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Develop discipline
how to stop procrastination
- Thread starter farmboyxxx
- Start date
340
If you find that you're wasting too much time on things like YouTube or games or other social media, then you're probably feeling pretty frustrated with yourself at this point. Perhaps you've been trying for a long time to get these habits under control with little success so far.
Importantly: It's not useful to just say "I need to stop being on my phone so much!"
Instead, in order to eliminate procrastination, you need to get it at the root.
You get to the root by understanding how procrastination works. So let's get into that now:
Why you procrastinate
Here's the rule:
If you don't WANT TO do it, and if you don't HAVE TO do it... then you won't do it.
Take a second to roll that around in your head, and tell me if that's the truth or not. Have you ever done anything in your life that you neither had to do (i.e. obligation, force, coercion, persuasion etc) or wanted to do? I think the answer is no.
Now take a look at literally anything that you're procrastinating on. Let's say it's some piece of work for your job or degree. It's due in a few weeks, you don't have to do it now. And also it's just not your favourite way of spending time. It's not fun.
You don't want to do it. Of course, you want to be done with it, but you don't want to do it. Important difference.
So what happens? You don't do it. Simple. But it needs to get done still, so when will you do it? ... Only when you must! Only when you simply cannot delay it any longer. And then there's this switch that flicks in you that goes into this mad scramble that's full of stress and terror and caffeine and no sleep. And eventually you get it done because you always knew that THIS is the exact smallest amount of time you can possibly do it in.
This is how procrastination works. Now, how to use this information to stop procrastinating?
How to stop procrastinating
This is not complicated. It can be slightly difficult at first, but it's well within your ability to do this.
We need to set up two things. First, a schedule-structure that will keep you on track, and second is to establish that you HAVE TO stick with the schedule. I'll show you how.
1. Establish Schedule-structure
Whatever it is that you need to do, put it in a schedule. So figure out when it's time to do this thing, and put it in your calendar, setting up reminders that tell you when it's time.
For your exercise plan, establish when you'll be exercising, where you'll do it, what materials you'll need, and for how long this will go on.
For your work project, break it down into pieces and establish when each piece will need to be done by in order to stay on track. Plug them into your calendar. Set time aside to do them.
2. Establish Necessity (i.e. make it so that you have to)
Continuing with the exercise example - it's difficult to convince ourselves "I must work out today." Because we don't buy it. We know that we can just skip it and that it won't make such a big difference. We can easily talk ourselves out of it.
So let's you and I establish this: Is your exercise habit necessary at all? Don't just answer right away, take a minute with it. Do you find it truly necessary to have an exercise habit at all?
If the answer is "yes" then let's now ask: By when do you need your exercise habit? Again, take a minute to figure it out.
If the answer is "Now" or "ASAP" then take a second to figure out why. Do you truly believe this? Really establish why you believe this. Why is it truly necessary to have your exercise habit in place ASAP?
Now here's the final piece. You can always talk to yourself into saying "tomorrow, tomorrow, later, later". But underneath that is this game you're playing where it's like "How little can I possibly do, and still get the result?" or put differently "How much can I get away with?" or "How long can I get away with doing nothing?" or "What's the absolute minimum that I can do?"
... Why don't we stop playing that game now? This year, let's stop playing this game. It's a dumb game. It's not good. It holds us in immaturity and underaccomplishment. You're better than that. You deserve better than that.
Let's start asking instead "How good can I get? How healthy can I become? How far can I go? How much wellness can I possibly achieve in this lifetime?" And start really asking these questions! Start really orienting yourself THIS way.
[TAKE NOTE!]
take yourself seriously, take your word, your promise seriously
- remember that you're no longer trying to get away with as little as possible, instead you're focusing on becoming as great as you can possibly be
- remember why it's important to start these habits NOW as opposed to next month
- don't get hypnotized by your own excuses, don't believe them. Instead, believe in the leadership that you're establishing now.
- Before you wouldn't do your work until you HAD TO, and that meant there was no more time. NOW you're doing it today because you HAVE TO, because you committed to doing it today.
Importantly: It's not useful to just say "I need to stop being on my phone so much!"
Instead, in order to eliminate procrastination, you need to get it at the root.
You get to the root by understanding how procrastination works. So let's get into that now:
Why you procrastinate
Here's the rule:
If you don't WANT TO do it, and if you don't HAVE TO do it... then you won't do it.
Take a second to roll that around in your head, and tell me if that's the truth or not. Have you ever done anything in your life that you neither had to do (i.e. obligation, force, coercion, persuasion etc) or wanted to do? I think the answer is no.
Now take a look at literally anything that you're procrastinating on. Let's say it's some piece of work for your job or degree. It's due in a few weeks, you don't have to do it now. And also it's just not your favourite way of spending time. It's not fun.
You don't want to do it. Of course, you want to be done with it, but you don't want to do it. Important difference.
So what happens? You don't do it. Simple. But it needs to get done still, so when will you do it? ... Only when you must! Only when you simply cannot delay it any longer. And then there's this switch that flicks in you that goes into this mad scramble that's full of stress and terror and caffeine and no sleep. And eventually you get it done because you always knew that THIS is the exact smallest amount of time you can possibly do it in.
This is how procrastination works. Now, how to use this information to stop procrastinating?
How to stop procrastinating
This is not complicated. It can be slightly difficult at first, but it's well within your ability to do this.
We need to set up two things. First, a schedule-structure that will keep you on track, and second is to establish that you HAVE TO stick with the schedule. I'll show you how.
1. Establish Schedule-structure
Whatever it is that you need to do, put it in a schedule. So figure out when it's time to do this thing, and put it in your calendar, setting up reminders that tell you when it's time.
For your exercise plan, establish when you'll be exercising, where you'll do it, what materials you'll need, and for how long this will go on.
For your work project, break it down into pieces and establish when each piece will need to be done by in order to stay on track. Plug them into your calendar. Set time aside to do them.
2. Establish Necessity (i.e. make it so that you have to)
Continuing with the exercise example - it's difficult to convince ourselves "I must work out today." Because we don't buy it. We know that we can just skip it and that it won't make such a big difference. We can easily talk ourselves out of it.
So let's you and I establish this: Is your exercise habit necessary at all? Don't just answer right away, take a minute with it. Do you find it truly necessary to have an exercise habit at all?
If the answer is "yes" then let's now ask: By when do you need your exercise habit? Again, take a minute to figure it out.
If the answer is "Now" or "ASAP" then take a second to figure out why. Do you truly believe this? Really establish why you believe this. Why is it truly necessary to have your exercise habit in place ASAP?
Now here's the final piece. You can always talk to yourself into saying "tomorrow, tomorrow, later, later". But underneath that is this game you're playing where it's like "How little can I possibly do, and still get the result?" or put differently "How much can I get away with?" or "How long can I get away with doing nothing?" or "What's the absolute minimum that I can do?"
... Why don't we stop playing that game now? This year, let's stop playing this game. It's a dumb game. It's not good. It holds us in immaturity and underaccomplishment. You're better than that. You deserve better than that.
Let's start asking instead "How good can I get? How healthy can I become? How far can I go? How much wellness can I possibly achieve in this lifetime?" And start really asking these questions! Start really orienting yourself THIS way.
[TAKE NOTE!]
take yourself seriously, take your word, your promise seriously
- remember that you're no longer trying to get away with as little as possible, instead you're focusing on becoming as great as you can possibly be
- remember why it's important to start these habits NOW as opposed to next month
- don't get hypnotized by your own excuses, don't believe them. Instead, believe in the leadership that you're establishing now.
- Before you wouldn't do your work until you HAD TO, and that meant there was no more time. NOW you're doing it today because you HAVE TO, because you committed to doing it today.
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watch fitness shows or movies that helps
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Think about yourself in the future if you keep doing it. The pay off will be huge if you’re determined to keep it up
