failure)
Statements #4 + #7 + #12 = ______ (Emotional barriers)
Statements #5 + #8 + #15 = ______ (Action illusion)
The total for each group of answers should be between 3 and 15. The nearer your total is to 15, the more you lean toward that form of procrastination. If any total is below 8, then you probably don’t need to worry about it too much. But if your total is 12 or more, reconsider and reread the corresponding portion of this chapter. And please, don’t wait to read it later!
General Tactics for Ending Procrastination
After learning about the five main reasons we procrastinate and taking the previous quiz, you may have found that you tend to procrastinate for one reason in one part of your life (e.g., at work) and another reason in another part of your life (doing chores at home). Or maybe you are inclined toward a mixture of two or more types. As important as it is to understand why and how you procrastinate, it is even more important to use some general tactics to try to remedy your type.
The following simple tactics will help you tackle the primary types of procrastination. Some tactics will work better for some people than others, so it is worth experimenting to find the right one that works for you.
Strive for Five: The Five-Minute Start
Five minutes is nothing—it’s just three hundred seconds. It’s the length of a song, the time it takes to boil an egg, and a commercial break on TV. Pick up a project you’ve been putting off and give it just three hundred seconds of your time. Once the five minutes are up, stop and reassess. Do you want to give it another five minutes? If so, carry on for another five. Stop and assess again. Continue in five-minute increments. And each time assess your progress. After a while, the momentum of beginning the task will carry you forward, and you’ll forget about all those five-minute chunks.
Home Run: Set Goals and Rewards
During the day, or even portions of the day, set goals and rewards for yourself. Each time you hit a goal, you earn a reward—a short break, a hilarious YouTube video, a quick round of your favorite mobile phone game, or some other treat. It’s important that the goals are realistic and the rewards are in proportion. Make sure you select a time to review your progress and adjust your targets accordingly.
Be Good to Yourself: You Today Versus You Tomorrow
Sometimes, if you find yourself buried in work, you might feel upset with yourself for not having started the work earlier. Try taking this one step further and imagine a conversation between “you today” and “you tomorrow.” If “you tomorrow” (let’s call him Saturday Tom) could chat with “you today” (let’s call him Friday Tom), what would he have to say about your procrastination? If Friday Tom is leaving all the work for Saturday Tom, then Saturday Tom is not going to be a happy guy. So, be nice to Saturday Tom: make sure that Friday Tom does his fair share as well.
Set Creative Punishments: Negative Consequences
Another tactic is to make the consequences of inaction so unbearable that you have no choice but to get busy now. You could write a donation check to someone or something you really dislike: a rival team, if you’re a football fan, or an opposing political party. Give the check to a friend with strict instructions to send it if you do not achieve your goal. Or be creative with your punishments: send flowers to a celebrity you despise or join the fan club of a pop group you think are awful. The more embarrassing and humiliating, the more incentive there is for you to get the task done.
I Was There: Witnessing Accountability
In the same way that weddings are public ceremonies, with friends and relatives there to celebrate but also to reinforce the vows the bride and groom are making, so is “going public” with your goal. If your goal is to go on a diet, do you feel more pressure when you don’t tell a soul about it or when you announce it to all your friends,
Statements #4 + #7 + #12 = ______ (Emotional barriers)
Statements #5 + #8 + #15 = ______ (Action illusion)
The total for each group of answers should be between 3 and 15. The nearer your total is to 15, the more you lean toward that form of procrastination. If any total is below 8, then you probably don’t need to worry about it too much. But if your total is 12 or more, reconsider and reread the corresponding portion of this chapter. And please, don’t wait to read it later!
General Tactics for Ending Procrastination
After learning about the five main reasons we procrastinate and taking the previous quiz, you may have found that you tend to procrastinate for one reason in one part of your life (e.g., at work) and another reason in another part of your life (doing chores at home). Or maybe you are inclined toward a mixture of two or more types. As important as it is to understand why and how you procrastinate, it is even more important to use some general tactics to try to remedy your type.
The following simple tactics will help you tackle the primary types of procrastination. Some tactics will work better for some people than others, so it is worth experimenting to find the right one that works for you.
Strive for Five: The Five-Minute Start
Five minutes is nothing—it’s just three hundred seconds. It’s the length of a song, the time it takes to boil an egg, and a commercial break on TV. Pick up a project you’ve been putting off and give it just three hundred seconds of your time. Once the five minutes are up, stop and reassess. Do you want to give it another five minutes? If so, carry on for another five. Stop and assess again. Continue in five-minute increments. And each time assess your progress. After a while, the momentum of beginning the task will carry you forward, and you’ll forget about all those five-minute chunks.
Home Run: Set Goals and Rewards
During the day, or even portions of the day, set goals and rewards for yourself. Each time you hit a goal, you earn a reward—a short break, a hilarious YouTube video, a quick round of your favorite mobile phone game, or some other treat. It’s important that the goals are realistic and the rewards are in proportion. Make sure you select a time to review your progress and adjust your targets accordingly.
Be Good to Yourself: You Today Versus You Tomorrow
Sometimes, if you find yourself buried in work, you might feel upset with yourself for not having started the work earlier. Try taking this one step further and imagine a conversation between “you today” and “you tomorrow.” If “you tomorrow” (let’s call him Saturday Tom) could chat with “you today” (let’s call him Friday Tom), what would he have to say about your procrastination? If Friday Tom is leaving all the work for Saturday Tom, then Saturday Tom is not going to be a happy guy. So, be nice to Saturday Tom: make sure that Friday Tom does his fair share as well.
Set Creative Punishments: Negative Consequences
Another tactic is to make the consequences of inaction so unbearable that you have no choice but to get busy now. You could write a donation check to someone or something you really dislike: a rival team, if you’re a football fan, or an opposing political party. Give the check to a friend with strict instructions to send it if you do not achieve your goal. Or be creative with your punishments: send flowers to a celebrity you despise or join the fan club of a pop group you think are awful. The more embarrassing and humiliating, the more incentive there is for you to get the task done.
I Was There: Witnessing Accountability
In the same way that weddings are public ceremonies, with friends and relatives there to celebrate but also to reinforce the vows the bride and groom are making, so is “going public” with your goal. If your goal is to go on a diet, do you feel more pressure when you don’t tell a soul about it or when you announce it to all your friends,
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