7 easy ways to stop procrastinating

1. 1. Put yourself in the right environment
   2. Never stop when you want to stop (read below!)
   3. Create manageable milestones
   4. Know thy competences
   5. Find meaning in everything you do
   6. Get rid of decision fatigue
   7. When the wheel is spinning: Take advante of the momentum

1. Put yourself in the right environment

Very often I find myself highly motivated trying to write, organize or playing the piano. But as it can be a struggle to fall asleep with 3 mosquitos around your head, it is also a struggle to get things done, when you have distractions around you. What follows are 5 reasons, that promote distraction:

-> noises of tv’s, smartphones, trains, etc
-> distracting things on the table you work at
-> noisy people in the room
-> the crowded interface of the device you are working with
-> the endless amount of thoughts in your head

2. Never stop when you want to stop

This idea may sound a bit odd, but it’s easier as it seems plus super effective at the same time. Here’s the science behind this easy hack: If we do something right according to our brain, it rewards us with chemicals like dopamine. Dopamine makes us feel great and it’s the sign from our brain, that we should do it again. Next time when we notice a trigger of what we did the last time (for smokers it can be the coffee break), the brain releases dopamine before we did anything at all. So we feel joy, just by anticipating, that something joyful will happen soon. With this knowledge we can manipulate our mind to keep the wheel going for whatever we need to do.

Long story short, here’s how it works:
When you are done with the minimum amount of time you want to spend on your task, you don’t stop. You only stop at the moment when you are excited and joyful. That’s the window you have to find! This brought me through studying for the math high school diploma (to clarify, mathematics and I are no friends). With this strategy it was like with someone you get acquainted to (math in my situation) and judged this person just by its looks. Usually when you start your first conversation with this person you think “well, he’s not that bad as I thought he is.” That’s the exact same effect you will feel if you use this strategy correctly. Don’t be disappointed if you won’t find the window of joy immediately. If you really want it, you will it. Be patient and vigilant!

3. Create manageable milestones

There’s a vast amount of skills we typically won’t acquire in regular schools. One of these necessary skills to get things done super efficiently is the ability to create manageable milestones:

1. 1. Recognize the big picture of what you plan to do

1. 1. Define what skillset you really need to reach the peak of the mountain

1. 1. Break down the goal into manageable milestones

Your will increase the chance of success tremendously if you are able to recognize quickly what the goal is. High achievers visualize in their minds already how the journey could look like. Subsequently reflect on yourself if you need to obtain further knowledge or the support of other people to get started. Last but not least define clearly, how far you have to go to reach the mini milestones, which you for sure are allowed to celebrate, once you are done with them. Visualize it on a paper or with a chart on your computer. This will keep your motivation high, instead of feeling overwhelmed, once you are stuck.

There is just one pitfall you have to take care of:
Our brain is smart in tricking us, to avoid the feeling of unease. It will give you reasons why you should postpone working on your project if you feel stuck or any other inconvenient feeling. This is your opportunity to show grit. If you are not able to continue your work because you feel there is intelligence missing in your skillset, keep on working on another part of your project, or try to research immediately in order to keep working. If you feel unease, because the big picture looks too overwhelming, and you become convinced that this is not achievable – don’t surrender! Write down what skillset is necessary and break down the big milestone in smaller manageable milestone anyway. The whole process I described to you is a habit and it will get easier, the more often you put yourself in the situation of pushing despite the resistance of your mind.

4. Know thy competences

There is nothing wrong with admitting, that you lack knowledge in order to get things done. Nothing’s more frustrating, than trying to work towards a goal without making progress. Dare to admit to yourself that there is space for improvement and immediately find out who has the competences in that field or where you are able to acquire that knowledge. There are billions of people out there believing they are already experts in their field with making average progress. Do not fall for mediocrity, be open and reach out to the best of the best in what you want to get done. Important: If this habit of seeking for excellence develops to an extreme, it’s very likely that you get stuck because you start to believe you need to become perfect in order to start. This is not the case. Keep this in mind, if you fall for this trap.

5. Find meaning in everything you do

Here we have one of your core values, of somebody who mitigated procrastination to a minimum (let’s be honest, we’ll never completely get rid of it, and that’s OK!). Finding meaning kept humanity busy since centuries and it is the key for becoming what you desire. For this subject will surely follow a very unique single blog post, but for now, let’s articulate comprehensively how meaning will benefit you regarding getting things done. Meaning is the intrinsic reason, that allows human beings and even corporates to keep going even when the hardest winters are trying to erase their willpower and motivation. It is the result of deep reflection or dramatic experiences, that alters someone’s reality very effectively.

If you remember Matthew Mcconnaughey in the movie Interstellar, he surmounted all the adversity during his odyssey through space, always with the purpose to see his daughter again. It was his deepest desire to be reunited with the one loving human being he left behind in order to safe humanity. Viktor Frankl described in his popular best seller “Men’s search for meaning” that only those who held on to their hope of seeing their beloved ones again, had a much higher chance to survive the concentration camps. He always encouraged his fellow inmates, to never lose meaning and hope, even despite the tremendous agony and pain in these camps. Whatever it is for you, you are trying to achieve or getting done: You have to, I repeat, you have to find meaning in what you do, otherwise you will give up at the first or second opportunity. There’s is a great explanation and instruction about how to find meaning made by Simon Sinek on YouTube. He called his technique “Start with why”.

6. Get rid of decision fatigue: How decisions deplete your willpower

Baffled about the fact that human individuals make qualitative better decisions in the morning than in the evening made cognitive researchers become curious about the causes. The discoveries were not surprising: The more decision one has to make over course of the day, the more the quality of following decisions diminished. That means for you, when you are done with a day full of deciding and you want to get things done in the evening, it’s very likely that you will choose the easier option, just because your willpower went on a freefall since the morning. Hello Netflix, goodbye goals!
How to encounter this unfortunate situation?

What do Barack Obama, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs have in common? All of them dramatically decreased their clothe options. They have a very limited amount of clothe in their wardrobes, in order to safe willpower. If you want to go crazy, you can even decide the evening before, what you want to wear tomorrow. Further ways to take care of your limited decision ability are:
-> planning ahead and making decisions the evening before
-> delegating work, permanently
-> automating processes
-> limiting options

7. When the wheel is spinning: Take advantage of the momentum

Airplanes, Ships, and all human beings take way more energy to get started, compared to when the engine is running already. How can you absorb the momentum? Whenever your wheel is spinning, like going for groceries, doing a workout or bringing the kids to school, use this momentum and connect another intention once you finished the first one. The moment you come home, sit on your chair or couch and take out your phone, your momentum is gone. Whereas when you come home and immediately go for the fridge to take out your food, you will even get your groceries into the fridge additionally with ease. No motivation needed. Don’t underestimate momentum.