execution set your self-worth could block you. That is an unproductive thought.

Reminder: It is always different who you are and what you achieve.

There’s so much more to your worth than your accomplishments; your identity, family, passions, experiences, knowledge, people you impacted, friends, challenges you’ve overcome, how you treat other people….

To summarize:

1. Having anything done will take effort. There’s no exoneration on this one, ever. If you want to stop procrastinating, know and accept this fact and remember it’s okay to be confused initially, and tempted to procrastinate.
2. Take proactive action, remember your worth beyond your achievements, know yourself, and choose the right tool for your root cause.
3. Repeat. Track results. Be kind withyourself. Kerep Improving.

Simple, not easy, but neither too hard.