Hitting A Wall: A Practical Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

I’ll get it done…after I binge this season on Netflix.

Procrastination sneaks its way into our productivity like a serpent slithering towards its prey. We may have all the right intentions when we want to work, but our attention always seems to betray us.

How can we focus on working towards our goals when our friends want to hang out, when a new season gets released on Netflix, or when we can’t seem to find enough time during the day? Although we will not likely find a “magic pill” method to overcoming this obstacle, by understanding the underlying forces of procrastination, we can develop strategies to face this problem.

There are two primary elements of procrastination:

1. The task we procrastinate with provides more immediate rewards than the task we ought to do.

2. The task we ought to do creates more resistance than other, less-meaningful tasks.

It may seem that we can solve this problem by simply creating an immediate-reward system (e.g. giving yourself a piece of candy for every hour you work). However, an immediate-reward system contains a host of problems. Firstly, immediate rewards can get us off track. You can tell yourself that you will only watch one episode between writing paragraphs, but we all know that “one episode” will turn into six. Secondly, an immediate-reward system can lead to a multitude of unhealthy behaviors. How much candy would you eat in a day if you ate one piece for every thirty minutes of work? Probably too much. Thirdly, training yourself to work with an immediate-reward system will mean that you have to rely on those rewards in order to achieve your goals. I would love to say that candy will always appeal to you and that the new season of your favorite show will last forever, but, unfortunately, they won’t.

We can’t work all the time, but we must learn how to get back on track when we stop.

Now, I understand that people need to take regular breaks from work in order to maximize productivity. However, these breaks should only serve the purpose of revitalizing our ability to work, not to entice us to start working. Plus, too many breaks can lead us to underperform. Human beings have more resilience than we give ourselves credit for, we do not need as many breaks as we think.

So how do we get ourselves to start working and get back on track after taking a break? We can do this by training ourselves to face resistance. Resistance occurs every time you find an excuse to not do what you ought to do. This force can manifest in many forms: it can appear as an email or notification that we “have” to check; It can transform itself into a feeling of hunger or exhaustion; it can even become a voice in our heads that tells us, “the book I’m writing isn’t that important”. Resistance is sneaky, cunning, and mischievous. It will find any way to grip you and distract you from what matters. Therefore, we must find ways to get around this obstacle.

Resistance can push us down but it also makes us stronger.

To understand how to overcome resistance, we must understand how it works. At its core, resistance emerges from fear. More specifically, we tend to fear failure, rejection, criticism, and change when trying to accomplish meaningful goals. However, we must understand that we will likely experience all of these events when working toward our goals. Unfortunately, simply understanding the inevitability of failure, rejection, criticism, and change will not push us through resistance.

There are three ways we can overcome the problem of resistance:

1. Identify allies that can push you to achieve your goals

These allies can be anyone. From mentors, family members, friends, or team-members, find people that can hold you accountable for your actions and surround yourself with those people.

2. Sacrifice money for accountability.

If you pay someone five-hundred dollars and tell them, “if I do not get this done, then you can keep the money,” you will surely accomplish your tasks. Keep in mind that you should only do this with friends or mentors that you trust.

3. Do it anyway.

Bring your awareness to the way you feel. Can only perform at 50% capacity? Do you feel sick? Unmotivated? Angry? Scared? Do it anyway. Or at least do something (that fits under the umbrella of our responsibilities). We are human, it is okay to feel these emotions. But if we choose not to uphold our responsibilities because of these feelings, we will only feed into them and make them stronger. Thus, every time you don't "feel like" doing something, you only make it more difficult to do anything the next time you don't "feel like it".

You do not have to do your job perfectly, we will most likely fail the first few times we do something. It is okay, in fact, it is good. This failure means that we have taken our first steps to success. As long as you do something and learn the art of getting back on track, you will master your craft and get better at facing resistance.

Perfect ideas and creations do not exist. However, we can improve our ability to execute on our work.

• Practical Practices: Identify potential obstacles that can prevent you from achieving your goals and write them down. Now identify strategies that can help you overcome these obstacles. Can you find allies that will keep you accountable? Are there any times that you can squeeze some practice time into a busy schedule, even if only for five minutes?

• If you would like more information on resistance, please read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This renowned author offers deep insight into how we can battle resistance in our day to day lives.

We do not have to keep ourselves prisoner to our own mediocrity. The greatest victories come from overcoming the greatest defeats. By identifying meaningful goals and mastering our ability to overcome resistance, we can reach our greatest potential and make our world a better place.

-Yak

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