Think less and do more.
Intelligent People Procrastinate More
The more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to find yourself procrastinating. If you’re someone with high intelligence, you’re able to see the repercussions of any task. You realize that it might be boring or difficult. Therefore, you put it off for something that might be more stimulating.
So it’s the overthinking of any task that leads us to procrastinate.
Mann’s butt-in-chair method
All you need to do is commit to sitting down at your desk (butt-in-chair) for a certain amount of time each day. ensure that you have no distractions, put your phone on silent, turn off email notifications and just work.
Distraction to-do lists
How often do you find yourself in the middle of work when your suddenly overcome with the desire to do something else, something non-work related, something has distracted you and grabbed your attention.
Rather than giving in to that desire right then and there, write it down. You could create a distracting to-do list that contains all the things you want to do. This way, you don’t have to worry that you might forget about it later.
Stop being a perfectionist
It’s easy to want everything to be perfect, all of the time, but in reality, nothing is perfect. You can learn new skills, develop, grow and thrive, but you’ll still never be perfect. and it’s time to accept that.
Doing nothing is the worst-case scenario. it’s always better to be doing something, anything.
Macro goals & Micro Quotas
Find a way to balance the satisfaction of getting things done with pursuing your biggest and most ambitious goals by setting macro- and micro-quotas.
Can you procrastinate productively?
Instead of giving up on work altogether, shift your focus to easy, simple tasks that still need to be done but won’t take up much brain power. Whether it be returning a phone call, reading some emails or even just tidying your desk.
Time blocks
Decide when you need to complete the task, consider when it’s due and how much time you’ll need to complete it.
On a physical or online calendar, block out the appropriate amount of time to work on the task. Be generous with your time slot; sometimes tasks take longer than expected.
When you reach the time to work on the task, eliminate all distractions so you can focus purely on the task at hand
Be on an Airplane Without an Airplane
It is common for people to feel that they are extremely productive when on flights, particularly business flights. Reason: There should be absolutely no distractions. No wifi; no texts; no calls; no pesky meetings; no shared office morning teas just you and your work.
There’s no need to wait until your next flight to feel that productive. You can create the environment you need whenever you like. Have a day away from the office (and all those pesky interruptions), put on an out-of-office automatic reply, and turn all of your devices onto airplane mode.
To stop procrastinating, shift your focus from the overwhelming immensity of the entire forest to just a single tree.
The Next Action Habit
- Don’t consider a project in its entirety; just focus on the next small task involved in making some progress.
- Momentum is important; once you get started, it’s easier to continue. So just start!
- Have a useful to-do list where you only write down the very next actions. This way, you can move through it quickly.
- Implement the 2-minute rule: if it takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it right away.
(10+2)x5 method
Set out a 60-minute period to focus on work.
First, set a timer on your computer, watch, or phone for 10 minutes. for 10 minutes you can work on the given task, with no distractions.
When the 10 minutes is up, take a 2-minute brain break, then back to work.
Use deadlines as a motivator, whether someone else sets them for you or you set them yourself, they create a consequence for things that aren’t done.
