TSSI #5 - Procrastination: the high-performance killer
Read Time: 4 minutes
Today, I'm going to teach you how to beat procrastination.
Procrastination is a sure-fire way to exit the high-performance highway. Why?
Because high-performance is all about spending the majority of your time and energy on important tasks. Not procrastinating on them.
Most people fail to be productive because they get stuck in the procrastination loop...and they don't know how to exit it.
Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill.
Procrastination “is when we avoid a task we said we would do for no good reason, despite expecting our behavior to bring negative consequences.”
Why do we procrastinate?
Self-doubt, insecurity and anxiety about our ability to complete a task (or the consequences of completing the task)
An uninteresting or overwhelming task
Lack of clear rewards for completing a task
Fear of failure & perfectionism (not living up to our high expectations)
Ultimately, it's down to avoiding potential pain and moving towards pleasure (in the short-term).
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases, and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”
Here are 10 ways to beat procrastination:
#1 – Set clear goals
The first step is goal-setting. Most importantly it's about breaking your goals down into small manageable tasks.
Without simple steps to follow, large goals can be overwhelming.
Break the outcome goals into process goals, and those process goals into simple steps.
I've done the same with creating this newsletter. I did the same during my tennis career. Otherwise, the overwhelm leads to instagram scrolling.
#2 – Prioritize tasks
This is key. There will always be small things that come up during our days. Email, texts, phone calls, paying bills etc.
But our goal is to know what's most important and execute on those tasks.
“There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.”
In the past, I've used the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize tasks by urgency and importance.
#3 – Set Deadlines
Setting deadlines for yourself is a great way to complete tasks without procrastination.
We've all written an essay at the last minute before the submission deadline. We've all crammed for school tests in the 12 hours before the exam.
Deadlines wake up the panic monster inside our mind which forces us to take action (watch Tim Urban’s TedTalk on Procrastination).
The problem: there are no deadlines for some of the most important things we want to achieve in life.
So, create artificial deadlines.
#4 – Systematize your week or plan your day the night before
One of the reasons I've been able to stay consistent with my newsletter (so far...) is because I know exactly when I'm going to work on it each day.
I wake up, make myself a coffee, go for a short walk around the block and then I sit down at my computer to start working.
If I didn't plan my day the night before, then I'd spend the first half of my morning wondering what to do.
Having clarity allows you to take action.
#5 – Manage your energy, not your time.
Science shows that we are each hardwired to have peak energy at different times of the day.
Some are early birds and some are night owls. Me, I'm a late morning, early afternoon kind of guy.
Knowing that, I try to avoid leaving important tasks until late in the day. I schedule them during my peak energy hours.
You should do the same. Energy is a finite resource.
The more tired we are, the more likely we are to procrastinate.
#6 – Increase your energy
The more tired you are, the more likely you are to procrastinate.
It make sense that eating, exercising and sleeping well are fundamental to fighting procrastination, right?
Increase your energy to achieve peak productivity. That's high-performance.
#7 – Start small
'Procrastinator' can become an identity. Once this happens it starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But, as we start taking action on those important tasks - no matter how small that action is - we begin to change our identity.
We can go from a 'procrastinator' to a 'doer'.
Get the small wins. It builds momentum.
90 mins in the gym? Start with 20.
#8 – Change your environment (social support & distractions)
We are all people pleasers to some extent and tend to fit in with the crowd.
So surround yourself with go-getters. It will have a big difference on your own ability to overcome procrastination.
Similarly, take away distractions from your environment.
Nothing will lead to procrastination quicker than having the option for pleasure at your fingertips.
Phones, emails, people, alerts etc. Get rid of them if you want to avoid procrastinating.
#9 – Journal & address the underlying issues
By journaling, we might come to the source of why we are putting that important work off.
Maybe it's fear of failure. Maybe the task is overwhelming. Maybe we're low on confidence and doubting our abilities.
Understanding the underlying cause for your procrastination is important.
Once understood, you can then look at it logically and address the issue.
Without awareness, we will continue to procrastinate.
#10 – Visualize the negative future
What is the future cost of not doing this?
Visualize it.
Focus on the pain and the consequences of not taking action on the project. Not going to the gym. Not taking the steps towards your dream.
In the moment, we are disconnected from the future pain. We only think about the short-term.
But, thinking about the long-term pain will help you take action in the present.
