Say you are in one of these situations where your task is to: (i) prepare for a test; or (ii) take a crash-course on Python; or (iii) write a blog post on a particular topic. Do you see yourselves finding it hard to get started and instead you drift away doing other things that are a lot more fun or just find stuff to do that are way more important? It has been well established that putting off such tasks is not due to laziness. There is also a fancy term for this in the world of literature called writer’s block. It is not only fancy but also nice as it gives the feeling that many people go through it, unlike word procrastination which sounds quite negative. How does one get over this?
If none of (i), (ii) or (iii) referred to in the previous paragraph apply to you, consider yourselves in a situation where there is a task at hand to perform and you absolutely do not have the drive or motivation to do it. The task itself is important but not terribly urgent. Also, the rewards are uncertain and even if they are likely, it is only in the long term. So a carrot or stick approach would not work. In fact, the carrot of procrastinating and doing something else is more lucrative because of the instant gratification. Also, the non-urgency of the situation does not warrant a fight or flight response, so there isn’t much use of a stick.
Before we look into some ideas of what to do, it is worth checking what is causing it. There is a wonderful article by Charlotte Lieberman in the New York Times (click here) about why we procrastinate and it has nothing to do with self-control. In his amazing podcast WorkLife, Adam Grant discusses reasons for procrastination (click here) which includes lessons from Margaret Atwood. In a nutshell, the main cause of procrastination is the negative emotion associated with the task in hand. The tricky part is to understand what is the negative emotion behind the task. It takes some self-reflection. The remainder of this article is about identifying the emotion and motivating ourselves to complete the task.
Identifying the Emotion(s)
A common emotion that results in procrastination is self-doubt. We are not confident about our abilities, and may in case (i) above put off preparing for the test. In case (ii) we may be concerned about our programming skills, it was never our strong suit and wonder how Python is going to work out. Also, in case (iii) we start imagining if we are truly an expert on a topic and if we are qualified to write the blog post. Another emotion that is common is fear of failure, especially in the outcome such as in (i) not passing the test, in (ii) not being able to program successfully in Python, and in (iii) the blog post not being read by anyone. So one may wonder if it is even worth putting in the effort to do the task. These two emotions are just examples, there could be many others.
Adjusting the Attitude
Oftentimes we hold on to attitudes as excuses such as weekends are for relaxing, cool people do not do certain geeky things, or maybe just preconceived notions of the activities. In fact, these attitudes when used to justify procrastination, gives the impression of laziness. In many cases they are just excuses to not deal with the accompanying emotions associated with the task at hand. A way to adjust such attitudes is to shift the mindset to find fun in the activities as opposed to thinking of it as a chore. A lot of the creativity is in recognizing what would be fun in the task. Once we see something in the task that could bring us joy, our attitude would shift automatically.
Kindling an Interest
We are naturally motivated to do interesting things. We do not need a carrot or a stick to do interesting things. We have already assumed the task is of importance. So what remains is to create interest, especially when we have identified negative emotions associated with the task. As a first step we may want to identify with some positive emotions in somewhat similar activities from the past. If that does not provide the interest, break down the task into multiple pieces and see if there are interesting portions. Sometimes cutting the task appropriately (not equally) helps a lot. Then look at our core values and see if there as aspects of the task that align with them.
Even if there is no deadline, sometimes not doing important things in a timely fashion could result in disappointment or regret. Of course, if there is no way to kindle interest and no one in your circle can motivate you, it is understandable to drop the task. But do not give up too early. Set aside some time each week for the task. Keep checking the emotion, attitude and interest level. Measure your progress and celebrate the small successes along the way. If the task involves a team where multiple people are working on it, make sure to motivate and inspire the others. Rome was not built in a day, but it did get built after all. Have fun and enjoy the important tasks at hand.