Why We Procrastinate- It's Not Just a Laziness or Self-Control Problem

I can't remember who it was, but I recall reading a quote from a famous author who claimed that he set himself a goal of writing "200 crappy words per day". He said that once he started writing something, that was often the catalyst that motivated him to do more and often he'd find himself writing over 2,000 words once he'd started. Likewise, if you find yourself putting off cleaning your room or hitting the gym, it's best to set a goal of "just fuckin' start". Start by tidying up a one corner of the room, or maybe just turning up at the gym and doing a few exercises. Tomorrow I plan to go for a bike ride at 4.30 am. I'll just make a point to jump on the bike and rack up the first few kilometres. After that I should be good.
Once we get into the momentum of actually doing the thing, a lot of the fears we have are replaced by emotions related to actually doing the thing. It might be frustration that it's difficult (which is why we should always start with an easy bit), it might be surprise that we're doing better than we thought, it might be a new determination to finish what we started.

Conventional "wisdom" holds that we need motivation and confidence to take action. We justify procrastination because we "don't feel like it", and we think we can do it when we feel "better" (and often the "moods" described in the article are the reasons we feel like crap). What we need to understand is that motivation and confidence are the result of action, not the cause. When we take action (no matter how small), we start to accomplish tasks, and completing a task makes us feel better about ourselves, and gives us the confidence to attempt another. Seriously, have you ever spent a day (or even several hours) on a porn binge? How did you feel after it? Did you feel like doing something? I mean, you should, right? You've done nothing all day, so you should now have the energy to kick ass! Yet if you're anything like me, you didn't feel that way after a porn binge. Why? Because you've done nothing and despite not exerting yourself, your body will feel sluggish because it has done nothing, not in spite of it. Yet contrast that with a guy who gets up in the morning and hits the gym for a couple of hours or goes for a run. This guy should be tired because of the energy he's exerted, but he'll usually feel better than the porn watcher, simply because he's accomplished something.

So next time you find yourself procrastinating, try the following. Start with a small task, something you can accomplish easily. Maybe put on some music if you're at home. Get the first task done. Once you've got the first task out of the way, then move on to something else. Do this for enough time, and you'll find yourself less-inclined to procrastinate.

 

I'll post a proper reply later.

 

I see what you did there.

 

Wasn’t that Kurt Vonnegut?

Yes I’ve used that mentality often with the gym. Just drag my ass in there and just do something, anything, no matter how I feel. And that’s always the kick start to doing a good work out.