Lesson one - understand your procrastination cycle
If you've landed here, it's likely that you're familiar with the nagging feeling of postponed tasks and unfulfilled duties. Perhaps you're trapped in the endless cycle of saying "I'll do it tomorrow," which never quite translates into action. But here's the exciting part: you're standing on the precipice of a transformative journey, a journey to bid farewell to procrastination.
For me, the pivotal moment that sparked my transformation occurred in December 2020 when I was visiting my hometown in Adelaide, South Australia. It was during this time that I found myself in a fascinating conversation with my dear friend and highly skilled psychologist, Dr. Jeremy Stevenson. Jeremy shared with me that every week, people come to his office struggling because they simply can't bring themselves to do something they know is important.
Although I had also studied psychology and was a fellow procrastinator, I found it incredibly surprising. I had never considered procrastination as something you would seek help from a psychologist for. I was intrigued and eager to learn more. So, after a lengthy conversation, I asked Jeremy for assistance in curbing my own procrastination habits.
That led to a unique experiment: What if, every day, I tackled one task I had been procrastinating? This marked the beginning of a 10-week mission to intentionally combat procrastination. Each day, I would write down one task I had been putting off and dedicate at least 10 minutes to initiating it.
It wasn’t a straightforward journey, but little by little, I noticed some significant changes in my behavior. For instance, I had always procrastinated when it came to replying to emails (likely due to my dyslexia). However, after a few weeks of persistent effort, I was able to overcome this hurdle. It felt like I had unlocked a hidden cheat code to life.
This transformation inspired me to delve deeper into the mechanics of overcoming procrastination. I consumed every piece of literature on procrastination I could find, spoke with global experts, and continued to experiment and practice on myself. Two years on, I'm still on this journey, using guided exercises I created for myself to continue making progress.
My journey to overcome procrastination has led to several life-changing accomplishments. I've learned to code, run marathons, and even relocated from Australia to New York City. But one achievement I'm particularly proud of is creating the content you're reading right now.
Why? Because I've experienced the crushing weight of procrastination and the immense pride and satisfaction that comes with overcoming it. And I firmly believe you can achieve the same!
Interestingly, there are over 1,000 published studies on interventions to overcome procrastination, and 35 of those are large scale randomized control trials. The takeaway from all this research is simple: these interventions work. Procrastination can be overcome!
My co-founder, Kemble, and I built 'Doer' to make the skill of overcoming procrastination more accessible. We've distilled the science of overcoming procrastination into a simple system that helps you achieve your goals. The focus is not on short-term productivity hacks, but rather on gradual and sustainable behavioral changes.
The journey begins by helping you deeply understand your psychology. As it turns out, an enormous amount of research has been devoted to understanding why people procrastinate. So, the fundamental mechanics of procrastination are well understood.
The heart of procrastination is the avoidance of brief moments of discomfort. When we think about certain tasks, we experience sudden, often unconscious, flashes of discomfort. Naturally, we want to avoid these feelings! So we create rationalizations for not doing the task. For instance, we might say, "I don't have everything I need, so I can't start it now," or "I have plenty of time, so I can do it later."
Psychologists refer to these excuses as "rationalizations" because on the surface, they seem rational—they appear to be logical reasons for not starting. However, the reality is that they're merely things we tell ourselves to lessen our guilt or shame about avoiding something. On an unconscious level, we generate these rationalizations to dispel the discomfort.
The intriguing part is that this entire rationalization process occurs in an instant. In a fraction of a second, we contemplate a task, feel discomfort, and conjure up a rationalization to alleviate the discomfort. We all experience this loop dozens of times daily.
Because it occurs so rapidly, it's challenging to modify. Overcoming procrastination requires slowing things down. You need to observe yourself progressing through each step of the procrastination loop. This is where 'procrastination reflections' come into play. The initial phase of Doer prompts you to identify a task you're procrastinating on and guides you to reflect on each step of your procrastination loop.
The adage, "a problem well understood is a problem half solved," could not be more accurate in this context. In the first unit of Doer, you'll delve deeply into the reasons behind your procrastination. With each unit in Doer, you'll unveil unique insights into your psychology. Each one of those insights is a piece in the puzzle to overcoming procrastination for good.
Key ideas:
The science of overcoming procrastination is well understood from over 1,000 studies on interventions for procrastination.
The basis of procrastination is the avoidance of brief moments of discomfort that arise when thinking about certain tasks.
Rationalizations are the seemingly logical reasons we give for not starting tasks. In reality, they are an unconscious mechanism for dealing with moments of discomfort.
The process of rationalization happens quickly, making it hard to modify. Practicing 'procrastination reflections' help you slow down and observe each step of the procrastination loop.
This article is an adaptation of the first audio lesson of Doer: the science-based guide to overcoming procrastination. For good! Discover the root cause of your procrastination and start mastering the skill of accomplishing important tasks by downloading "Doer" today!
