hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about three
simple tricks to stop procrastinating now let's begin number one procrastinate with
feeling now this is going to sound strange so just bear with me all right what is a consistent
and effective trick to stop procrastinating to procrastinate less you need to procrastinate
more all right don't worry i'll explain just think about the last time you procrastinated
did you abandon your work or did you pretend to be working when you actually weren't
most people don't plan on procrastinating when they procrastinate they're trying to restart their
work but distractors keep pulling them away and this push and pull can go on for hours in the end
nothing gets done okay let's say you're supposed to be doing research you have your research open
in one tab and social media open in the other you glance back and forth so your attention is split
you're not really doing research but you're not focusing on your social media either let's
call this fifty percent procrastinating when you procrastinate like this you're making the problem
worse you're alternating between your work and your distractors without accomplishing either one
50 procrastination can be exhausting you tell yourself that you're working but
you're really not you tell yourself that you're procrastinating but you're not doing that either
it's a never-ending cycle of denial ridicule and guilt and those emotions can drive you crazy
so stop procrastinating with half your energy if you want to procrastinate go all the way commit
100 to your procrastination or just don't do it at all if you don't want to work hey that's fine
stop pretending to work close your projects stand up from your desk and go into another room
completely separate yourself from your workspace now during this time don't think about your work
and don't feel guilty that you're not working just enjoy the time you spend away from your projects
right now you're craving a distraction but craving a distraction is like craving ice cream
if you're craving something satisfy that craving and it will go away when you procrastinate 100
you successfully satisfy that craving and when that happens you start craving something else
work now's the perfect time to dive back into your projects and when i say dive back in i mean really
dive in just like your procrastination you give 100 of yourself to your work or you don't work at
all over time your brain will create a boundary between your work and your distractors when
you separate them something interesting happens you waste less of your time 100 procrastination
actually increases your work ethic and your productivity so how is this possible because the
novelty of procrastination wears off faster you're less likely to waste time when you're not putting
something off distractors like social media lose their appeal because you're not avoiding your work
this weird trick ultimately increases the amount of work you get done if you alternate between
100 work and 100 procrastination you're using your work time and downtime more effectively
you feel more productive when you work because you chose to work and on the flip side you feel more
relaxed when you procrastinate because you chose to procrastinate so don't waste any more time
pretending to work commit one way or the other become a better procrastinator to improve
your work ethic number two plan around procrastination there are two kinds of workers
the first thrives under pressure they need that urgency to motivate and energize them
the second panics under pressure when expectations get too high they crumble under the weights which
one describes you if you don't know just think about your work and study habits because the way
you work also describes the way you procrastinate just take this situation student a and student b
are studying for a test in two weeks student a works better under pressure while student b panics
before a deadline both students procrastinate until the last 24 hours before their test
but only one of these students is actually procrastinating is it student a or student b
ding ding ding ding answer student a is not procrastinating they're playing to their
strengths this student is what we call an active procrastinator this comes from a 2017 study in the
journal of personality and individual differences an active procrastinator delays their work to
improve their performance student a works best under pressure so they choose to start later on
the surface it looks like procrastination but the quality of their work increases student b
is a passive procrastinator they're ignoring their strengths by putting off their work
they should start working early because they struggle under pressure but they choose not to
they delay their work and their productivity suffers so what does this mean for you just
think about the way you work and use your strengths to your advantage if you thrive
under pressure then procrastinate with purpose be an active procrastinator force yourself into
high pressure positions and challenge yourself to succeed if you don't work well under pressure
then avoid high pressure situations otherwise the pressure will impact your performance find
pockets of time where the pressure is lowest and do your work stress-free in other words
identify what kind of procrastinator you are then schedule your work around your procrastination
if you procrastinate at the right times you can be productive no matter what you're working on
number three fail on purpose a big project may feel impossible you're standing at the starting
line but the finish line looks unbearably far away as you stare across this massive distance you feel
discouraged you think about giving up and most of the time you do many people procrastinate
because they're scared of the distance just think about a challenging project like writing an essay
are you afraid of writing one word no are you afraid of writing one paragraph probably not
but writing an entire essay feels like a huge undertaking so you hesitate procrastinate and
avoid your responsibilities now of course the more you avoid something the scarier it gets at first
your essay feels like running a mile difficult but doable after a week of procrastination one
mile turns into 10 miles and after a month the finish line feels hundreds of miles away
and you lose hope but there's one weird trick you can use to stop procrastinating this trick will
help you overcome the immense distance from start to finish so instead of looking at the finish line
look straight at the ground in other words don't think about finishing your project
don't think about your end goal or how much works required going back to our example don't think
about writing a finished essay if you want to stop procrastinating there's only one thing you need to
worry about the challenge that's right in front of you the first word you write the first step
you take the first obstacle you face so why does this trick work when tackling a big project what
do you usually do first you make a plan right you try to solve all your problems at the beginning
naturally you feel overwhelmed you're overwhelmed by the work the challenges and the possibilities
instead of jumping over one hurdle at a time you're trying to overcome every hurdle at once
and that's a recipe for disaster now this common practice is no different from perfectionism
you want to smooth every bump in the road before you get there but this weird trick
will change the way you think you're no longer planning every solution before you start
now you're overcoming hurdles as you encounter them and you're solving your problems in real
time now this trick helps with more than just procrastination it also improves the quality of
your work planning to some degree ensures that you're moving in the right direction
you should plan your work before you get started but don't expect your plan to be foolproof
no matter how much time you spend planning you'll never predict the future alright let's say you're
setting goals for your career you create a starting point and a dream destination then you
set goals to fill the space in between but here's the problem you never know what opportunities will
come knocking you never know when a roadblock will ruin your plan when these things do happen
your plan will change you'll have to set new goals think of creative solutions and adapt to the
situation in other words your plan may fall apart in the middle of your journey and hey that's okay
so don't worry about planning every single step don't worry about getting from start to finish
don't panic about writing an entire essay or accomplishing a long-term goal instead try this
form a loose plan just stop thinking 10 steps ahead and face your first obstacle right now
the first problem is all that matters as you start making progress remind yourself that you
don't have to finish today you don't have to be perfect and it's more than okay to fail in
fact some people fail on purpose instead of trying to be perfect they do a terrible job
they let their work suffer they create something they would never show to anyone
why because perfection is intimidating but imperfection is not anyone can do a mediocre job
so that's all you have to do when you create a terrible first draft you're overcoming the
hardest part of the process you're no longer paralyzed at the starting line now you're fighting
through the middle and that's a good feeling so get started be awful create something you
know is below your standards and when you're done take a second pass maybe a third as you fix the
problems you'll realize something the finish line wasn't nearly as far as you thought hey thanks
for watching top thinking be sure to subscribe because more incredible content is on the way