How to End Procrastination
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What is procrastination? It is the act of delaying or postponing something. So how do you end procrastination?Procrastination isn’t a lack of willpower. It isn’t about laziness or not wanting to get something done.
Did you now there are 2 types of procrastination? Yep, there sure are, one is destructive procrastination, which is avoiding the tasks that you need to complete and the other is productive procrastination, which is an important part of any creative process. There’s an actual crazy science behind it all and once you realize the true cause and the mental road blocks you have you can understand it better and learn how to stop it all together.
So let’s start with the “good” kind. Productive procrastination. Productive Procrastination is best explained as the type of procrastination you have when you are in the middle of a project or something important and you maybe set it aside for a few days so you can think about it more. It’s kind of like taking a little time out from your project so you can think about it a bit more and come back with some fresh ideas and finish it with a fresh perspective.
The “bad’ kind of procrastination is called destructive procrastination. It’s pretty much when we avoid something we need to get done and KNOW there will be a negative consequence in the end. It’s pretty much anything that we find ourselves deliberately avoiding that really should be getting done.
In the end when we procrastinate, we tend to beat ourselves up and feel guilty about not getting things done. We feel as though we’re being lazy. However, procrastination is not really a form of laziness, it’s actually a coping mechanism for stress.
Procrastination is a subconscious desire to feel good right now so you can feel a little stress relief . Yep, watching those animal videos on YouTube can de-stress you for sure. We procrastinate when we feel stressed out. You’re procrastinating to take a little stress break. You are avoiding something that may feel hard to get done and by procrastinating, you get a sense of relief, until the work builds up and then you are creating more stress.
By procrastinating and watching senseless YouTube videos or the next Netflix series, you are replacing, what you feel is, a difficult task with something easier, which gives you a TEMPORARY mood boost and a feeling of control. You have to stop and actually get honest with yourself and admit that it may be hard to focus on what you actually need to get done.
So, now that we have the understanding of procrastination down, we need to look at how to get past it. We need to create NEW habits. I have found that The 5 Second Rule is great when it comes to getting past procrastinating. I mean, you count down from 5 to 1 and you just get started, simple as that. Right?!?
Here’s how ya do it. If procrastinating is a bad habit of yours, then, you have to replace that bad habit with a new positive one. The moment you feel yourself hesitate to do something, you have to put that 5 second rule into place and start the important thing that you need to do. When you push yourself to just get started, you are taking control of the moment and getting it done.
Once you actually get started, you’ll have triggered your brain to just keep at it. You’ll be inclined to actually finish the project. Just use the 5 Second Rule to make yourself start. Start small, take it in 10 to 15 minute intervals at a time. Attack what you’ve been avoiding one bite at a time.
You can either find a way or you can find an excuse. Just start!!
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