The Procrastination Cure

Damon Zahariades. The Procrastination Cure. 21 proven tactics for conquering your inner procrastinator, mastering your time, and boosting your productivity. Narrated by Oliver Maines and Alex Vincent. Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar? You consistently underestimate the amount of time tasks take to complete, leaving you scrambling to finish work on time. You often postpone paying bills until you're charged interest, and don't go to the doctor until a minor complaint becomes a major problem. If you're nodding along, you might suffer from chronic procrastination. But that's nothing to be ashamed about. Humans have an inbuilt tendency to procrastinate. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. We're simply not built to be productive all the time. But procrastination can be a problem when it becomes a habit. That's why there's no better time than right now to learn proven strategies for getting it under control. Link 1 of 8 Imagine you have to give a big presentation in a week's time and find yourself with a free afternoon.

It makes sense to devote this time to your presentation. Your future self will certainly thank you for it. But your present self? That self would rather watch Netflix. Your present self and your future self both want gratification. But they're not on the same page. Your present self wants instant gratification without considering long-term benefit or cost. Your future self wants long-term gratification from completing tasks that bring personal satisfaction and professional success. Even if those tasks aren't as appealing as watching your favorite TV show right now. So how do you persuade your present self to act in your future self's best interests? You need to get real about why your present self is drawn to procrastination. The key message here is Face up to why you procrastinate to finally kick the habit. There's no point in plastering over a chronic procrastination habit with productivity hacks if you don't understand why you procrastinate in the first place. One reason we abandon tasks is because the fear of failure makes us give up, sometimes before we even start. After all, if you don't try, you can't fail. To address this, remind yourself that failure isn't a character flaw. Instead, reframe failure as data. It's just feedback that your current approach needs improvement. If you suffer from perfectionism, you could find yourself procrastinating whenever you feel that your efforts will result in a not-quite-perfect outcome. In that case, ask yourself why you need to achieve perfection, and if not achieving it would be the disaster you imagine. For example, a test result of 95% isn't as good as 100%, but it's a lot better than zero. Sometimes, anxiety around decision-making and the fear you might make the wrong choice can lead to procrastination. But most tasks, even basic ones, require you to make decisions. For example, if you're cleaning your house, you might be wondering whether it's better to start with the laundry or mop the floors instead. If you spend too long fussing over decisions like these, you could quickly lose the momentum you need to complete the task. To avoid this, first recognize that any decision is better than no decision. Second, accept that you might sometimes make the wrong choice. As long as you move forward with confidence, it won't be the end of the world.

Blink 2 of 8 Is there a task on your to-do list that fills you with dread? Perhaps it's sending an awkward email or filling out a complicated form. No matter what it is, tasks like these are almost always less time-consuming and less painful than we imagine them to be. The trick is just to start. But how? Well, you could take the advice of writer Mark Twain. He once said, if it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do that first thing in the morning. For him, unappealing chores were frogs and best dealt with quickly. So every day, find your frog, whether it's sending invoices or prepping for an exam, and cross it off your list first. Every other task will be more enjoyable by comparison after that. Here's the key message. Find the best way to get started. Eating the frog is one way to beat procrastination. Here are two more. The first technique for gaining momentum with a task to which you're not looking forward is simply to focus on the first 10 minutes. For example, if you've promised yourself that you'll go to the gym, don't focus on the time and effort to complete the whole task. Just focus on getting dressed in your workout clothes and grabbing your keys. That's not so daunting, is it? By tackling those first 10 minutes, you've already started to gather energy and momentum, so you might as well head out the door and go to the gym. This technique can be applied to every kind of task. Need to clean the bathroom? Start with 10 minutes scrubbing the sink. Got a big presentation coming up? Take 10 minutes to draft your first slide. With those first 10 minutes out of the way, you'll find it easier to keep going. The second technique is even simpler. Start tasks when you know you'll have the energy for them. If you're a morning person, for example, schedule important tasks for the early hours when they'll be easiest for you. If your productivity peaks at night, however, there's no point in starting an important project early in the day. You'll be far less likely to postpone if you move it to the evening when you're feeling fresh.

Blink 3 of 8 A typical to-do list can stretch to a few pages, including big projects with tight deadlines and small chores with no due dates. Unfortunately, the more unwieldy your to-do list becomes, the more likely you are to procrastinate. But if you shorten your to-do list, you may get more done. How short are we talking? Well, the magic number is 7 or fewer. 7 tasks are conquerable over the course of a day, which solves the problem of incomplete tasks piling up. Plus, limiting your list to 7 tasks forces you to cut back on busy work and concentrate on the essentials instead. The key message is this. Streamline your to-do list and you'll complete more tasks. Sticking to the 7 tasks or fewer rule is the simplest way to get your to-do list under control. Less simple is deciding which tasks make the cut. So if you want to know which tasks to do and when to do them, you need to get proactive about prioritizing. If your life is already organized around priorities and objectives, that's great. If not, sit down with a piece of paper and make three lists. One is for short-term goals, like reorganizing the spice rack. One is for medium-term goals, like landing a promotion. And one is for long-term goals, like traveling the world. After this, go back to your to-do list. Prioritize each task in terms of how completing it will bring you closer to your goals. You could do this by assigning each task a number on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being high priority. Of course, not every task on your list will be high priority. You might, for example, need to deal with administrative work with no set deadline. But as long as you include a number of high priority tasks on your daily to-do list, you can feel confident that each day's work will bring you closer to achieving your goals. Finally, when you sit down to work, be careful not to multitask. Trying to concentrate on more than one thing at a time diminishes the quality of your focus, making it all too easy to slip into the trap of procrastination. So rather than half-finishing a lot of tasks, be a single tasker who does one thing from start to end before moving on to the next.

Blink 4 of 8 A calendar can be the procrastinator's best friend or worst enemy. Used smartly, this time management tool can keep you on track and on top of your to-do list. But overfill it, or underfill it, and it can actively hamper your efforts to be productive. An overfilled calendar, like an overfilled to-do list, sets you up for failure. When you schedule too many tasks, you simply won't finish them, and your calendar will be a discouraging reminder that you didn't meet your goals for the day. An underfilled calendar leaves you with too much free time. For example, if you schedule three tasks that each take an hour to complete, and you leave yourself five free hours in a working day, it's tempting to spend your time scrolling through social media or texting a friend. Next thing you know, the day is gone without you having gotten any work done at all. The key message here is, use time management tools and techniques to make the most of your day. To leverage your calendar for maximum productivity, fill each day with enough tasks to take up the time available. You'll probably know from experience how long you need to complete daily tasks. If you don't know how much time a task needs, time it so you know for the future. The trick is to schedule just enough tasks to limit large blocks of free time, but not so many that there's no point in starting them. As you do this, don't forget to apply Parkinson's Law, the rule that states, work expands to fill the time available for its completion. If it takes you three hours to write a report, but you give yourself eight hours, it will take eight hours to write. So, without being too sadistic, set a time limit for each task, and don't give yourself any longer than you really need to get it done. Of course, some tasks will require a lot of time to complete. Let's say you're pitching to a promising new client, and you'll need at least six hours to get the proposal together. A six-hour task seems daunting, perhaps so daunting that you keep putting it off. To avoid this, break the task down into a schedule of time chunks, or shorter periods of time. For example, you could grab a timer, set it for 45 minutes, and get to work. When it rings, take a 15-minute break. Rinse and repeat over the next six hours, and you'll finish the task.

Blink 5 of 8 Procrastination is a battle between your present self and your future self. Your present self is all about immediate gratification. But if you want to achieve your long-term goals, you'll need to keep your future self in mind. Specifically, you need to stop giving your present self the opportunity to sabotage what your future self wants to achieve. One of the best ways to do this is by controlling your environment. Because your present self is easily tempted by diversions, you need to make sure your space and your mind are set up to focus when you sit down to work. Here's the key message. Eliminate the distractions that lead to procrastination. Your focus is a precious resource. It's what allows you to cultivate relationships, meet personal goals, and achieve professional success. But it's also a resource that needs to be channeled. If you sit down to work in a space that's crowded with environmental distractions, like a loud television, a pile of clutter, or noisy co-workers, you're effectively trying to channel your focus through a sieve. There are simply too many outlets for it to explore. Instead, set up your space in a way that eliminates or minimizes environmental distractions. If possible, work in a dedicated workspace that's free from clutter. You could also invest in a white noise machine or a pair of quality headphones to block out noise. The fewer distractions you have around you, the easier it will be to focus on the task at hand. Of course, the 21st century has given rise to a whole new host of distractions. Many of these are easily accessible through your computer or your smartphone, the very same devices you probably use for work. Social media platforms and mobile phone apps are specifically designed to steal your focus and hold it for hours at a time. In fact, a study from psychologist and author Timothy Pitchell found that, on average, 47% of time online is spent procrastinating. But how can you eliminate these digital distractions when they're always a click away? Well, trying to ignore online distractions doesn't work. A better option is to put your phone on airplane mode. You could also install an internet blocker like Freedom or Stay Focused. And if you're writing on your laptop when you need to fax check something, make a physical note to look it up later. Then get back to work until it's time to go online again.

Chapter 6 of 8 Achieve more by doing less. Blink 6 of 8 There may be underlying psychological causes behind your procrastination habit, including fear of failure and negative self-talk. But sometimes the reason you procrastinate is far simpler than that. The task you need to complete is boring. We're naturally inclined to put off work that's tedious or unnecessary. Fortunately, if you don't want to do something, you might not have to do it. In fact, removing dull or pointless tasks from your to-do list is almost guaranteed to increase your productivity. The key message is this. Achieve more by doing less. When you review your to-do list, you might realize that some of the tasks are completely unnecessary. For example, if a task doesn't relate to your goals, and if scrapping it wouldn't let anyone else down, it's probably not worth doing at all. More than that, leaving it on your list can prevent you from focusing on high-priority, high-impact tasks. So be ruthless. Cut any unnecessary tasks from your to-do list immediately. But what about the necessary tasks that are boring? Even if they seem achievable, you'll constantly find ways to postpone them to the point where it negatively affects your productivity. If that's the case, delegate the responsibility to someone else whenever possible. So if you hate filing your taxes, hire an accountant. And if you avoid mowing the lawn every week, pay someone else to mow it for you. To the fullest extent you can, don't agree to take on tasks that you know will bore you. If you're a freelancer, for example, and you have a good stable of clients, say no to work that doesn't engage you. Instead, only take on projects that capture your interest. You might feel compelled to take on more than you need to, but remember that eliminating unnecessary and boring tasks whenever you can streamlines your to-do list and optimizes your productivity. Of course, as any teacher with a stack of papers to grade will tell you, not every boring task is avoidable. So if you have to do it yourself, turn it into a game. Set a time limit and see how much you can get done before the time is up. As long as rushing doesn't negatively affect the quality of your work, making it fun will make you more likely to complete it.

Blink 7 of 8 It should be clear by now that there are many causes of procrastination. Unfortunately, there's still a tendency to associate procrastination with laziness and mental weakness. No wonder it's tough to admit that you have a procrastination problem. But you shouldn't feel embarrassed to share the fact that you struggle with procrastination. You're certainly not alone. In fact, procrastination is a habit to which all humans are prone. What's more, sharing your struggles can make procrastination much easier to overcome. And that's especially true when you ask others to help you deal with it. The key message here is, recruit others to help you fight procrastination. Procrastination is a behavioral impulse that often acts against us. But there's another behavioral impulse that you can use to your advantage. The fact is that you're far more likely to accomplish a task if you tell someone you plan to do it. For example, you're more likely to run a marathon if you share your plans on Facebook, just like you're more likely to write a novel if you tell your friends that you're working on a book. In other words, if you make yourself accountable to someone else, you're far more likely to achieve your goals. So, if you want to get something done, recruit someone else who will hold you accountable for actually doing it. Remember that novel? Tell someone that you're going to write it, including when you'd like to have it finished. Ask them to check in on your progress from time to time. This will give you the gentle nudge you need until you finally type the words, the end. Want another effective tactic? Don't set your own deadlines. We rarely respect self-imposed deadlines because we don't feel too bad about breaking promises we've made to ourselves. But we do respect promises we make to others. A 2002 MIT study asked two groups of students to submit a paper by a specific deadline. But there was a catch. Those in the first group worked to a deadline imposed on them by the researchers. Members in the second group were allowed to set their own deadlines. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people in the second group were far more likely to turn in their papers past the deadline. That's why if you want to avoid the procrastination that comes when your deadlines are self-imposed, ask someone else, like a professor, a manager, a friend, to set them for you.

Chapter 8 of 8 To beat procrastination, become your own cheerleader. Blink 8 of 8 There's a vicious cycle that many habitual procrastinators can easily fall into. You aim to complete a task. You procrastinate to the point where you're forced to abandon it, or else you finish it in a slapdash manner. You're unhappy with your work and feel like a failure. Because you feel like a failure, you approach your next task with less confidence. Your low confidence drives you to procrastinate further, and you don't complete this task to your satisfaction either. Your belief that you're a failure is reinforced further, and you become even more vulnerable to the temptations of procrastination. The problem here isn't really that you have a tendency to procrastinate. It's that procrastination leads you to indulge in negative self-talk, which leads you to procrastinate more. To stop the cycle, you need to stop with the negativity and start believing in yourself. Here's the key message. To beat procrastination, become your own cheerleader. Negative self-talk can creep into your consciousness in many different forms. You might engage in self-criticism, comparing yourself to others or beating yourself up for your perceived failings. You might be a constant worrier who imagines worst-case scenarios based on very little evidence. Finally, you might be a perfectionist who sets impossibly high standards only to berate yourself when you can't live up to them. So what can you do? First, teach yourself to recognize negative self-talk. Do you blame yourself when something goes wrong? Do you attribute perfectly understandable mistakes to your own laziness and ineptitude? Do you expect to fail at a task before you've even started it? All of these are examples of negative self-talk. Second, put a positive spin on your negativity. If you make a mistake here and there, remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes. And if you're convinced there's no point in starting a project because it will never turn out the way you want it to, tell yourself that nobody's perfect. Not even Picasso was satisfied with his paintings. Lastly, surround yourself with positive people, the kind of friends and coworkers who build you up with supportive feedback when you can't manage positive self-talk on your own. You won't eliminate negative self-talk immediately. In fact, there may always be a voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough. But making a real effort to shut that voice up will help you cultivate optimism and self-belief, two powerful weapons in the fight against procrastination.

Conclusion Final summary The key message in these blinks is that, if procrastination is stopping you from achieving your full potential, there are strategies to kick that habit. Encourage your present self to work for your future self's best interests by optimizing your time management, streamlining your to-do list, and conquering negative self-talk. And here's one more piece of actionable advice. Try temptation bundling. Need to do something you hate but want to do something you love? Why not do both? For example, if you love reading novels but hate going to the gym, bundle the temptation to read with the obligation to work out, and only let yourself dip into a good book after you've done your workout.