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It’s human nature to procrastinate — however it may be devastating on your future objectives for those who regularly procrastinate on initiatives which are necessary however not pressing. In this text, the writer presents 5 methods to overcome procrastination on ambiguous however important duties: 1) Get clear on the imaginative and prescient. 2) Identify concrete steps. 3) Take (small) motion. 4) Create forcing capabilities. 5) Limit competing distractions.
Every skilled sometimes drags their ft on sure initiatives. It’s simple to postpone tedious duties, like submitting expense reviews, or emotionally draining ones, like writing up a detrimental worker efficiency evaluation. Indeed, analysis has proven that procrastination — moderately than being an ethical failing or signal of laziness — is definitely a unconscious technique to keep away from detrimental feelings.
One of the most typical causes we procrastinate is that sure initiatives could really feel ambiguous or amorphous. We develop into overwhelmed as a result of we simply aren’t certain what to do or the place to begin, main to “task paralysis.” As I focus on in my e book The Long Game, that may derail our efforts to make progress on long-term objectives, even whereas we fill our time with what we acknowledge as comparatively trivial issues. If you end up repeatedly ignoring a specific line merchandise on your to-do checklist, even when it could be crucial on your future success, listed here are 5 issues you are able to do.
Get clear on the imaginative and prescient.
Especially if a specific venture has been handed to you by a supervisor or colleague — “write this grant proposal” or “research this opportunity” — it could be unclear what they’re really in search of. Do they need a 20-page deep dive or a one-page abstract? An evaluation you’ll be able to current to the board or your fast take? In the midst of our “freeze response,” we could not even understand we’re unclear on the scope, so it’s necessary to return to first ideas. What, exactly, are you being requested to do? What is the specified output, and the way lengthy do you estimate it should take? Clarifying the intention can typically assist get us unstuck.
Identify concrete steps.
Even whenever you’re clear on the imaginative and prescient — or for those who’re pursuing your individual — it will not be self-evident how to get to your required vacation spot. Especially for those who’re tackling one thing you’ve by no means accomplished earlier than (reminiscent of launching a brand new product), you could have a to-do checklist brimming with potential actions, however really feel unsure that are probably the most crucial, or in what order to pursue them. (Conduct focus teams? Develop a prototype? Create a advertising plan? Test a pricing technique?)
In these conditions, it’s helpful to communicate with colleagues who’ve accomplished one thing related prior to now. If that’s not an choice, you may contemplate hiring a advisor with related experience or rigorously finding out and reverse-engineering what others in your discipline have accomplished prior to now. You don’t have to mirror their strikes precisely — your improvements could end up to enhance on the norm — however being conscious of previous finest (and worst) practices may also help you develop an preliminary plan and make aware selections about the place you’d like to deviate.
Take (small) motion.
Ambiguous initiatives — as a result of they’re unclear — typically really feel huge, so it is sensible they typically get pushed to the again of the road. But as Stanford professor BJ Fogg has famous, taking even a tiny motion creates optimistic momentum that makes it simpler to full the total activity (simply as flossing one tooth makes you understand it’s not rather more effort to floss your whole mouth, writing one paragraph of a progress report can propel you alongside into ending it). Identifying a activity you’ll be able to accomplish, even when it’s not probably the most strategic (reminiscent of sending an e mail or fixing the structure on a presentation deck), could disrupt your inertia and make it really feel simpler to return to the duty sooner or later.
Create forcing capabilities.
If you’ve been procrastinating, it’s most likely clear that willpower alone gained’t suffice to encourage you (“I’ll definitely make it happen this Thursday”). Instead, construct in “forcing functions” for your self to guarantee your compliance. Just as hiring a private coach quasi-guarantees higher train compliance (you’ve already paid for the session and it could be impolite to stand them up on the gymnasium), you’ll be able to arrange accountability mechanisms for your self, like scheduling a weekly check-in together with your supervisor or a trusted colleague.
You may even select to nearly “cowork” with others to keep accountable on your progress on a given day; members announce what they’ll be working on on the outset of a session and report again on the finish. You may create your individual “rules” to maintain you transferring ahead. In the previous, after I’ve been on deadline, I might sometimes gap up at a café (in order that being hungry or thirsty was no excuse) and wouldn’t allow myself to go away till I’d completed.
Limit competing distractions.
As people, our minds are wired to search out dopamine hits, together with the “thrill” of studying and responding to messages that hit our inbox and scrolling by new social media posts. No one thinks that is really productive, but it’s devilishly onerous for many of us to resist. Even for those who’ve taken the steps above to facilitate your work on a given venture, it’s nonetheless simple to be lured away, so it’s necessary to proactively restrict the distractions you face. Otherwise, you’ll all the time be tempted to select the short hit of crossing off a minor to-do merchandise (ordering your sandwich for the lunch assembly or checking to see what number of LinkedIn connection requests you’ve acquired), moderately than diving into messier (and extra amorphous) duties which are significant.
Experiment to see what works for you; you may attempt retaining your telephone in one other room, utilizing software program to restrict your entry to sure web sites, and even utilizing a pc that’s not related to the Internet so as to make progress on in-depth writing initiatives.
It’s human nature to procrastinate — however the stakes differ broadly. While it’s suboptimal to let your inbox fester or delay filling out sure administrative types, it may be devastating on your future objectives for those who regularly procrastinate on initiatives which are necessary however not pressing. By following these methods to overcome procrastination on ambiguous however important duties, you’ll be able to develop into a greater long-term thinker — and doer.
