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<\/p>\nHey there,<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be honest. Procrastination is something we all do sometimes. Whenever we\u2019re supposed to do something that\u2019s not super fun and exciting, something that requires hard, intense and deep work, it tends to happen that our brain gets in our way and finds lots of highly interesting, yet distracting activities that we might partake in, instead of further continuing the task at hand.<\/p>\n
Imagine, you\u2019re studying, trying to write an essay. Maybe you\u2019re simply at work, performing your daily tasks. Maybe you have to do tons of research, or you\u2019re trying to get some words on paper. Whatever it is you\u2019re doing, the scenario is: you\u2019re trying to work.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, something random pops into your mind.<\/p>\n
– Oh, that\u2019s right, I still have to pay my electricity bills.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018Looks cloudy outside. I wonder what the weather is going to be tomorrow\u2019.<\/p>\n
– \u2018Let me just check how my stock\/cryptocurrency portfolio is doing.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018I feel like playing a round of Overwatch\/Fortnite\/League of Legends\/….\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018My hair is getting too long, I should make an appointment with my hairdresser.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2019I should check my e-mail.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018The fridge is empty. I should go get groceries from the store.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018I still have to wash the dishes.\u2019<\/p>\n
– \u2018Let\u2019s see what\u2019s happening on Instagram.\u2019<\/p>\n
There are literally thousands of possible random ideas like these that can pop up in your head.<\/p>\n
We easily let ourselves get fooled by these random mental pop-ups. That\u2019s because some of these seem important at first sight. You can argue that Instagram and video games are just entertainment, and just summon your discipline to ignore this. (if you have any left)<\/p>\n
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Me: \u201cStudy or wash the dishes?\u201d Brain: \u201cDishes!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But what about the other kind? You have to pay your bills, right? What if you miss an important e-mail? And you also have to eat, or you\u2019ll starve to death!<\/p>\n But if you look at it from a third-person perspective, it\u2019s easy to spot that this is just your brain trying to get away from work, and it\u2019s thinking of excuses to make this happen. Your brain is lazy. It does not like things that take effort, things that don\u2019t give you that instant reward, a new shot of dopamine every 15 minutes.<\/p>\n So it makes up stuff to do, little activities that do provide you with that addictive dopamine boost. These things might or might not be important, but they always take very little effort. There\u2019s no mental pop-up that goes: \u2018oh, I still have that fifty-page report to write, better go do that now\u2019.<\/p>\n Oftentimes, these activities are actually of some importance. Think paying bills or getting food from the grocery store. The fact that these are not mere trivial entertainment activities provides you with a justification to abandon your work…only for a while, of course.<\/p>\n Nevertheless: in the end, although we might be able to rationalize afterwards, these random, trivial activities constitute nothing more than generic, standard procrastination.<\/p>\n This phenomenon can be tricky to deal with. Our mind is super good at rationalizing things and providing you with a good reason to take a well-earned break. In a way, that\u2019s how we can become our own biggest enemy when productivity is at stake.<\/p>\n To counter this, I personally use a special technique, that has proven itself to be super effective for this type of situation\u2026<\/p>\n I call it:<\/p>\n The Do It Later Junk List is exactly what the name implies: it\u2019s a list where you put all of the semi-important junk activities, and you allow yourself to do these later on.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n First, you free up one block of time during the day. There\u2019s no set limit to how long this block must be. One hour is a good rule of thumb. The time you allot also depends on how long your distractions usually take. After all, going to the store to buy food can take a bit longer than just checking tomorrow\u2019s weather or paying your bills.<\/p>\n For starters, just take out one hour per day. Personally, I use 1 to 2 PM as my timeslot. Maybe that doesn\u2019t work for you, and 5 or 6 PM suits you better. Whatever floats your boat, just pick an hour.<\/p>\n The next step is equally simple. Take a small piece of paper, like a post-it, and put it somewhere near to where you\u2019re working. You can also use a note-taking app like Evernote<\/a> or the Sticky Notes app<\/a> to create a virtual post-it on your computer screen. As long as you\u2019re able to take notes within arm’s length, it\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n Now, every time something pops into your mind, write it down on the post-it note or your note-taking app.<\/p>\n This note becomes your \u2018Do It Later Junk List\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n The idea is simple: you allow yourself to do all these random things, but only during your allotted time slot.<\/p>\n The reason why this tactic is so effective is that writing all this stuff down gives you a feeling of instant gratification each time you do it. It\u2019s as if you\u2019ve already done the task, but without wasting and cluttering up your time.<\/p>\n The dreadful feeling of \u2018I still have to do some other stuff\u2019 is removed because your brain knows that it will be done, and the urge to procrastinate simply dissipates.<\/p>\n Where you usually tend to break up your productive time in multiple fragmented blocks, because of the dozen different random things that pop-up during work every day, this time you do all of it at once. This allows you to keep focusing for an extended amount of time on your work, which works wonders for your productivity.<\/p>\n As it turns out, once you bundle all of these things together, you tend to get them done really fast. At first, you might think you\u2019ll need at least an hour for all your junk list items, but it\u2019s likely you\u2019ll be done in less than thirty minutes. Most of the little random things you think of usually take no more than five minutes.<\/p>\n Another positive side-effect is that over time, you\u2019ll notice that you tend to get less and less of these random pop-ups. It\u2019s like your brain knows that it\u2019s become impossible to try to fool you, so it doesn\u2019t even bother anymore.<\/p>\n And only one item remains on the list…<\/em><\/p>\n The Do It Later Junk List has to be used strategically.<\/p>\n For example, the Do It Later Junk List is not to be used for video games, watching TV shows, or anything of a pure entertainment nature.<\/p>\n This is because \u2018one hour of gaming\u2019 can quickly turn into two or three hours. One episode of your favourite show quickly becomes \u2018just one more\u2026\u2019, and that\u2019s how you end up binge-watching.<\/p>\n The list is only to be used for things that seem somewhat important, or of clearly defined tasks. Before you write anything down on the do-it-later junk list, you need to know beforehand exactly what it is that you want to achieve.<\/p>\n For example, if you want to shop online, you need to know exactly what it is you want to buy and write that down. This is from preventing you to go down the Amazon rabbit hole for an extended journey.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to fill up your personal Do It Later Junk List to your heart\u2019s desire. You can have five items, ten items, or even twenty. During your free block of time, you can whatever you want.<\/p>\nThe \u2018Do It Later Junk List\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nTake caution – using the List the correct way<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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