Things I’ve done while not procrastinating
Since August 2021 I have intentionally overcome procrastination at least once everyday, almost without expectation. Each day I complete guided exercises that I created for myself to ensure I make progress on things that matter. The habit has allowed me to accomplish several life long goals.
This is a list of some of the notable things I have done while overcoming procrastination:
Increased my internet security. I started using a password manager and replaced my passwords with stronger passwords.
Over the course of many days I wrote an essay describing how much I appreciate my partner Steph. That essay evolved into a romantic marriage proposal (something that would not have come naturally to me). Steph said yes.
I finally made meaningful progress on my lifelong desire to be a competent computer programer. I built a personal website and am currently 40% of the way through the Codecademy front end engineering course.
Created a training plan and consistently trained enough to be able to run a marathon - another life long dream.
Planned 10 romantic dates. Something that doesn’t come naturally to me.
Meet with Luca Dellanna to discuss ideas around procrastination after reading a number of his books.
Cleaned under my microwave.
Along with my partner Steph we packed up our lives in Australia and moved to New York City. That move was made up of 100s minor tasks that I would have almost certainly procrastinated.
Responded to 100s of awkward emails and messages. This was by far the most common task I procrastinated. Likely because of my dyslexia I tended to procrastinate responding to emails from people I don’t know well.
Called my Mum 15 times, Dad 10 times, sister 6 times, brother 5 times. Living in another city I made more of an effort to maintain my connection with them.
Organised for my Mum to visit my home in Melbourne from Adelaide.
Tracked my alertness and excitement for 150 days to better understand what was driving them. I learnt that high levels of excitement are driven by sufficient sleep (7.5 hours), commitment free time and active personal projects.
Tracked three dimensions of work satisfaction for 100 days to understand drivers of work satisfaction. I learned that I need long blocks of time in the morning without meetings.
Booked a two week holiday off work - previously had not done this for 3 years.
Organised a weekly zoom call with my family in order to maintain a stronger family connection. I’ve been using the time to teach them some of the behaviour change techniques that I have been learning.
100s of small work tasks that culminated in building and launching Develop - a product designed to help employees create career development plans.
