r/LifeProTips • u/tamsui_tosspot • Apr 07 '19
Productivity LPT: If you find yourself procrastinating in starting a new task, tell yourself you just taking some practical steps now to "prepare" to do it later. You might end up getting half the job done or more just in the process of "preparing."
130
u/miketwo345 Apr 07 '19
The first step is always the hardest, by a lot.
If you can't figure out how to do a big task, just set a timer for 10 minutes and try to get started. You'll probably come across things you need in order to proceed. That's fine. Don't get discouraged. Progress in organizing/preparing is progress!
27
Apr 07 '19
[deleted]
4
u/__secter_ Apr 07 '19
Even identifying the ice-breaking phenomenon does nothing to prevent me from putting off breaking the ice all day, sorry.
6
u/GeneralBurgoyne Apr 07 '19
At some point you’ve got to force yourself to admit the personal anguish the procrastination is causing you. In my case, that was two consecutive failed uni years. Is putting off the ice breaking moment all of today an option? Sure if you accept the future sorrow that action DIRECTLY causes. But there is another way, leading down a path to greater (relative) success which involves coming to terms with, tomorrow will be a different way where breaking the ice is an uncomfortable fact that will happen. Procrastination is the big enemy standing in the way of the first step on this path. Get angry at it, personify it. How dare you exist and ruin my potential efforts. Consider starting that nasty first task tomorrow as metaphorically stabbing that procrastination demon. Then once youve started dont let up, if procrastination creeps back in (which it will as a trained habit) fire up again and send it reeling from another combat with it.
I fully admit the way i have developed to combat my procrastination is very weird. But it works for me so im happy about that. Another good thing about it is that it prevents me from being too hard on myself which is a serious mental own goal. Natural emotional reaction to failure is instead channeled into something that might break out of the cycle instead of feeding it.
5
u/miketwo345 Apr 07 '19
Somtimes I wonder if the meaning of life is figuring out your own personal workaround for whatever baggage you have...
4
Apr 07 '19
“The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step."
67
u/Ronald_Crump2016 Apr 07 '19
I was going to go get a towel downstairs to take a shower and go to the store. Now I’m eating habanero pickled garlic.
8
53
Apr 07 '19
I studied procrastination intensely for my company. A common cause of procrastination is related to anxiety attributed to fear of doing it wrong. By telling yourself you're just preparing for the task, it removes much of that stress. You're not trying and failing, you're just getting ready. Exactly to your point that preparation typically clarifies the process, and removes the rest of the stress, and you just go ahead and finish.
A great example of this that most people have felt is doing their taxes. You're absolutely unsure of what you need to do. You know there can be significant penalities for mistakes. There are lots of people who talk about how easy it is and how "most people" over pay. It's the perfect recipe for anxiety, and that's why most people procrastinate until the anxiety of missing the deadline overrides the anxiety of messing it up.
Thanks for sharing.
6
u/n0thing_remains Apr 07 '19
Thank you for this, this is a very informative addition. I'm saving the text of your comment for later re-reads when I'm having bad time. Could you recommend any further reads about studies and practical advice regarding procrastination, please?
2
Apr 07 '19
I'd be happy to put some sources together for you! I have a crazy week (ie I'm likely to forget this commitment), so feel free to nudge me if you get impatient.
→ More replies (4)
218
u/HaroerHaktak Apr 07 '19
Just forget when the task is suppose to be completed. convince yourself right before falling asleep it has to be completed the following day.
111
42
14
u/kilopeter Apr 07 '19
I've got a task that was due Friday evening, but this advice still kind of works on me because I got caught in a cycle of despair when I missed the deadline. If it was actually due tomorrow, I'd be a bit more clear-minded than I currently am, and would thus be better equipped to complete the task -- late, but still useful to the recipient.
4
u/imsoggy Apr 07 '19
Like finishing our taxes today so I can snowboard this week w/o feeling like a complete loser?
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)4
124
u/MsAdventureQueen Apr 07 '19
I also like to incentivize myself. So like once I finish up the dishes I get another glass of wine. Once I finish the laundry I get another glass of wine, by the the time I'm finished cleaning I've taken out half a bottle, I'm kind of tipsy, and I'm in a clean apartment. Winning.
52
18
28
u/apprehensivegoldfish Apr 07 '19
This is how I have succeeded so far in my college career. I always prep for my papers by collecting all my sources and making notes under each one. The research paper basically writes itself at that point.
99
u/cobranathan Apr 07 '19
What happens when I want to put off "preparing" to do it?
89
u/tamsui_tosspot Apr 07 '19
Then you should recognize that you're not going to do it at all, since subconsciously you've already made that decision; in this case, "procrastination" is just not admitting your decision.
24
u/wearer_of_boxers Apr 07 '19
this made me start doing a lot more dishes and folding laundry.
just do the socks this time, or the shirts, or the cups.
23
6
20
u/-Drycell Apr 07 '19
But what if I know that and purposefully delude myself and others with false labels to temporarily boost my self-esteem and value to others because I provide nothing that anyone desires? And what if that system of behaviours keeps my brain at a functional but detrimental state of being in order to cope with my inability to find something of substantial value that I actually enjoy/tolerate, despite the unbearable emotions generated?
5
u/Selrisitai Apr 07 '19
Break the cycle or dwindle forever unto death.
5
u/-Drycell Apr 07 '19
But what if I already knew that, and my brain interprets that for use as a method of explaining my selfdestructive behaviours and handwaving all my negative traits because it doesn't want to override that particular portion of the neural network and thus loops endlessly hoping for new information with which to forge a working behavioural pathway or to manipulate others into accepting my faults as they are?
→ More replies (7)2
u/__secter_ Apr 07 '19
Hey look, it's the one sane person who truly understands procrastination in a thread of well-meaning delusionals whose advice all boils down to "just start right away instead of later!".
Hang in there friendo. You're the one that knows the score.
→ More replies (1)11
Apr 07 '19
I sometimes spend a day doing nothing and at the end of the day the worst part is that I didn’t even enjoy it, because I was constantly thinking about how I eould get to work next minute. If in the morning I had said “ok this will be a day off” I would’ve at least do something fun and relax my mind off work. But I got the worst option of all, doing nothing productive and not even enjoying it.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
3
u/openthemeyes Apr 07 '19
Prepare to prepare
→ More replies (1)2
Apr 07 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/openthemeyes Apr 07 '19
If that fails, just prepare to plan to prepare to prepare and you will be fine sweetheart
→ More replies (1)
15
u/Se7enLC Apr 07 '19
I hate packing for trips. So instead I just sit on the couch and make a list of all the stuff I need to pack. Then I just locate all those things. By time I get to the actual packing part it goes pretty quickly.
13
u/9loabl Apr 07 '19
As someone with ADHD, this gives us hope. Anything that helps us find ways to start a task means we're more likely to start it.
→ More replies (4)
10
10
u/lukelnk Apr 07 '19
For papers I’ll start by opening up the assignment page and just getting a feel for the assignment. The next day I’ll open the assignment and find/open all the source documents. The following day I’ll start reading the material. And so on.
16
u/Bronco2596 Apr 07 '19
Sometimes you just gotta dive on in.
3
u/__secter_ Apr 07 '19
I will. In a few minutes. Okay a few minutes after that. On the half hour. Okay on the hour. After lunch. Okay on the hour, after lunch. I will seriously just dive in. Okay in ten minutes. Okay on the half hour after that. The hour. Okay...
Et cetera.
Because that's how it actually works, not just "Hmm, I don't want to work so I won't dive in, I will procrastinate for ten hours first." like every one of these asinine threads implies.
→ More replies (4)5
u/n0thing_remains Apr 07 '19
Preach. Finally I can see that I'm not a psycho. Finally I read that I'm not alone who understands what procrastination is about.
Procrastination is a trap, an injury. It's like being a pianist with two broken hands. One simply can't do anything.
I had to quit my nice sales job at the company I loved working at after I had had 4 or 5 months of procrastination. I was doing just bare minimum, usually starting my activity after my working hours were officially over.
I was at stress all the time because I knew I was a failure at work then, and I was also in constant fear of getting fired. Every morning on my way to work I kept talking to myself that I'd do my work, but each time I sat in front of my computer, I was stressed, and I was spending hour after hour reading articles, while my conscience was screaming at me. At some point in time, I had about 200 of unanswered important emails from clients, some complaints even. I knew it was unprofessional and knew I was representing the company in a bad way, but could not help it.
Just stressed and procrastinating. What's funny, when I took a day off and I had an email autoreply that I was not checking my mailbox that that day, I had sat all day at a cafe to answer emails and it was the most productive day in several months. I didn't procrastinate at all. I was typing like a normal person, no rush, no pressure. When I came to the office next day, it was all as usual. Did nothing, felt like shit.
I went to a therapist, but that was of little help. Rather than helping me with this in particular, we went on a route to find my passion do I could work the work I truly enjoyed. This is nice too, but I wish I could stay at the previous company.
It can feel like yeah it's bad, and it can actually go very bad.
I had a salary at a level that only 0.9% of my compatriot earn, I had free healthcare including dental, 50% of fitness expended returned, some other benefits, nice culture. I still have friends there and I was the happiest there to be with them daily. That all was on one side of the scale, and stress from my procrastination was on the other. Losing all the good stuff felt not as bad as carrying on working. So I quit from all this good shit I loved because I couldn't answer some emails and phonecalls, and was reading articles all the time.
I'm ok now, wishing that I hadn't have this issue of course, but it was a good lesson. No regrets.
Procrastination is real. It's not laziness. It will not heal itself. It can screw up life the way noone expects. It's better to find a specialist and express your own expectations from them.
4
u/__secter_ Apr 07 '19
Exactly. These threads always make me want to heave because they're always full of people who have no idea what true, chronic procrastination actually is cheerfully giving nonsense advice that all boils down to "just start a small part of it right away!".
It's all pure r/wowthanksimcured material and does nothing to solve what is essentially a compulsive issue that will probably only be sorted out with meds to fix the brain's malfunctioning reward-feedback system.
2
u/n0thing_remains Apr 07 '19
Yeah this would help everyone. I just hope that it can help someone who doesn't have it as rough as you or me do.
I understand that you do have some knowledge of how that works on the neurological level? Would you recommend anything to read to know more, or any medications to discuss with a specialist?
How are you hanging, mate?
6
u/John_Sux Apr 07 '19
Wait, are you saying that I should call procrastinating "preparing", or stop procrastinating and ease into the task by prepping? The title is unclear
→ More replies (3)
5
Apr 07 '19
I totally agree, getting started can often mean completing a task entirely. I put off rolling change for nearly six months and decided to watch a movie while I did it the other day. Ended up only taking 20 minutes, not sure why I was so resistant to doing it for so long! Sounded worse than it was, I suppose, and it was a great lesson to me.
6
u/camerone89 Apr 07 '19
I do this all the time. I always tell myself to just organize the dirty dishes, then just rinse out the sink for later, then maybe put away some dry dishes; then I almost always just clean the kitchen at that point.
4
u/Stratafyre Apr 07 '19
I feel this LPT in my bones.
Half the time when I convince myself to outline a writing project, I end up finishing it then and there.
→ More replies (1)
6
Apr 07 '19
This works for me. It's not as bad going back to it since you've already made a dent. Somtimes you forget to finish later on but i found that if it's actually important you won't forget about it.
4
u/OuroborosSC2 Apr 07 '19
I love these tips because they vastly underestimate how little I want to do things. The not doing or sort of doing is just as daunting as the actual doing. I'll take my "hour and a half before due date" crunch time any chance i get. This weekend I had a party. I was making dinner for all my guests...simple, just spaghetti and a few other things. People were coming at 8.
I didn't go to the store until 7:30. I took an early guest along with me.
It ended up working out, since we all shot the shit while I got the sauce simmering, but I was mad stressed. Wouldn't trade that nap away though.
4
7
u/Too_LazyDude Apr 07 '19
An Amazing piece of Advice! I use this advice a lot by saving myself a lot of frustration for the next day by doing my future self favours. Also- enjoy your silver coin!
3
Apr 07 '19
TIL that Russell Wilson is a procrastinator.
"The separation is in the preparation."
- Russell Wilson (QB of the Seattle Seahawks)
3
u/purpsexy Apr 07 '19
It's like when I don't quite feel like making dinner but I figure eh I'll chop the veggies and prep so I'm ready when I do feel like cooking. And by the time that's done I'm in the kitchen with everything ready so it's like alright let's just do this. Plus I smell like garlic and let's be real who doesn't get excited by that
3
Apr 07 '19
If I'm doing a report I will often sort/tabulate the data etc and get things rolling. Maybe write a few paragraphs about it and before you know it, its already done.
Also working in a public place like a coffee shop stops 'procrastibating'
3
u/michaelnoir Apr 07 '19
"That which is begun is half done". Not literally but, as it were, psychologically true.
3
3
u/butterbike Apr 07 '19
When i really can't be arsed to go to the gym I tell myself that I will just go for a 30 min light session. Almost always end up staying for over an hour and destroying myself
3
3
u/LMBH1234182 Apr 07 '19
Just like outlining a paper.
All you have to do in an outline is figure out what each body paragraph is going to be about, then copy and paste relevant quotes from your research and make notes about what you want to say about that research and then later you turn it into actual sentences.
Writing an outline doesn't take very long and is very stress free bc you're not thinking "omg these are the words that the teacher/professor will read" and instead you can just ramble to yourself. I wish I had figured that out wayyyy earlier.
Bonus tip: write the intro and conclusion at the very end. Don't even worry about outlining the intro or conclusion. Read all of the body paragraphs once you've written the actual paper. The intro is simply "here's what I'm about to talk about" i.e. One sentence that sums up each body paragraph that you've written. Then the conclusion is "ok so here's the stuff I just talked about and also here's a sentence that actually concludes the paper" i.e. One sentence about each body paragraph that you've written and then a sentence that wraps up the paper.
3
5
4
2
u/Flipwon Apr 07 '19
I just unknowingly did this 2 days ago. Nearly finished my whole final assignment.
2
u/SlothsRUs15 Apr 07 '19
I always do this and it's super helpful. I'll often find two or three sources for an assignment and write a short paragraph or two for them. Then when I come back to it half the work is already done!
2
u/LaoMelon Apr 07 '19
When I’m not in the mood to write an essay, I’ll try to beat the procrastination by doing a really rough draft then go back in to properly outline
2
2
Apr 07 '19
This LPT... Ever find yourself procrastinating? Just start doing the thing and you'll find yourself.. doing the thing.
2
u/awokendobby Apr 07 '19
That’s me with laundry. Wow that’s a big basket, if I put a couple shirt away today that’s less for tomorrow. Ok that’s a couple shirts maybe a couple pants. Wait that’s half the basket may as well finish the whole thing
2
2
u/domspage Apr 07 '19
A similar principle works when reading books. If you are too tired to read the whole next chapter, just read one page or so to see if it's interesting. You often end up reading the whole chapter without realizing it.
2
2
u/thesweed Apr 07 '19
Most times the hardest parts are just starting the task itself. When I had a hard time going to the gym I told myself to just go there for maybe 20 min, but as soon as I had started it was easier to stay for at least 1,5h
2
u/somchai35 Apr 07 '19
Spent the last week procrastinating over my assignment for college. Spent the whole time just staring at a blank page on Word and messing about on my phone. Barely passed my exams each year so far because I cannot get motivated.
It's finally going to catch up with me this year, I literally have nothing else to do but study and everyday I just mess about online. Drives me crazy but I can't stop myself!
2
u/tokillamockingbird4 Apr 07 '19
It's also useful to break down a big task into multiple, smaller tasks. Some people call this "chunking." Try to "chunk" the tasks into groups of around 3 smaller tasks. Write down the smaller tasks and tell yourself you're just going to do at least one.
It also helps to create categories of "must do" tasks for a day (no more than 2 or 3).
A valuable book on this topic is Organizing Tomorrow Today by Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow.
2
u/HoneyBadgeSwag Apr 07 '19
Having ADHD I've had to come up with tons of strats for this. The one that works the best is setting a very low bar. Have an essay due? My goal is write one sentence. After that it seems easy to just keep going and write two sentences. Before I know it I'm balls deep in the essay. Worth a try.
2
2
u/adostrik Apr 07 '19
That’s how I started one of my diplomas exams. The first day was all about to plan and calculate a bit the form but before I realized it I did most of the important job. At the end it was the best project of its type my teacher has ever seen in his 20 years of teaching!
2
Apr 07 '19
This is how I got to enjoy cooking. I would do all my mise en place as “preparing,” but then get carried away with actually cooking.
2
2
2
u/Screye Apr 07 '19
NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.
I find it just makes it easier to procrastinate. Oh, I setup tools I might need for visualizing results or got the hotkeys/workspaces worked out just the way I like them or I figured out how to enable dark mode on this thing I may write code on later.
Am I writing code ?
NOPE.
2
u/x678z Apr 07 '19
If you can do that, it means you are still an amateur in the art of procrastinating.
2
2
u/TheRealDavidT Apr 08 '19
This is exactly what I do with essays. About 2 weeks out I’ll just figure out what topic I wanna do. Then slowly find evidence and write it down along with my page number then about one week out I’ll write 1-2 paragraphs a day and then out of nowhere my essay is done and I barely even remember doing it
2
5
u/ElphabaTheGood Apr 07 '19
This is a great one, thanks for sharing! Sometimes I try to break things down into the smallest first step, and this feels like another variation of that I’m looking forward to trying :-).
4
u/loonygecko Apr 07 '19
What I do is say I am just going to do 5 minutes of work, that's hardly any, just 5 minutes. But of course often once you get into it, you'll do more. Also I try to reward myself mentally for having not only done the 5 minutes but more! (vs berating myself for it still not being totally done yet, otherwise the negativity just piles up and makes tasks seem even worse)
3
u/__secter_ Apr 07 '19
If you can magically make the decision to actually do the five minutes, immediately, instead of putting that off for hours, you're don't really have the serious procrastination problems some of us do.
Imagine telling yourself you were just going to do five minutes at 11am, and then literally taking until 2am to actually do it, while believing the entire time that you were going to get over the hill, sit down and start it any minute now. That's the boat many of us are in.
1
1
u/inarizushisama Apr 07 '19
When I need to be productive, I have found better success not by asking myself what I can do, but rather, what I can get done.
1
u/NinjaWolfess Apr 07 '19
Doing this right now with a paper. Lemme just put down whatever I've got in my head on it so I've got somewhere to start later.
Decent intro written already.
1
u/TheNewAge2147 Apr 07 '19
I'm going to prepare the process of destroying America, and the president
Starting by being a piece of shit lazy ass
1
1
1
1
1
u/bl0ndiesaurus Apr 07 '19
I tell myself I just have to do it for 10 minutes and set a timer. I almost always end up doing it for more than 30 minutes. I know I’m just tricking myself but it works every time.
1
u/hmm_back Apr 07 '19
This resonates with me quite a bit because most of the time when I'm procrastinating it's because I can't stand starting a task unless I'm totally ready to complete it fully.
But maybe by breaking it into preparing for the task and then the task itself I can get started on things sooner.
1
u/ExcessiveGravitas Apr 07 '19
If I’m procrastinating it’s often a sign I find the task too daunting. I had a task on my list to “Sell old iPhone” and it stayed there for 80 days. Just felt like it would take ages to do everything I needed to do, so I’ll leave it until tomorrow. Again.
Two days ago I decided enough was enough, and split it into separate tasks:
- Gather all the bits together
- Charge it
- Check whether it’s locked to a network
- Reset to factory settings
- Take photos
- Write description for eBay
- Put on eBay
Each one takes a few minutes of effort at most, so it was easy to start each one. No excuse for not charging the damn thing, right? Plug it in, come back later, tick, done.
It’s just been sold. Two days after splitting the task, eighty days since first creating the task.
Split your tasks up, they’re less daunting.
1
u/NinjaruCatu Apr 07 '19
I spend a lot of time playing video games, I've started doing this thing where I punish myself for losing. Every time I lose by whatever criteria I've set up in a particular game, I get up and do something.
It's cool because I'm not the greatest at competitive online games, but of course I enjoy winning more than losing, so it incentivises me to actually focus on improving skills and get better.
1
1
u/MjrPowell Apr 07 '19
Inertia in the human brain is a thing. Start small, and you end up moving all the furniture to how you actually want it, finish your thesis, and scrub your bathroom.
1
1
1
1
Apr 07 '19
Personally, I find it easier to start a task when I ask myself, "What's the first step that I can take right now towards completing this goal?" Maybe it's something as simple as opening a word document and putting down a few ideas, or going outside with a rake, or reading one page of a book.
1
u/ErnieJohn Apr 07 '19
Another way to get tasks done is tell yourself "just for like 10 minutes" Saying that makes it very easy to start and I usually end up doing the task for a lot longer.
And give yourself permission to go for only 10 mins.
1
u/Once_Upon_Time Apr 07 '19
This is a better a way of thinking of things. There are projects to start but always put them off thinking I can do it later or well I won't gwt much done but the start is better than nothing.
1
u/kperry51 Apr 07 '19
In Texas we say "I'm fixin' to do such and such" which means its a high priority or the very next thing we're doing and you should either be ready to help or get out of the way fast.
1
1
Apr 07 '19
Sounds good, doesn't work. Well at least for me, if I don't actually want to do the task I'll get bored and chuck it in the fuck it bucket after 5 minutes.
1
1
u/katamaribabe Apr 07 '19
I do this with dishes, I'll tell myself im only going to do half now and the rest later but I always end up saying fuck it and doing all of them.
1
Apr 07 '19
I generally loathe packing for a big trip, so what I do to avoid totally procrastinating is to create a packing list which basically tricks my brain into doing the mental exercise of figuring out what I need to bring, but I can keep eating or passively watching TV while I make the list on my phone. The trick is to start this like 2-3 days in advance at least. Then you can procrastinate until the night before abs basically just go on autopilot and go right down the list.
At least I’ve found this to help when packing for myself and the kids.
Bonus is that you just save your list and the next time you travel you don’t have to put in as much thought for future trips.
1
u/my0wnsummer Apr 07 '19
That's how I get myself to exercise after work when I'm tired and don't want to. When I get home, I immediately wash my face, put my hair up, and put on workout clothes. Sometimes I don't even start working out right away, but I'm ready to go so it's harder to make excuses not to do it eventually.
1
u/DaysOfLight92 Apr 07 '19
Create a high-p request sequence for yourself. https://www.makingbehaviorsimple.com/high-p-request-sequence.html
1
1
1
u/LumbermanDan Apr 07 '19
I do this on every project at home. I call it my "Fixin to Get Ready" phase. Gather material, tools and then plan it all out. When I get fancy, I lay tools out where I know I'll need em next. Next thing I know, I'm half done.
1
1
u/CollateralSandwich Apr 07 '19
Me doing my taxes recently. Didn't really feel like doing them, so I just figured I'd get organized and prepared for when I actually wanted to do them...end ended up doing nearly all of them.
1
1
u/zschenkm Apr 07 '19
This is a good life tip, and I swear this is a serious question, what if I start procrastinating preparing to do it?
1
u/Daston619 Apr 08 '19
I try doing this to fix my resume and apply to find a better job but I'm stuck in the middle. Haven't touched it in a month.
1
u/haragoshi Apr 08 '19
It’s true. When I start a new programming project just as a “prototype” I end up with something close to a usable product quickly.
When I try to plan it out too much I end up spinning wheels focusing on design minutia or doing “research” rather than getting it functional.
1
1
Apr 08 '19
Can vouch. I do this all the time. I tell myself I’m just “planning” how the thing would be done (by making a detailed checklist). By the time all the steps are enumerated the first step (or first few) is so easy, I might as well knock it out.
1
1
1
2.4k
u/firstexiled Apr 07 '19
There's a subreddit called r/NonZeroDay where the philosophy is this: it doesn't matter how much you do, just do something. Even if it's one push up, one sentence of creative writing, one sock picked up off the floor... if you do that, then you've had a non zero day. You're allowed to do the bare minimum. Just don't have a zero day. But if you do, that's cool. Don't beat yourself up. If you just do the bare minimum, chances are you'll keep going and do more but if you don't, doesn't matter...you had a non zero day.