Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have a looming deadline, but you just can't
seem to get started? You know you should be working, but instead, you're scrolling through
social media or binge-watching your favorite show and not writing that 10-page essay due
tomorrow morning. Before you know it, the day is almost over and you haven’t written a word. So
what do you do? You knock back a couple of energy drinks, get to writing, and just barely complete
your paper in time to meet the deadline. We've all been there, and it's not a fun
experience. If you're tired of telling yourself "I'll do better next time" only to find yourself
in the same situation again and again, here’s how to break the cycle of procrastination.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com. Before we get started, I’d like to announce
that we’re looking for a Director of Content to add to our growing team. If you’re eager to learn,
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and we’re always impressed by the caliber of individuals who subscribe to our channels.
Learn more at MedSchoolInsiders.com/hiring. The first step to overcoming procrastination
is to identify why you’re procrastinating in the first place. Contrary to what you might think,
people don’t usually procrastinate because they’re inherently lazy or
lack discipline. If this were the case, most of us would never get anything done.
Instead, there are countless reasons why someone might be putting off a particular task. The key
is to identify the underlying reason for your behavior and adapt your approach accordingly.
Most tips for procrastination are too vague or too general. To overcome your particular
reason for procrastination, you need to get to the root of the problem and nip it in the bud.
Although it would be impossible to cover every reason in a single video,
most people procrastinate for one of four reasons. Let’s go through each reason one by one and talk
about some strategies to overcome them. The first reason that people procrastinate
is that the task seems intimidating or difficult. To combat this, break down the task into smaller,
more manageable steps. For example, instead of aiming to write a whole book in a year,
set a goal to write one chapter a month or one page a day. Breaking down complex
or difficult tasks into smaller sub-tasks often makes it appear much more attainable.
Once you’ve determined the steps necessary to complete a task, the next step is to determine
what subtask you should work on first. There are two approaches you can use for this:
the snowball method and the "eat the frog" method. The snowball method involves starting with the
easiest tasks and gradually working up to the more challenging ones. By completing the easier
tasks first, you build confidence and momentum to help motivate you tackle the harder tasks.
The "eat the frog" method, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. You start with the most
difficult task first and then move onto the easier ones once it’s complete. The phrase "eat the frog"
comes from a quote by Mark Twain, who suggested that if you have to eat a frog, you should do it
first thing in the morning, and if you have to eat two frogs, you should eat the biggest one first.
The idea behind this method is that by tackling the hardest task early on, you’ve gotten the
worst part out of the way. As such, everything you do after should be easy by comparison.
Both the snowball method and the “eat the frog” method can be useful and there’s no
one right approach. You should experiment with both methods and find what works best for you.
Regardless of the approach you choose, the next step is to “just start.” Although it sounds easy,
this is often the most challenging part for people. One way to overcome this is to tell
yourself that you only have to work for 5 minutes as a way of reducing the friction
and intimidation factor of starting. Sometimes, reducing the activation energy is the key to
just getting the ball rolling. After those 5 minutes are up, evaluate if you need a break
or if you can continue working. You’ll often find that you can work for much longer as
you’ve overcome the hardest part of starting. It’s also important to focus on completing one
task at a time. Even though you may be tempted to switch between tasks,
especially when you have a lot of work to do, it's best to avoid doing this. Multitasking is often
seen as a way to accomplish more in less time, but it's actually a myth. When you multitask,
you're not really working on multiple tasks simultaneously, but rather, rapidly switching
between them. Focusing intensely on one task will save you time and lead to better results.
The next reason that people procrastinate is that they feel there isn’t enough time
to make progress or complete a task. If this is your reason for procrastinating, then the first
thing to understand is that this is factually untrue. We all make time for what’s important
to us. If you haven’t made time for it, it’s probably because you haven’t made it a priority.
Your schedule should be a reflection of your priorities. By regularly scheduling time for
important tasks like studying or exercise, they can eventually become habits–which
makes avoiding procrastination that much easier. This is also a great time to apply Parkinson’s
Law, which states “work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.”
Estimate how long a particular task or subtask will take you to complete and only
give yourself that much time to complete it. When determining how much time to set aside,
it's important to find a balance between being realistic and, at the same time,
slightly ambitious. If you're too ambitious, you might feel overwhelmed and discouraged by
the lack of progress. However, if you're not ambitious enough, you might not feel pressured
to complete the task and end up dragging your feet. When you set a deadline that is reasonable,
but still puts some pressure on you, you’ll often be surprised at how much you can get done.
The next reason that people procrastinate is that they lack the energy to work on a task.
To overcome this, it’s important to first take a look at your physical well-being. There are three
pillars of health: sleep, nutrition, and exercise. When any one of these is out of balance, you’re
not able to perform optimally. I discuss these three pillars and how to optimize them in How I
Studied 10+ Hr/Day in Med School (& Why I Can’t Anymore) over on the Kevin Jubbal, M.D. YouTube
channel – link in the description. Although it may seem unrelated, prioritizing your health can
have a significant positive impact on your ability to overcome procrastination. When you feel good,
you have a greater capacity to get things done. That being said, even with good health habits,
there may be days when you still feel low on energy. In these situations,
there are some things you can do to boost your energy levels in the moment.
To start, taking breaks is crucial. I’ve found that taking a short break every 30-60 minutes
helps me keep my energy up during long work sessions. Any less than 30 minutes and I’ve
found I don’t get much done, but any more than 60 minutes and I feel my energy and attention start
to dip. The Pomodoro Technique is a great way to start incorporating breaks into your day and we
have several videos on this channel discussing how to use it effectively–links in the description.
Just as important as taking breaks, however, is how you choose to spend your breaks. Instead of
scrolling through social media or responding to text messages, use your breaks as an opportunity
to get up and away from your study space. Use the restroom, play with a pet, make a healthy snack,
or do some mild exercise. Research demonstrates that short bursts of aerobic exercise improve
memory and arousal. This is not only a great way to incorporate movement into your busy schedule,
but it can also serve as a great “pick-me-up” and let you get back to work feeling recharged.
If you’re still feeling tired even after taking breaks and moving, you can also consider taking
a brief nap. I’ve found that 13 minutes is the sweet spot for me. Any less and I don’t feel
refreshed. Any longer and I end up falling into deeper levels of sleep and wake up feeling groggy.
Lastly, consider fixing your posture. I’ve found that if I’m in a relaxed posture,
such as sitting in a comfortable chair or couch or laying in bed, I’m more likely to fade into
a relaxed state with zero intention of getting anything done. Working at a standing desk or even
sitting on a stool without a backrest has helped keep me alert and focused on the task at hand.
The last reason that people procrastinate is that there are simply more interesting or enjoyable
ways to spend their time. Writing an essay or studying for an exam is rarely as exciting as
spending time with friends or watching a new show on Netflix. In order to get the hard work done,
you need to make the task you’re trying to accomplish more attractive than the
other options available to you. You do this by adding friction to distractions
and reducing friction for getting work done. The trick here is to make your environment
work with you. You want to create a space that is free from distractions, where the only option
available is to work. If you have other, more attractive options available, then you're much
less likely to get work done. In contrast, if your only options are to be productive
or do nothing, you're actually more likely to be productive than to sit there doing nothing.
As humans, we hate boredom and isolation. This is one reason why solitary confinement
is considered one of the harshest punishments for prisoners. Surprisingly, one study even
found that when placed in a room with nothing but a button that administered a painful shock,
many people would rather shock themselves than experience boredom. When faced with the option
of work or boredom, we often choose work. Your environment extends to your digital
environment as well. Make sure your computer and smartphone are free from distractions
and remove or restrict any apps or websites that tend to distract you.
Lastly, you can motivate yourself by setting specific goals or milestones for your work and
then rewarding yourself once you achieve them. For example, you could set a goal to write 5 pages of
a 10-page essay and then reward yourself by having lunch or going out with friends in the evening.
This not only gives you a sense of accomplishment, but it also allows you to enjoy your leisure time
without the guilt of unfinished work. It’s important to remember that even
the most productive people in the world experience the urge to procrastinate.
It’s not a matter of always feeling motivated to get things done. Rather, it’s knowing how
to get things done even when you don’t want to. Thank you to our awesome subscribers for providing
their procrastination tips in our recent community post. If you’d like to contribute to our videos,
make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss out on future polls and posts. Your ideas might
just be featured in one of our videos. Thank you all so much for watching. If
you enjoyed this video, check out Study Less, Study Smart - What I Wish I Knew
in College or this other video. Much love, and I’ll see you guys there.