A little while ago, my co-founder and I started to understand what causes us to procrastinate. I want to share what we've learned.
For us, the main cause of procrastination is lack of clarity on what needs to be done.
It's tricky, because sometimes you might feel like you know what needs to be done. But your next steps are too high-level. You're holding too much in your head at a time - and it's stressful. You don't know precisely where to start.
People used to think procrastination was a sign of poor time management and laziness. Now, psychologists understand that "procrastination is an issue with managing our emotions, not our time." [1] When the task we're putting off isn't clearly defined, it seems too difficult. It makes us "feel bad". And so "to make ourselves feel better in the moment, we start doing something else."
The best way to address this is to start breaking things down. This will make the task easier, and so there won't be an emotional burden with getting started.
Start by jotting down a list of everything you can think of that's related to your task. In this brain-dump - let ideas flow freely. Don't cut yourself off to try to write better. And don't make your list in your head! Write it down. [2]
Once you jot down your first list, scan through what you've written. Is there anything that's not specific and actionable? If so, zoom in and do another brain-dump on that task. Repeat until you only have very specific items.[3]
When you're done, you'll have a very simple next task to do. You won't be intimidated anymore and you'll be able to get started without pressure.
So, the next time you see yourself procrastinating. Ask yourself - "How completely do I understand the next task I need to do?"
[2] See how creator Adam Stanton uses checklists to tackle big creative problems: https://www.wired.com/story/adam-savage-lists-more-lists-power-checkboxes/
[3] Specific tasks use specific verbs. Read more: https://blog.amazingmarvin.com/break-large-projects-tasks-bite-sized-tasks/
[4] More on how my team does brain-dumps: https://medium.com/better-programming/cultivate-your-can-do-attitude-10864742d76d
Image from Karim MANJRA: https://unsplash.com/@karim_manjra?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText
Top comments (2)
Totally agree: if I’m not sure I have all the information I need to work on a task, it’s more difficult to tackle it, especially if like me you’re a natural procrastinator ;)
I found out another cause for intense procrastination is the lack of a goal: if I don’t know why I have to work or something, what purpose it serves, it’s going to be difficult for me to go on. In his book Smart, Faster, Better, Charles Duhigg proposes a solution to this problem.
By defining SMART goals, the productivity on a task can be drastically boosted. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and associated with a Timeline. But although these goals can help you accomplish tasks, they can be quite artificial. You can get stuck by defining easy goals without accomplishing a lot in the end.
This is why Duhigg introduces the notion of stretch goals. They are goals in the long term, such as “I want to run a marathon”, “I want to write a book about improving as a developer” or “I want to finish this project”. Stretch goals define a clear purpose, what you truly want to achieve. It’s when you want to associate them with a concrete plan that SMART goals become useful. You can then define several SMART goals, each one representing a step towards your stretch goal.
Very well said - I'm going to check out that book!
This makes a lot of sense. Personally, my goals range quite a bit in size/complexity. I have some stretch goals that span 1 week, some 1 month, some 10 years. But I the same principles apply.
Thanks so much for sharing this!