Procrastination - How it occurs and How to beat it?

Why do we procrastinate and push things to the last minute? This is a question that most of us ponder but are unable to find a good answer. Here is an attempt to arrive at the answer through some of my readings and experiences.

Nobody wants to procrastinate. We don't know how to avoid and not fall into the trap of delaying things. A simple allegory can help us understand the reasons better.

Introducing the actors in our head who are helping in the decision process:

• Rational Decision maker - He thinks long-term and helps us make the right decisions.

• Instant Gratification Monkey - It thinks only about the present and ignores the past and future. Chases instant gratification.

• Dark Playground - This is a place where leisure and pleasure activities occur at the wrong time.

• Panic Monster - A dormant beast that awakens when we are close to a deadline or danger of public embarrassment/career disaster.

Why do we procrastinate? We tend to offer the monkey the wheels of our decision navigation system. The IG Monkey craves instant gratification over long-term happiness. Hence, it craves dopamine shots and recommends surfing YouTube, playing games or watching a show.

So what happens when the monkey is always in charge? We go for instant enjoyment, which we don't enjoy. We are plagued by guilt with every minute we spend on these distractions. This is the Dark Playground, where we land and can't seem to escape.

Then how do we get work done? A Panic monster activates and scares the monkey when a deadline comes close. The rational guy takes over and hurriedly finishes the work in the nick of time. We decided that it would be the last time we would do this. We make lists and plans for the future. (The monkey loves this.) Suddenly, the monkey takes over when the deadline is far away—the vicious cycle of monkey and monster repeats.

We constantly reside in a loop of panic and guilt-ridden pleasure. True enjoyment feels elusive. We deliver work that does not match our true potential. The Must-Dos happen, but the Want-To-Dos never happen because panic doesn't exist. In the Eisenhower matrix, the not urgent but important quadrant is not picked up. This is the quadrant that helps us grow (and yet this is a quadrant we don't spend time at all).

How to beat procrastination? We must find ways to engage the monkey while letting the rational guy navigate our lives. The key is effective planning - planning sets us up for success and pushes us to act.

First, planning can work only with ruthless prioritization and arrive at a small list of items. Pick one of the most important items. For example, learn a programming language. Research the task and break it down thoroughly. Arrive at the most micro-level task that can be done. For each of the micro-tasks, set up a measurable success metric. Like, coding 10 minutes per day.

Set up a timeline that involves the micro-goals that work towards the larger goal. The main idea is to tame the monkey - keep the monkey happy. The satisfaction of completing micro-goals gives happiness. The rush of happiness keeps us motivated and keeps the monkey at bay.

Let us go over a few more concepts to understand:

• Critical Entrance - The place where work is officially started on the task. Getting here requires willpower. The monkey keeps holding us back.

• Dark Woods - We are in the dark woods once we start the work. The monkey is extremely restless since we are doing hardcore work and depriving it of dopamine shots. The monkey keeps trying to distract us and take us to the dark playground. This is where we need to persist.

• Happy playground - This is where we enjoy our leisure guilt-free, unlike the dark playground. The path goes through the dark woods.

• Tipping point - A crucial point when we can go from dark woods and reach a state of flow - a place where work feels fun.

A practical recipe to beat procrastination:

• Break a huge task into microtasks. These tasks must be very small and very easily doable.

• Get started on the task and enter the dark woods through the critical entrance.

• Persist and complete a task. Ride the feeling of accomplishment and go from the dark woods to move towards a tipping point. We need a series of quick wins here, or the monkey will distract us.

• Keep working until we reach a tipping point and enter a flow state.

Despite everything, there is a chance we might fall off the wagon. How to hold on:

• Keep remembering that everything we do is a choice. We are in control, not the monkey.

• Create accountability by sharing the goal with the world. The fear of losing face with the world propels us.

• Create an artificial panic monster for ourselves. If we want to start a business, we can quit our job. We can stake money on the goal, and penalize ourselves if we are not reaching the goal.

• Minimize distractions and create a conducive environment for work.

If we do this and get started, chances are that we can reduce our procrastination tendencies bit by bit. We need to improve ourselves by just 1% every day. The compounding effects are extraordinary.

References

1. Why Procrastinators procrastinate?

2. How to beat procrastination?