Incoming emails. Put rubbish bins outside. Pick up shirts from the laundry. And finally, prepare that report for the management meeting.

The never-ending to-do list just keeps growing. Like a thrashing train, it builds momentum.

The tasks themselves are not the problem. The problem is how to start those tasks.

Because STARTING is the PROBLEM. Not doing, but starting.

Procrastination Paradox

Procrastination is a defensive mechanism. It is meant to protect us from negative emotions and discomfort.

  • Your brain interprets hard things which are good for you, as a “danger”.
  • While scrolling on Instagram is considered a “safe place”.

And so we keep scrolling. Go figure.

Some symptoms of procrastination:

  • You know you need to submit your paper by tonight. So you spend the entire day cleaning the house. Only to rush the submission at lastminute dot com.
  • You’re constantly agitated and tired. You know you need to do that one thing, but for some magical reason, you don’t.
  • You feel anxiety and fear about something that hasn’t happened yet… and probably never will.
  • There’s a general chaos in your priorities. Everything seems important and critical.

So here’s what you can do instead…

When the Task Takes less than 2 Minutes

Just do it. Like right away.

  • Reply to the Teams message.
  • Take out the rubbish.
  • Prepare clothes for the morning workout.

Don’t keep that one short job in your head. Or even worse, DO NOT CREATE another task on your Personal Kanban. No matter how tempting.

Your free mind will thank you. Your self-esteem might go slightly up.

And what if it takes longer? Just write it down somewhere where you know you will check later. Your brain won’t need to keep thinking about this task.

Our brains are great at computing, not necessarily storing information.

This technique comes from “Getting Things Done” by David Allen.

When the Task Takes More than 2 Minutes

Yes, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. So what to do?

Take this one dreaded task and start working on it. With a limit of two minutes. All you need to do is work on it for two minutes, and then you can drop it and start working on anything else.

The two minutes are usually long enough for you to keep working.

Your body needs 90 seconds to clear out negative emotions. Make no mistake, this will be the longest 90 seconds of your life.

When you open the laptop, you will feel bad. That’s emotions. Your body wants to protect you from this awful task.

But as you keep going, your system realises it’s not such a dangerous task as it initially seemed. By the time two minutes are up, there won’t be a sign of any negative emotions you had before.

Oh, and if you need anything for this job - be it a tool, pen, or some application - prepare it beforehand. Finding the perfect app is yet another form of procrastination.

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Summary

  • Procrastination is a defence mechanism.
  • Your mind confuses hard work with danger.
  • Less than 2 minutes task: do it right away.
  • When it takes more than 2 minutes: Write it down.
  • For long dreaded task: spend 2 minutes on it. After 2 minutes, you can stop if you wish.
  • Procrastination is nothing but emotions fueled by fear.

———

Who would have thought that two minutes can make a difference between done and not done?

Both kinds of tasks need recognition. Whether it’s a short one or a longer one - they will need to be dealt with sooner or later.

So why delay and let emotions antagonise you for days, weeks, months… hopefully not years.