Links:
Why
What is this, why does it happen?
Varieties
Emotional, etc.
General Solutions
- Notice when you’re procrastinating. Note it to help build similar awareness in the future.
- Recognize that the desire to do something else is a brief impulse.
- Mindfully ignore the impulse and do nothing for a few minutes. There’s a good chance the impulse will dissolve.
- Failing that, make a plan to work for “only five minutes” before you get that break to do the desired thing
- If five minutes are working but the whole thing is still hard, try upgrading that five minutes to a full pomodoro technique
Start with an early - almost immediate - quick win. Getting something accomplished right away will help build momentum. Don’t get distracted trying to figure out what the quick win should be.
Plan:
- As soon as a desire to procrastinate arises, STOP and drop everything. Put your hands at your sides and close your eyes. Pay attention to how you feel, what you want to avoid, what you want to do instead. Maybe ask why.
- Set up one of the know good productive-routine-starters. Like putting on music or closing the web browser or changing locations.
- Possibly identify an Easy Win to start some momentum
- Set a five minute timer and work for that long (possibly on the easy win) until allowing yourself to do the desired procrastination activity.
- Get started on something low-friction
the less wrong algorithm:
Step 1: Notice I’m procrastinating.
Step 2: Guess which unattacked part of the equation is causing me the most trouble.
does the task have low value because it’s boring or painful or too difficult, or because the reward isn’t that great? Do I doubt that completing the task will pay off? Would I have to wait a long time for my reward if I succeeded? Am I particularly impatient or impulsive, either now or in general? Which part of this problem do I need to attack?
When I imagine myself doing the task, do I see myself bored and distracted instead of engaged and interested? Is the task uncomfortable, onerous, or painful? Am I nervous about the task, or afraid of what might happen if I undertake it? Has the task’s payoff lost its value to me? Perhaps it never had much value to me in the first place? If my answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” I’m probably facing the motivation problem of low value.
Do I think I’m likely to succeed at the task? Do I think it’s within my capabilities? Do I think I’ll actually get the reward if I do succeed? If my answer to any of these questions is “No,” I’m probably facing the problem of low expectancy.
How much of the reward only comes after a significant delay, and how long is that delay? If most of the reward comes after a big delay, I’m probably the facing the problem of, you guessed it, delay.
Do I feel particularly impatient? Am I easily distracted by other tasks, even ones for which I also face problems of low value, low expectancy, or delay? If so, I’m probably facing the problem of impulsiveness.
Step 3: Try several methods for attacking that specific problem.
For attacking the problem of low value: Get into a state of flow, perhaps by gamifying the task. Ensure the task has meaning by connecting it to what you value intrinsically. Get more energy. Use reward and punishment. Focus on what you love, wherever possible.
For attacking the problem of low expectancy: Give yourself a series of small, challenging but achieveable goals so that you get yourself into a “success spiral” and expect to succeed. Consume inspirational material. Surround yourself with others who are succeeding. Mentally contrast where you are now and where you want to be.
For attacking the problem of delay: Decrease the reward’s delay if possible. Break the task into smaller chunks so you can get rewards each step of the way.
For attacking the problem of impulsiveness: Use precommitment. Set specific and meaningful goals and subgoal and sub-subgoals. Measure your behavior. Build useful habits.
Step 4: If I’m still procrastinating, return to step 2.
If I’ve found some successful techniques for attacking the term in the motivation equation I thought was causing me the most trouble, but I’m still procrastinating, I return to step 2 and begin my assault on another term in the equation.