Help me, I’m procrastinating again!
By: Fakeha Rahman
Tags: Pomodoro Technique, Procrastination, Self Improvement, Success, Self Help

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

You have to work on an important essay and decide that your house needs cleaning. Or maybe when you finally decide to sit down and study, you remember your friend had called and you had forgotten to call them back. Calling them back is an important task since studies can be done later but it would be rude to not call them since they made the effort to call you!

All of us make decisions like these every day. We all feel like we have something more urgent that needs our immediate attention. Especially if we have to do something we don’t particularly like. When we do something, we aren’t doing something else which might feel more important.

Hence comes the issue of procrastination. Procrastination shares some of its features with addiction and that is why feels so hard, sometimes impossible to break out of. When we do something that we don’t like very much, the areas in our brain associated with physical pain lights up. It tells us to run and things that are more enjoyable seem much more appealing to us. But fret not, it is not all hopeless. All you need to do to break out of the habits of procrastination is to understand how it works and be willing to do something about it!

All habits consist of four parts,

The cue: This is what triggers you to do the habit. Like when you get a text and the phone lights up, you immediately go and check who texted. The phone lighting up is the cue. The routine: This is what happens after you get the cue. Your brain goes into so called “zombie mode” and you do the habit without thinking about it. Like picking up the phone when the screen lights up. The reward: Doing the habit makes you happy, or at least gives you a pleasant feeling. That is why it became a habit. This is what makes you want to do the thing the next time and the time after that. The belief: You feel like you can never change the habit and it’s a part of you now. This stops you from putting any real effort to do something about it.

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Just like any addiction, procrastination gets worse the longer you don’t do anything about it. But there are ways in which you can trick your brain into thinking “Oh, this is fun” for the subjects and tasks that you normally don’t like doing. Here are some of the tips and tricks that helps:

Change the cue: Actively notice what the cues are that distract you from your task. If you always play video games at exactly 5 pm, start doing something else at that time. Willpower is a limited resource. Focusing it just on the cue saves the resource and helps you break the habit of procrastination. No distractions: Find a place with the minimum distractions. The first thing you should do is keep your phone away from the you. It should not be reachable from where you’re working. If you are reminded of any errands, tell yourself that you will do it after a short period of working on your task. Like call your friends after completing one section of your work. Reward based system: Think of your brain as a separate entity. It likes things that gives it pleasure, things that are fun. Even if you force it to do things that are unpleasant for it, it won’t want to do it and hence you procrastinate. But you can trick your brain into liking the task. First, stop telling yourself the task is boring or you just can’t do it. Try to think positively about it. Second, give yourself rewards for completing even the small tasks. Tell yourself you will work for 25 mins with no distractions and full attention and then take a 5–10 min break to scroll on Instagram or text someone. This technique is called the pomodoro and is a very effective way to study or work. After a few pomodoros (25 mins work with breaks), you can take a longer break and maybe play video games for an hour. This makes your brain happy with the task and makes it easier and more enjoyable for you. Process not product: Focusing and stressing about the product triggers the pain response in your brain that makes you want to procrastinate. Focusing on what you are doing right now and trying to be excited about it helps you take interest in the task. Fix an ending time: Fixing a time to end your work is as important as deciding when to start. When you know that you are going to stop working, you tend to work more intensely and use the given time more productively. It also lets your brain know that the given task is going to end and you can have fun after that. Break into chunks: Break your work into smaller chunks/sections and focus on completing one section at a time. Let yourself feel proud for completing a chunk and maybe give yourself a little treat or reward for doing it!

A pomodoro timer (25 mins work with breaks)

Just like changing any habit, changing the habit of procrastination will take time and effort. You won’t be able to just wake up one day and not procrastinate anymore. Don’t be disheartened when it isn’t working as fast as you want it to. Persistence is the key to success.

If you have any other methods to help with the problem of procrastination, let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading this article! Follow for more.