Extra easy
anti-procrastination technique,

“Change is the only constant.” – Heraclitus

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Throughout life, we keep shaping ourselves, reaching towards the idea of who we’d like to be, inwardly promising ourselves to do all these habits that we think this ideal version of ourselves would do on a daily basis.

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But we constantly find ourselves deviating from this road we mentally paved in order to reach the desired lifestyle. We don’t have time, we don’t feel like it, we do not feel motivated to do energy-consuming activities.

 

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Maybe we’d like for our own persons to:

• workout and stretch daily

• to give our pets the playtime they deserve

• to not let a mountain of dishes rise in the sink

• to hydrate enough

• to finish reading all these books we were so excited about when we started

• to take good care of our mind through meditation

• to breathe more fresh air and connect with Mother Nature

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Maybe we’d like ourselves to be some sort of way, a productive non-time-wasting way, a way that makes us live “right”, that makes us proud of who we are and how we live and makes this self-love thing easier.

 

But we keep postponing things. Procrastination is the big fat heavy monster that gets in the way of getting things done. And it’s really hard to overcome if you lack its kryptonite – motivation.

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Unfortunately, motivation does not depend on you. It just happens randomly, sometimes at 3 a.m.

 

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Luckily there’s an anti-procrastination technique that doesn’t involve motivation, plus it’s really easy.

 

 

Here’s the funny story behind it:

I’ve always been in good shape, but as years went by, I felt the need to ensure that I don’t lose the muscle definition I’ve had since I was a kid. So, I started working out at home.

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The first few days were great, because I felt motivated. But later on, motivation decreased and I just couldn’t get myself to start doing the workout.

Until one day I totally skipped doing it. And then the next day the same. And on the third day I started feeling bad about myself.

 

So, I started bargaining with myself. I decided I would do the workout, but in an easier version. This meant, for example, that instead of 100 crunches, I would only do 10.

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And I agreed with myself. Because it meant less energy consumption.

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Then, I cracked my back, stretched for a few seconds and then laid down on the carpet of my bedroom. I started doing crunches. I did 1, then 2, then 3 and so on, until I finished doing all 10.

 

Then I did the 11th, and then the 12th … I couldn’t stop. The first 10 were so easy and they went by so fast. I felt like while I’m at it, I might as well just do a few more. And then more, and so on. In the end, I couldn’t believe I just did 100 crunches, instead of just 10.

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I thought to myself: “Did I just trick myself into working out?”. I was confused… and amazed.

 

I did the same type of self-bargaining with the next exercises and at the end of the workout I realized I didn’t do an easier version of it. I had done the complete workout!

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I thought: “Did I just crack some sort of life cheat code? What if I do the same with other activities?”

And it worked with other kinds of activities or chores too!

 

 

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So, this easy anti-procrastination technique goes like this:

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Instead of planning to do an entire, energy-draining, complete activity, just get yourself to do a very small part of it, like only washing a plate instead of everything in the sink.

You’ll find yourself washing the cutlery too! And since the only thing left is the pot you cooked in, you might as well just wash that too so everything is complete.

 

It’s always hard to start. Mainly when you think about big tasks. It’s easier for us to accept smaller ones.

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Then, when starting an activity it’s really hard to stop. Because deep down you’re proud of yourself for getting up and getting busy. You’ll catch yourself thinking “While I’m at it, I might as well do more.”

 

The final stage of this technique regards the moment when you finish the entire task because you were already so close to completing it. It’s based on the fact that complete things are satisfying. It’s like seeing something load to 100%.

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Sometimes, we might not get to the final stage of the technique, which is not compulsory. But even if we don’t do the entire task, we still do something, which is better than nothing.

 

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Just by convincing yourself to do a super simple task, you might end up doing the complete one.

 

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Here are some examples:

• instead of reading 50 pages a day, only tell yourself to read 1

• instead of folding all the clothes on “the chair” (we all have “the chair”), just fold the pants

• instead of spending 15 min playing with you dog, only throw his toy to fetch it 2 times

• instead of submitting that paper, just write the title and 50 words

• instead of unpacking, just take out 3 items

 

 

There you have it! The instant easy cure for procrastination!

Use it to get things done, form habits, shape yourself and outline your ideal lifestyle!

 

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Go try it!

What’s a thing you just couldn’t get yourself to do lately, but you have to?

What’s a really small version of it?

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