The Difference Between Something and Nothing
Three Go-To Tools that Move the Needle & Curb Procrastination
Image by Laura Ockel from Unsplash
Procrastination is putting off what is to be done. Everyone procrastinates, and there are many reasons why people procrastinate. Procrastination is not about laziness or time management, and it’s not a character flaw. Research shows that procrastination can be understood as an off-course coping mechanism for dealing with challenging emotions such as anxiety, self-doubt, frustration, and boredom.
Health, Peace, Opportunity, and Time
Putting off what is to be done robs us of health, peace, opportunity, and the one resource we cannot replenish — TIME. Procrastination is an avoidance measure, a go-to habit to which we revert in the face of certain situations. When we invest time in low-value tasks at the expense of accomplishing consequential actions, we are procrastinating. We procrastinate when we prioritize present-mood over acting, leading and shaping. This is a problem, as our return on investment in low-value tasks is poor, and the price we pay for distraction and short-term satisfaction is high.
Why do we put things off, do busy work, and procrastinate? We put things off because of fear, because we want conditions to be just right, because we engage in all-or-nothing thinking, and importantly, because oftentimes we simply don’t do what we don’t feel like doing. Because procrastination hits us on multiple levels, it’s important that we take it on. The good news is, there are specific techniques that stop procrastination. Three tools that help curb procrastination include:
Make puttering a daily, routine part of your pre-work/pre-performance time. Unstructured time on undemanding tasks is good for our well-being. Puttering provides rest, relaxation, mental space, and thought-incubation. We are rejuvenated by the mind-wandering that occurs when we engage in undemanding tasks. Invest in peace, quality thinking time, and creativity by puttering.
Once it’s time to work, do big unattractive tasks first. Mark Twain said “If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” Do weighty, high-value tasks early in your workday, when your energy and resolve are high.
Start. Commit to doing the thing you’d rather not do for five minutes when it’s time. For many people, the hardest part of doing lies in getting started. We can do almost anything for five minutes. On-task action in any amount moves the needle, feels good, and can be highly motivating.
Procrastination can also be managed by tweaking how we think about tasks and situations we don’t relish. Philosophy teaches that Pragmatism is an effective counter to procrastination. All-or-nothing thinking promotes an “I’m good at this or I’m bad at this” attitude that leads us to think that if what we do isn’t stellar or doesn’t move the ball forward a great deal, why bother? Such is not the case with Pragmatism. Pragmatists aim for progress, no matter how much or how little because the difference between something and nothing is huge. What to do? Don’t wait until you feel like it, until you have your bearings and every last piece of information, or until conditions are just so. Invest five minutes of committed action and attention in the thing you are to do when it’s time with the goal of moving the needle at least the tiniest bit forward. Address what is to be done when it’s time to do it with your eye on progress in any amount, and you’ve moved from bystander to doer, from procrastinator to pragmatist.