On Procrastination (an essay I wrote in twenty minutes, for better or worse)
I came up with the idea for this mini-essay two hours ago, and now I’m posting it, because otherwise I would feel like a hypocrite. Just be warned, it may not be perfectly polished.
Here goes: I’ve been experimenting with a new (to me) approach to fighting procrastination - and so far it's been delightfully effective. I mean, I’m still an impressive procrastinator, but I might have moved myself from the Top 10th percentile of procrastinators to the Top 30th percentile.
Here’s how it works: Imagine I have Annoying Task X on my To-Do list. I keep putting it off and off. Why? Well, I recently noticed that a major cause of my procrastination is the discomfort I feel when I even contemplate starting Annoying Task X. For several decades, I’ve dealt with that discomfort by running away from it and doing anything else but Annoying Task X.
My new approach is to do the opposite of running away from the discomfort. I force myself to lean into it. I go all mindful and semi-Buddhist on the discomfort, and say to myself, “Hmmm. What an interesting feeling I experience whenever I think about doing Annoying Task X. I’m curious how the sensation will change when I actually start doing Annoying Task X.” And then I force myself to actually begin Step 1 of Annoying Task X, and I pay attention to that initial wave of extreme discomfort (“Wow, isn’t that a fascinating sensation!” I say to myself). And then I keep working on Step 1 and observe how my brain’s discomfort recedes, often quite quickly. Then I watch as my brain starts to experience pleasurable feelings of productivity and relief as I near Step 2.
As I said, this approach is new to me – but of course, hyper-awareness of your body and mind’s sensations is an ancient technique. In fact, observing my emotions in general is something I’ve been trying to do for a while now (see my essay on Moodwatching). I often use this focus-on-the-pain mindfulness technique when I’m experiencing aching legs while biking or running.
It’s just that I never before thought to apply the technique specifically to procrastination. Maybe I was…procrastinating?
I would love to hear your thoughts on your own battles (successful and otherwise) with procrastination. Thank you!
Good essay. I tell myself I don't have to do the entire project, just start it. Then, before I know, the job is done.
Loved this essay! I too am using this comment section as an opportunity to procrastinate on a larger task that I've been avoiding :) But I do sometimes find that in an attempt to procrastinate a specific task, I complete tons of other tasks instead (I essentially knock everything else off my to-do list, which I can find quite helpful). I do find that if I follow where my energy does want to go (aka not at the daunting task, but at other more manageable tasks), I can still be productive -- just in different ways. But I also find (similar to Frank) that I procrastinate on the items that have a lot of unknowns, or might need a lot of creativity. The inability to put them in a simple 'box' makes them harder to overcome -- but all the more satisfying when you do.