Last week the topic was goals. This
week the topic is procrastination.
I need to work on this. The reason I
procrastinate is that I'm a perfectionist. It needs to be perfect
before I turn it in. This doesn't mean I start on it right away and
work on it until the due date, though. Far from it.
This is the cycle I go through when
something needs to be done:
1) I'll get it done ASAP
2) → Let me think about what it
should look like
3) → Now that I think of it, it'd be
interesting to Google this
4) → Agh, I need to get back to this,
but I have no willpower
<go back to line 3 and repeat>
5) → It's too late for what I want to
do / to get it all done
6) → I'll get it done in the morning
so I can have the rest of the day to do whatever
Even if you have an interest in the
thing you have to do, there's only so long you can go until you hit a
wall and need to do something else to clear your mind.
My problem's that I have a greater
quantity of interests other than what I have to do to finish it in
time. It's not at all that I'm lazy. Maybe a little.
I could blame it on possible ADD but
that would be passive, and in order to get things done, I need to be
active.
So what's the problem? Not line 1,
that's great willpower.
Something happens shortly after that:
Facebook. I've closed Facebook only to literally reopen it in another
tab. Facebook is habit, and time consuming because it goes straight
to line 3: it has links out to tons of interesting things. Then you'll look
further into that non-work subject and go on tangents and max out
your interest gauge.
Now surely at random intervals this
will happen: “Oh shiz I gotta get this done! Agh, but I srsly don't
care about it.” WHY does that happen?
My Theory
When you're
working on something and have an interest in it even though you have
little or no drive/motivation to do it, you're on a roll. If you get
the urge to do something habitual (e.g. Google something, check
Facebook), it's because your “drive” was engaged and negative
tension was created. You feel like the tension won't go away until
you give in and go to Google or check Facebook. If you do, you'll
break your train of thought and it'll be hard to get back to it
because you have no drive to work. You may get back to it
eventually but, most likely, you're done for the day, unless you get
some serious willpower up.
My Solution
Don't
go to Google and don't check Facebook, no matter HOW hard you want
to. Get back to your assignment, take a deep breath, and replace
lines 3 and below with these:
3)
What if this was due 5 minutes from now?
4)
I guess it'd be best to get back to this after all
5)
Start working
Don't
even think about lines 3 & 4. Just run them through your head,
word for word. While you're running the second line through,
physically scan what it is you're working on with your eyes.
What if it's too hard to resist
pressing enter in the address bar?
Don't even type
the URL in.
Don't even click
in the address bar.
Don't even open
a new tab.
Don't even bring
up the browser.
Don't even stop
looking at what you have to do.
Read
the new lines 3 and 4.
Start
working.
I
don't even want to figure out what to do if I do give in, because at
that point there's no turning back. I'm just gonna give my solution a
test run and report back later.
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