How often have you told yourself I’ll do it tomorrow?
How often have you postponed your work because you didn’t feel like it?
And how often have you told yourself that next week, you’ll finally start going to
the gym?
For most people, procrastination is a daily struggle.
No wonder, because procrastination is something every human experiences.
It was even haunting us more than two thousand years ago, when the ancient Greeks called
it akrasia — meaning to lack self-control and act against one’s better judgment.
Nevertheless, learning to defend yourself against procrastination is essential.
When you learn to overcome procrastination, your level of output increases exponentially
— making you more productive than 99% of others in your field.
In this video, I’ll share the most valuable insights I’ve gained from one of the best
books on conquering procrastination I’ve ever read: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
Common Activities That Trigger Procrastination According to Pressfield, there are a few common
activities that trigger procrastination.
You might recognize these in your own life: Creative pursuits (such as writing, painting,
music, or acting) The launch of any entrepreneurial venture
(or side-hustle) Diets or exercise regimens
Courses, reading, or other forms of learning Activities that help with spiritual advancement
Ethical, political, or moral behavioral change that betters society
Taking a stand in the face of adversity In other words, we often face mental resistance
to those activities that benefit us (or others) in the long term but hardly reward us in the
short term.
Instead of working towards a long-term goal, we tend to fall for shallow distractions that
provide instant gratification.
It’s critical to be aware of which activities trigger procrastination and mental resistance
for you.
Only when you have this awareness can you start to disarm procrastination.
Use Resistance As a Compass According to Pressfield, resistance points
to your true ‘north.’
In other words, resistance is usually strongest for activities that have the biggest potential
for change in your life.
This is why we can use resistance as a compass for action.
“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance
we will feel toward pursuing it.”
Personally, I experience more mental resistance towards writing than towards doing the dishes.
I experience more resistance towards speaking on a virtual summit than organizing my files.
And I experience more resistance towards going to the gym than purchasing new workout clothes.
In other words, mental resistance shows me what’s actually important in my life.
Today, instead of viewing resistance as something I shouldn’t experience, I use resistance
as a compass for bold action.
It shows me exactly what I should be doing to advance my health, career, or overall quality
of life.
Resistance Never Goes Away The hard truth is that mental resistance never
goes away.
Unfortunately, it’s not something you can solve once and then it never appears again.
The battle with procrastination must be fought every day — it’s the price you have to
pay when you strive for big, worthwhile goals.
It sucks, doesn’t it?
This is why it’s essential to learn how procrastination works and which activities
trigger resistance within you.
And it’s why you need to have daily routines in place that help you win the battle with
procrastination.
The only positive here is that when you learn to win the daily battle with procrastination,
you’ll be more productive than 99% of people.
This massively tilts the odds in your favor of reaching the top of your field.
Procrastination Is Sneaky Very sneaky.
It’s so sneaky that we actually rationalize our own behavior when we’re engaged in it.
This makes it a dangerous habit that can sabotage our biggest goals and life purpose.
As Pressfield says, “We don’t tell ourselves, ‘I’m never going to write my symphony.’
Instead we say, ‘I am going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.’”
We actually believe ourselves when we say things like this.
Yet, when tomorrow comes, we usually say the exact same thing.
This is why procrastination is so sneaky.
Each day we postpone our work, resistance slowly drains our passion, purpose, and ambition.
‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ has probably kept more people from fulfilling their potential
than any other sentence.
Don’t do it tomorrow — do it today.
Today is all you have.
Stop Fantasizing — Do The Work As Pressfield says in The War of Art, “Grandiose
fantasies are a symptom of Resistance.
They’re the sign of an amateur.
The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work.
The professional concentrates on the work and allows reward to come or not come, whatever
they like.”
This was an eye-opener for me.
Fantasizing was my number one form of procrastinating — by far.
Instead of actually doing the work, I could spend hours dreaming, planning, journaling,
meditating, and visualizing about becoming successful.
The problem with fantasizing (and all activities associated with it — meditating, visualizing,
journaling, etc.) about success instead of actually working for it, is that it feels
like you’re making progress.
But this is a false feeling.
It’s more trickery of procrastination.
Visualizing about success isn’t the same as working for it.
Meditating on your goals isn’t the same as putting in the work to achieve them.
Journaling about your dreams isn’t the same as working to make them a reality.
I know the self-development industry can promote these activities a lot — and I do not deny
these activities aren’t helpful — but please realize they’re not the same as doing
the work.
Not even close.
Nothing can replace doing the work.
You Don’t Always Have To Be Inspired You won’t always feel inspired to do the
work.
You won’t always feel energized to do the work.
You won’t always be excited to do the work.
And that’s perfectly fine.
You don’t have to feel good to do the work —but doing the work will almost always make
you feel good.
The circumstances will hardly ever be perfect, so you need to learn to sit down and do the
work anyway.
You need to learn to go through the sucky part.
The part where you don’t want to do the work.
The part where you’d much rather distract yourself with Netflix or social media instead.
Shut up and keep humping, as Pressfield would say.
Whenever I don’t feel inspired, excited, or energized to do the work, I remind myself
of a quote by writer William Somerset Maugham, who said, “I write only when inspiration
strikes.
Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
Pros don’t wait for inspiration, excitement, or energy.
They follow their schedule and sit down to do the work regardless.
The funny thing is that inspiration, excitement, and energy tend to show up once you’ve gone
through the sucky part.
It’s the power of momentum—the power of sitting down and doing the work.
Follow The Rules of ‘The Pro’ In part II of The War of Art, Pressfield writes
about all of the rules that ‘the pro’ follows compared to most amateurs.
Here, I’ll share the ‘rules of the pro’ I found to be most impactful.
The pro shows up: Where the amateur only shows up when he feels inspired, excited, or motivated,
the pro follows the schedule and shows up — no matter what.
The pro realizes that showing up is the most important factor in beating procrastination.
Each time you don’t show up, resistance grows stronger and you’ll be twice as likely
to procrastinate again the next day.
Show up, sit down, and do the work.
The pro is patient: The pro has a long-term perspective and understands that building
great things takes time.
The pro is, therefore, patient and consistent.
The amateur, on the other hand, thinks progress comes quickly and loses patience when results
stay away.
They quit, hop on other endeavors, and fall for hypes, fads, and trends hoping to get
rich quick or lose 10 pounds in 10 days.
The pro realizes the importance of focus, patience, and consistency.
The pro acts in the face of fear: As Pressfield says, “The amateur believes he must first
overcome his fear; then he can do his work.
The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.
He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.”
Pros are equally terrified of failure or criticism, but they force themselves forward despite
this fear.
The pro knows that once she gets out into the action, her fear will recede and she’ll
be okay.
The pro doesn’t let fear lead to procrastination.
The pro acts despite the fear.
The pro doesn’t take failure or criticism personally: One of the main reasons the amateur
procrastinates is that they take failure and criticism personally.
This paralyzes them.
Another sneaky trick of procrastination.
The amateur sees criticism of their work as criticism of them as a person.
They see the failure of their work as a failure of them as a person.
Therefore, the amateur would rather not expose themselves to these risks in the first place.
The pro, on the other hand, understands that their work is not the same as who they are
as a person.
It’s their work, not their identity.
Their work can sometimes fail.
Their work can sometimes receive criticism.
That’s life.
When this happens, the pro goes back to the drawing board, learns from their experience,
starts again, and builds something better — without attaching their work to their
identity.
This mindset is essential to disarm mental resistance.