I Found the Cure for Procrastination

It's kind of dumb to write an article about how to stop procrastinating.

I know that by having you read this, I'm helping you avoid the thing you need to do.

But it'll be worth it. Cuz by the end of this article, you're going to stop procrastinating and get back to work.

The reason I'm so confident is because I was putting off writing this article. But then I stumbled on 5 thing that really helped. They obviously worked for me. Maybe they'll work for you too.

There's just one catch. I want you to actually follow along with the article. The advice won't work unless you do what I recommend.

Fair enough? Okay, let's dive in.

Step #1 - Forgive yourself

The more you procrastinate, the worse you feel about yourself. And then you procrastinate even more.

It's sort of like deciding to go on a diet, but then you eat a cupcake. Then you feel bad. So you eat another cupcake to feel better.

The first step to stop procrastinating is to forgive yourself. I know this is counter-intuitive because we're often taught that we need to use discipline to get stuff done. But you also need compassion.

A study found that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating before an exam were less likely to procrastinate on the next one.

So instead of saying, "I've been procrastinating and I suck." You can say, "I've been procrastinating. It happens to everyone."

Take a deep breath right now, accept that you've wasted some time, and give yourself a blank slate.

Procrastination doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you're human. In fact, your procrastination might be trying to tell you something...

Step #2 - Figure out what you're really avoiding

Sometimes you're avoiding something because it isn't in alignment for you. For example, you might be avoiding a certain marketing strategy that feels dishonest or pushy. If you know this, you can find a different strategy that you enjoy more.

Sometimes you're burnt out and your body is telling you to take a break. If you're naturally motivated and don't usually have trouble getting stuff done, maybe that's what's going on.

Other times, you're trying to avoid a negative feeling that you associate with the task. It's like my client Grace Brodeur says: "We don't avoid tasks, we avoid feelings."

Maybe you don't want to do the thing because it's boring or annoying. Like taxes. In that case, you can just hire an accountant.

Or maybe you want to do the task yourself but you're scared to fail, or make the wrong decision, or get rejected. So you have all this pressure around the task. You feel like it has to be perfect.

It's like what happened to me when I was trying to write this article. I was avoiding the feeling of putting all this work in and then not having it be successful. I'd feel like I wasted all that effort.

Then I thought, "What makes a piece of content successful?" If it's about how many views or comments I get, well, that's out of my control. But if it's about creating something I'm proud of, that's in my control. Much more motivating.

Take a moment and think about why you are avoiding this thing. Once you've got that, go on to the next step.

Step #3 - Identify the next small step

A very common piece of productivity advice is to break big tasks into a bunch of small steps.

But that's not what I'm suggesting here.

In fact, it can be counterproductive.

The more you break down the task, the more intimidating it can become. You get stuck trying to figure everything out in your head before getting started.

Instead, ask yourself "What is the next small step I can take?" We want this to be something you can do in 20 minutes or less.

This approach is like following a GPS. You're looking for the next turn, instead of looking at a map and trying to figure out the entire route in advance.

The key is to get super small and specific. If you still feel intimidated or overwhelmed, go smaller.

For example, a client of mine was in the habit of procrastinating on corporate speaking gigs. She loved giving the talk, but she hated the way she'd put off preparing until the last minute. I told her, "Preparing for a talk is actually a big task to have on your to-do list. It's more than you can do in one sitting, so it feels threatening."

My client realized that the first step was to simply decide on the one main idea she wanted to share. That felt much more manageable to her.

Write down the next small step you're going to take. It shouldn't be an outcome you're trying to achieve but an actual action you can take. It should start with a verb, like "Write email to John."

Step #4 - Eliminate all distractions

Soon we're going to start doing this thing you've been procrastinating on.

But first, I want you to take care of anything that could distract you in the next 20 minutes. Because if you do all the work to get in the zone and then you get distracted, it's going to feel frustrating.

Turn off your phone or put it on do not disturb. Shut down the notifications on your computer and block distracting sites with an app like Freedom. If you need to get out of the house and go to a coffee shop, do that.

Carve out 20 minutes of uninterrupted time for yourself. Boredom is your friend here. Make it harder to procrastinate than it is to get started.

The novelist Raymond Chandler had this quote about writing. He said, "I have two very simple rules, a: you don't have to write. b: you can't do anything else."

So get rid of those distractions. Then proceed to the final step.

Step #5 - Set a timer for 20 minutes and start

At this point, you know what you're going to do next and you've eliminated distractions. Now you're going to spend 20 minutes on that next step. That's it.

If we don't have an urgent deadline coming up, it's easy to expand into the available space. Your brain knows that you don't technically have to get started right away. But then you end up putting it off until the last minute. By setting a timer, you're creating a little mini deadline for yourself to get started.

You don't have to feel motivated. Motivation comes from taking action. If you're feeling some resistance, tell yourself, "I'll feel better about myself after I do this thing."

Okay, start the timer right now. Don't go into your email or do anything else stupid.

Go. Do it.