I always put everything off for later so i end up with my house uncleaned, books unread, meals uncooked, programming not learned etc. Could anyone offer advice on how to stop procrastinating?
I read a pretty good rule of thumb to avoid a lot of procrastination that ends up making things worse for you later on.
It’s something like the 2-5 minute rule. If it can be done in 2-5 minutes, just do it now.
So, for example:
- Milk carton empty? Take it to the recycling now. You won’t remember to recycle it later and it will sit there for days
- Need a shower? Jump in now. Not later. Do it now.
- Need to call somebody or email somebody about something? Do it right away. You won’t remember later.
- Need to pay a bill online? Pay it when you remember, don’t say “Oh I’ll remember later, I still have 10 days to pay it.” This leads to defaulting on your bills.
It’s harder for items that take longer than 2-5 minutes, so for example needing to do large projects or invest several hours in something can lead to massive procrastination because you’re not ready to invest that time. But if it can be done quickly just do it now and get it over with.
I was procrastinating showering by browsing Lemmy, this comment made me get up and do it. Thank you.
When I want to make sure I do something I create an event in google calendar for when I want to do it. So the act of deciding to do the thing doesn’t have to be linked to the pain of actually doing it. Then when that time comes and I get the event reminder I can’t be like “I’ll do it some other time” because this is the very specific time I decided to do it, and if not now when? Not foolproof, I blow through a reminder event or push it back to another time once in a while, but it helps.
@psychothumbs @kapx132
I wish that strategy helped me, but it usually doesn’t. Having #PDA means that I see that calender appointment as a demand, making it even less likely that I’ll do the thing ☹️Hmm that is too bad. For some reason the fact that I am the one making the demand seems to short circuit that oppositional feeling for me.
Set a 10 minute timer, tell yourself to get started and you can take a break after.
Find ways to reward yourself for accomplishing things. Made dinner? Have a nice dessert or watch a new show.
Find alternative ways to achieve the same or similar goals. Struggling to find time to read? Try audiobooks. Want to learn to program? Find a YouTuber you like and follow along with their tutorial.
If you’re like me, then you need to find ways to work with yourself instead of trying to force it in ways that don’t mesh.
