One of the biggest reasons to postpone what we have to do, is this sense that there is still time left for us to get it done.
This isn't entirely bad, as long as "last minute work" doesn't affect us emotionally.
11 reasons we procrastinate
A thread...
One of the biggest reasons to postpone what we have to do, is this sense that there is still time left for us to get it done.
This isn't entirely bad, as long as "last minute work" doesn't affect us emotionally.
Break down the task into smaller measurable tasks.
Add up the times it will take.
Add some buffer.
The sum is the estimated time you will need.
Now compare it with the time you actually have.
We just don't know which one to pick.
FOMO takes over.
What if we pick the wrong one?
Creativity takes over.
The ideas just keep coming.
Sit with each option and imagine the future consequences. Eliminate them, basis what you don't like.
You have a lot to do.
So it becomes easy to procrastinate what, in your head, isn't urgent.
But it could be important.
Classify your tasks into urgent and important.
The most important things in life, will rarely be urgent.
We are paralyzed, because we are scared we might fail.
What if this doesn't work?
So, we don't even start!
I take the smallest first step that I can, which has zero chance of failure.
And that sense of progress, tricks my mind.
It stops feeling scared.
Our mind is trained to warn us of danger.
And hence, it focuses on the bad more than the good.
The trick is to focus on probabilities. And not possibilities.
Just because something is possible, doesn't make it probable.
We are worried our work will be sub-optimal, setting us up for judgement.
Plus, the visualization of what is needed for perfection, overwhelms us.
Accuracy >> Perfection.
Nothing is ever perfect.
But if it accurate, it is well on its way.
A ping.
And we drop our work.
An email.
And we drop our work.
A thought.
We drop our work.
Stop all notifications.
Write down all thoughts that distract you.
Close all other windows.
And follow the Pomodoro technique
https://t.co/EtblWRoHiR
2. Pomodoro Technique
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) November 26, 2021
A time management technique that's proven to maximize productivity and attention.
Break your day into 25min chunks followed by a 5min break (this 30min unit is called Pomodoro).
After about 4 pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-20mins.@sketchplanator pic.twitter.com/3hpQrJpU14
We do not feel like doing it.
We get to it and feel drained.
"I will pick it up tomorrow, when I am fresh."
How we manage our time, is an outcome of how we manage our energy.
Pick up the hardest things to do, when high on energy.
https://t.co/IpHuusS2GM
10. Pick the hardest things when high on energy
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) November 26, 2021
Find out when is your energy at its peak.
Could be early morning, mid-day or late into the night.
Reserve the hardest things for that time.
That is when you will find the flow to get it done.
We want to get fit, but what does that even mean?
We want to feel fulfilled, but what does that even mean?
The more vague a goal we set, the likelier it is that we will procrastinate.
Set small, quantifiable, achievable goals.
Goes back to pt 1 above.
When the result is far away, it becomes hard to understand how our work today will get us there.
We think we still have time!
Break down the journey into smaller milestones.
Pause at each milestone, celebrate, reflect.
We procrastinate that thing the most which does not come naturally to us. That forces us to become someone else to complete it.
Here is the harsh truth
You will never be motivated to do anything that is not naturally you!
I know enough folks who deliver well under pressure.
Their choice to procrastinate stems from their self-awareness.
But not everyone is self-aware.
It baffles me how many of us do not understand the reasons behind their procrastination.
"What is it that I am trying to solve here?"
The deeper I understand the problem, the clearer the solution becomes.
This list is such an attempt.
https://t.co/fIGFT0YrfB
Do follow me @warikoo to catch these threads on your timeline.
I write a thread every Friday
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) August 30, 2020
Here are all of them, chronologically
https://t.co/LIBu8BKvmt
11 reasons we procrastinate
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) December 3, 2021
A thread...
More from Ankur Warikoo
10 ways I am running my current startup differently from the ones before
A thread...
Difference #1
Bootstrapped as against raising money
https://t.co/RKWB3KfMZt was a venture funded company. We raised $43Mn from top investors, but I couldn’t give them a return that I would be proud of. In the process, learning how raising money works but also doesn’t work
My current startup is bootstrapped.
I do not intend to raise money for it.
It has been profitable from Day 1 and that is the way I hope it remains.
I have raised money from customers.
Difference #2
Slow and small
For the past decade, I was in the mode of fast and big.
Being fast was the only thing that mattered.
And you either go big or go home.
Today, I am taking it slow.
Slow to add costs, slow to take decisions that are irreversible.
I am patient because all good things in life take time!
A thread...
Difference #1
Bootstrapped as against raising money
https://t.co/RKWB3KfMZt was a venture funded company. We raised $43Mn from top investors, but I couldn’t give them a return that I would be proud of. In the process, learning how raising money works but also doesn’t work
My current startup is bootstrapped.
I do not intend to raise money for it.
It has been profitable from Day 1 and that is the way I hope it remains.
I have raised money from customers.
Difference #2
Slow and small
For the past decade, I was in the mode of fast and big.
Being fast was the only thing that mattered.
And you either go big or go home.
Today, I am taking it slow.
Slow to add costs, slow to take decisions that are irreversible.
I am patient because all good things in life take time!
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