No More Procrastination – 5 Tips to Overcome Your Inner Slacker

Do you recognise yourself in the scenario described above? We all know that procrastination – the scientific term for putting things off – is irrational. If we don’t do our work now, but instead watch a photo gallery titled “The Cutest Celebrity Babies,” we’ll be stressed later. Or we’ll miss our deadline. Fortunately, bad habits can be changed. Here are five tips to help you get your procrastination under control.

I’m a big fan of putting things off. In fact, I even put off procrastinating. – Ella Varner

1. Chase the inner couch potato off the sofa

Doing the annoying tax return, decluttering the attic, finally losing ten kilos. No matter how different the things we put off are, they all have one thing in common: they trigger unpleasant feelings in us. The human brain has been programmed since time immemorial to avoid effort and pain, seek pleasure, and only expend energy when absolutely necessary. [1] [1] Evolution made the brain lazy:  Anushka B.P. Fernando, Jennifer E. Murray, Amy L. Milton/Department of Psychology, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge (2013): The Amygdala: Securing Pleasure and avoiding Pain This might explain why our sofa sometimes has such a magical pull on us, even though we had firmly intended to go to a spinning class this evening.

But how can we learn to endure reluctance and disinterest and talk our inner couch potato out of it? Through mindfulness training, for example! An Australian study showed that participants were able to concentrate better, were more motivated, and postponed their duties less often after a mindfulness exercise lasting only three minutes. [2] [2] Procrastination & Mindfulness: Nicola S. Schutte, Andrea del Pozo de Bolger / International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology (2020): Greater Mindfulness is linked to less Procrastination The next time you feel

“like doing nothing,” rather choose meditation than letting Netflix bombard you.

One day you will wake up and no longer have time for the things you have always wanted. Do them now. – Paulo Coelho

2. Clarity: An Antidote to Procrastination

Although it seems illogical at first glance, we particularly like to put off tasks that require a lot of time, whether it’s a term paper or an important work presentation. Scientists at the University of Halle-Wittenberg have also found that people are more likely to procrastinate the less clear the task description is. [3] [3] Putting off unpleasant tasks: Martin-Luther-Universität Wittenberg (2018): New Study: Why Students Put Off Their Final Theses

Maybe you need to get an overview first? Break your project down into small, manageable units. Imagine you have to climb a tall staircase. It’s best not to look up, but to take it one step at a time. Take a break now and then. And before you know it, you’ve already finished half of it.

Do you now know how to tackle the next steps? If not, seek support. Ask at work, your study group, or even a good friend how they would approach the problem. Maybe you just need someone to explain the possibly overly complex task description to you again in different words? Your inner couch potato might try to convince you that asking questions is embarrassing, but in reality, it just wants to avoid working again.

3. Stop Perfectionism

Sometimes perfectionism is behind procrastination. Maybe you believe that your superiors or even your own family have high expectations of your performance that you cannot live up to? Maybe you are afraid of making mistakes and being judged negatively by others? [4] [4] Perfectionism and Procrastination: Gordon L. Flatt, Kirk R. Blankstein, Paul L. Hewitt, Spomenka Koledin / Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, Volume 20, No. 2 (1992): Components of Perfection and Procrastination in College Students

In that case, it’s better to leave things alone for now. If you then perform poorly on the test, it won’t be your fault, but rather due to the lack of time. And with business ideas that you never turn into reality, you can’t fail either. In fact, scientists have found that people who procrastinate often sabotage themselves. [5] [5] Meta-analysis of various causes of procrastination: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 35, Issue 6 (2003): A meta-analytically derived nomological network of procrastination This process does not necessarily happen consciously, and you may only realise later that you are standing still.

A good remedy for perfectionism is a reality check. If, for example, you are constantly afraid of not being good enough at work, take a look at what your less perfectionistic colleagues do. Maybe they work less thoroughly than you and still don’t get fired. Keep in mind that in most fields of work, it is perfectly okay to make a mistake once in a while – unless you are a neurosurgeon or air traffic controller.

4. Trust is good, control is better

Hardly anyone would come up with the idea of constantly getting up in the office and taking coffee breaks when the boss sits two desks away. However, it becomes difficult when you are working independently on a larger project that you have chosen yourself. To prevent your inner couch potato from even thinking about online shopping or going into the garden instead, you can create external control mechanisms. Here are a few ideas:

•  Work or study in a quiet place that you don’t normally use for relaxing. Turn off your phone or use an app and website blocker to temporarily disable social media or your favourite joke site.
• Look specifically for motivation buddies, i.e., people who can help you stay on track. These can be good friends with whom you talk about your goals and who regularly ask whether you have really been working on your project. Find people who have a positive attitude and encourage you to stick with it, even when it gets difficult.
• Use the Pomodoro Technique, in which you set a timer for 25 minutes, try to work with concentration for that long, and then reward yourself with a short break. After four sessions, take a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes. This technique is one of the most effective techniques, which we also explain to you in our 6-Minute-Success Journal and the free accompanying e-book “The Concentration Compass – More Progress & Joy Through More Focus & Flow. 

5. A Journey into the Future

Scientists have found that people who tend to procrastinate have a weak emotional connection to their future self. When they imagine their life in ten or 20 years, it is a little like imagining the life of a stranger that has nothing to do with the here and now. [6] [6] Why some people cannot imagine themselves in the future: Cynthia Lee/UCLA Newsroom (2015): The Stranger within: Connection with our Future Self And why on earth change your diet now, just because you might get sick many years later? 

Use the technique of visualisation to motivate yourself for something in the (near or distant) future. There is an interesting experiment from Canada in which students were guided to travel into the future in their minds and so to speak step into the body of their future self. They imagined how it would feel to be just before the exams. In this way, they built a stronger emotional bond with their future self, and procrastination decreased. [7] [7] How imagination can help against procrastination: Eve-Marie C. Blouin-Hudon, Timothy A. Pychyl/Applied Psychology (2016): A mental Imagery Intervention to increase future Self Continuity and reduce Procrastination

This technique works best when you use it regularly, for example twice a week as in the experiment. Imagine your future self of the next month or the next year. How will you feel when you look back at the challenges you have mastered? Feel the pride and relief of what you have achieved! Through this emotional time travel, you can already taste the positive feeling of your success now. This, in turn, puts you in a good mood to actually tackle your task.

Motivation to go

So, have you read this article to the end because you are currently putting off a task? Then I'll finally help you get into work mode. To do this, we will make a rocket launch. I will count down from three, and when I reach 0, you will stand up with enthusiasm and say "I'm starting now!" Three ... Two ... One ... Go!

In one year you will wish you had started today. – Karen Lamb

____________________

This post is by Maria Röckmann. While studying journalism Down Under, she one day held a microphone in front of a man's face, fell in love with him, and stayed there. When she is not roaming around the playgrounds in Brisbane with her children, she writes for the 6-Minuten-Verlag or works on her first novel.

Sources:

[1] Evolution made the brain lazy:  Anushka B.P. Fernando, Jennifer E. Murray, Amy L. Milton/Department of Psychology, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge (2013): The Amygdala: Securing Pleasure and avoiding Pain

[2] Procrastination & Mindfulness: Nicola S. Schutte, Andrea del Pozo de Bolger / International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology (2020): Greater Mindfulness is linked to less Procrastination

[3] Putting off unpleasant tasks: Martin-Luther-Universität Wittenberg (2018): New Study: Why Students Put Off Their Final Theses

[4] Perfectionism and Procrastination: Gordon L. Flatt, Kirk R. Blankstein, Paul L. Hewitt, Spomenka Koledin / Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, Volume 20, No. 2 (1992): Components of Perfection and Procrastination in College Students

[5] Meta-analysis of various causes of procrastination: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 35, Issue 6 (2003): A meta-analytically derived nomological network of procrastination

[6] Why some people cannot imagine themselves in the future: Cynthia Lee/UCLA Newsroom (2015): The Stranger within: Connecting with our Future Self

[7] How imagination can help against procrastination: Eve-Marie C. Blouin-Hudon, Timothy A. Pychyl/Applied Psychology (2016): A mental imagery intervention to increase future self-continuity and reduce procrastination