How to Stop Procrastinating
- The Orange Stack
- Dec 11, 2018
- 3 min read
Intro
Everyone knows the pain of needing to do something but being unable to do so for some deep, inexplicable reason aka procrastination. We try to beat ourselves into submission, cajole our inner procrastinator and use reminder apps but nothing seems to work. This challenge afflicts not only our personal lives but also our professional lives. You have a client you know you need to follow up with, but you haven’t. It’s possible the call may result in either a better lead or a potential sale, but then, you have not called. While most people struggle with this lifelong habit, there are those who conquer it and go on to do great things with their time and lives. In this article, I share with you three tricks to beat the procrastination monster.
The Pain/Pleasure Axis
The first thing is to understand the pain/pleasure axis in your brain. Whenever your brain is faced with a task, it checks the equilibrium of this axis. If tipping towards pain, your brain will do what it can to avoid or delay the task. Think about going to gym or dealing with a particularly difficult customer. These are not pleasant things. On the other hand, if the scale tips to the pleasure side (getting ice-cream, going for a movie, going shopping), then your brain gears up to get the task done. So, how do you “game” this axis? The trick is to find what pleasurable thing will result from you doing the task. If going to the gym, focus on how good you will feel after the workout session, rather than feeling guilty for skipping it and getting a pizza. If you can do this effectively, you’ll be able to breeze through most difficult tasks without a hitch.
Don’t Focus on The Process
Most people get stuck in the process. If you just started going to the gym, it may take you a year to two years to get the body you want. Similarly, if you just got your realtor’s license, it may take you the same time to break into the market. What puts most people off is thinking about the process. All those visits to the gym with little noticeable progress; all those sales calls with nothing to show, all that time and effort and no reward. By focusing on this, your brain tips in the pain direction and you start procrastinating. You start subconsciously looking for things that can give you the instant reward your brain craves so badly. Fight this feeling and use the next trick to win.
Visualize Outcomes
You have a task at hand. Doing it has certain consequences and not doing also has certain consequences. Write both down in detail. For instance, if you go to the gym each day for two years, you will have a great body, you will feel great, and you will be the healthiest you have ever been. If you don’t go to the gym each day you will not have the body you dream of, you will feel regret, you will be unhealthy, and you will live a poor-quality life. Now take a moment to let this sink in. As you can see, one hour at the gym is not worth all the pain you will experience if you do not go. By seeing where you will end up if you do/do not, you create a powerful incentive to push on.
Conclusion
Beating procrastination is an ongoing battle for most. Just when you think you have it beat, it rears its ugly head again. Using these tricks, however, can help you build an internal arsenal that allows you to fight back and reclaim your productivity, effectiveness, and success.
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