I’m honored that you’re reading this. Even if you’re here because you’re avoiding doing that other thing. You know — the thing that has been on your to-do list for a couple days.
Why don’t I mind being used for procrastination? Well, basically, procrastination is a reward for not doing something unpleasant. Like work. So you’re saying my post is a reward…something pleasant.
Like I said, I’m honored.
But you really do have to get back to work and do those things you think are unpleasant. So give yourself permission to stick with me a little bit longer while I briefly go over some options for taking care of procrastination:
Procrastinate Acting on Good Feelings
Like I said, if negative feelings pop up, we do what makes us feel better and put off what feels unpleasant.
So when we feel anxiety or displeasure about a task, we can freeze. Use the time to focus on the long-term gain of not procrastinating. Make that emotion feel like it is happening now.
Reduce Distractions
If we manage to work past the urges to procrastinate, there are a ton of distractions that offer attractive choices other than being productive. Improve your chances of working through it by reducing distractions:
- Turn off email, social networks
- Turn off TV & radio
- Find a quiet, isolated place
- Clear your desk
Strengthen the Willpower Muscle
It helps to think of willpower as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. It will become easier to push past the short term gains of procrastination as you exercise willpower.
Conclusion
It’s about rewards. Sometimes we seize upon the immediate gains even though we know the importance of other tasks. We have to make ourselves feel better now about those delayed tasks to overcome procrastination.
(Image courtesy of Kyle May under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license.)
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