How to procrastinate effectively - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How to procrastinate effectively - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Search for procrastination on google and youll find a massive number of articles on how to stop procrastinating and get stuff done. They will tell you that there is only one reliable way to get stuff done: Check todo-list for next item Complete item no matter what it is Go to step 1 Theyll tell you that if only you had enough willpower, backbone, self-control and discipline this is how you would work too. Well guess what: Most people dont work that way. Sometimes youre in the mood for task X and doing X is ridiculously easy and a lot of fun. Sometimes doing X feels worse than walking barefoot over burning-hot, acid-covered, broken glass and forcing yourself to do it anyway is a frustrating exercise in futility. Sometimes procrastinating is exactly the right thing to do at a particular moment. This is largely ignored by the procrastination-is-a-sign-of-weakness, the-devil-finds-work-for-idle-hands crowd. An example: Sometimes I have a great idea for a blogpost, but I cant get it written. I try writing it one way, I try another but I just cant get it finished. Invariably, I procrastinate. Suddenly while Im procrastinating, the idea I was missing comes to me and the whole blog post is suddenly clear in my mind. When I next sit down to write it, it takes no time and writing it is a pure pleasure. I couldve forced myself to write the blogpost the first time around if Id had enough discipline! But it would have been a struggle all the way and the result wouldnt have been half as good. I can just hear people crying Well, your blogposts still arent half as good :o) Thats another discussion! For me, procrastination is just another tool I use. A way to recharge and get ideas. The important thing is to procrastinate effectively. Heres how you do it: 1: Procrastinate without guilt Do not beat yourself up for procrastinating. Everybody does it once in a while. It doesnt make you a lazy bastard or a bad person. If you leave a task for later, but spend all your time obsessing about the task youre not doing, it does nothing good for you. So procrastinate without guilt. 2: Procrastinate 100% Do you know those people who procrastinate from some important task and all they can talk or think about is the task theyre not doing. Often to the point of obsession! Dont. Throw yourself 100% into whatever it is you are doing, whether youre vacuuming, watching TV, reading, surfing the web or out drinking with your friends. Do it and enjoy it to the max. 3: Choose to procrastinate Dont let procrastination sneak up on you, so that you suddenly find that youre doing something other than you should be. Instead, choose consciously to not work on your current task. Instead of fighting it, say to yourself I will now procrastinate. This way procrastination isnt something that happens to you, something that youre powerless to control. As if it ever could be :o) This way youre in charge and procrastination is a tool you use. 4: Ask yourself why you procrastinate There can be many good reasons to procrastinate: Some crucial ideas, notions, thoughts may come to you only when youre not working on your project. Effective procrastination recharges your batteries and gives you new energy. Maybe theres something else you could be doing instead and procrastinating means you get it done. Maybe whatever it is youre supposed to do, turns out to be irrelevant or even a bad idea. Maybe the reason you procrastinated was, that your subconscious knew this before your conscious mind. Working non-stop means missing out on all of this. When you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself why. Dont just accept the traditional answer: Theres something wrong with me, Im a bad, lazy person. 5: Take responsibility for procrastinating When you choose to procrastinate, make sure to update your deadlines and commitments. Let people know, that your project will not be finished on time and give them a new deadline. Procrastinate now. I dare you! Procrastination is not bad in itself. Do it right, and its a way to be more efficient and have more fun with what youre working on. In fact, I challenge you to procrastinate this very moment. Pick a task that you should be working on right now, but where your heart isnt really in it. Then, rather than work half-heartedly on this task, procrastinate fully and consciously as described above. Notice how it changes how you think about your task and what it does for you when you procrastinate 100% and without feelings of guilt. Then write a comment and tell us how it went. Other resources Considering how common an activity procrastination is (most people do it some of the time), youd think thered be more pro-procrastination resources out there, If youre not yet convinced, here are some other pro-procastination articles: I set aside feeling guilty about putting things off by Barbara J. McKee. Why dont we do the thing we want most to do? by AmbivaBlog. Good and bad procrastination by Paul Graham. If you liked this post, Im pretty sure youll also enjoy these: Top 10 tips for productive, creative, fun writing My lazy life The cult of overwork Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related