With this characteristic question I’ll lead you a little bit astray if I let you think about the answer in general, but now I’ll help you and narrow the question down: the topic is procrastination and the answer is: as soon as possible:).
In the previous article on this topic I promised to show you different ways to overcome the permanent mañana, but I also wrote that a lasting result is only possible if you are really committed to the goal, or in other words: it is not enough to want it:).
The first “trick” is to realize that what is happening is an evolutionarily built-in response, and to break out of procrastination is only possible if you consider your future self as your true self (so what you don’t do for your present self because the action in question goes against your hormonal response, you are more likely to do for yourself 5, 15 or 30 years from now).
It’s not worth waiting for some miracle to suddenly feel motivated to run 7 kilometres in 2 degrees in the morning. You have to achieve at least a tiny result first, and the feeling of success will then give you the kind of well-being that motivates you afterwards.
David Allen – who is credited with creating the GTD method – teaches you how to manage and schedule tasks for maximum daily effectiveness, and one of the key steps is to think in terms of actions rather than tasks. So don’t be surprised if you get discouraged at the end of the workday when you think of having to do an hour of yoga, because yoga is a task – just think of the first step as rolling out your yoga mat and standing on the edge. That’s it, no more. There’s no force to drag you away from it once you’re standing there dressed up, and you’re bound to squeeze a few asanas into the evening after that.
It’s also important not to think abstractly about the task ahead, so instead of “I’ll tidy up the sock drawer this weekend, which I’ve been putting off for 2 months”, say “I’ll do it on Saturday from 6 to 7 before the evening game”.
What else can you do? Behavioural therapy uses the when-then technique: decide that when you tick off the task you can order a discounted book, although the reward for achieving the goal is actually the fact that you have done what you decided to do, and on the other hand the bookshelf is at capacity.
The list above seems narrow, and it indeed is. It really all depends on whether you do it or not, like everything else in life.
(I used the thoughts of Timothy Pychyl, David Allen and Adrew Kirby to write this article.)
