Everyone can fall into the procrastinating trap, delaying important tasks when you feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
Pushing yourself to take action might seem like a good idea at first, but in the end it’s no better than telling a depressed person to just “cheer up”.
Instead of just fighting against it, what you need is a specific process that works with each individual psychology.
Hacking into your procrastination tendency can help you to bypass any internal resistance and get yourself to take action almost naturally.
This process only takes about 10 to 30 seconds to implement, and –if used correctly- is guaranteed to succeed.
So, how does this work?
Easy; but first, let’s get into common ground.
We use the term “chunk” to define a small step into the direction of getting your big goal done. It is something so small that, even if you’re really busted, you can easily say “yes” to doing it.
With that in mind, just ask “Can I just … (insert your “chunk” here)?
For instance, let’s say you’ve been pushing off cleaning your house for some time now. You can ask yourself “Can I just take two minutes and clean up my desk?”
Clean up your desk is your chunk in this example.
Apparently, it doesn’t sound like much; I mean, it’s just the desk… but once you start, you will notice an internal shift stepping into action, and you will get more motivated to keep going.
This happens because momentum generates real motivation, which in turn gets you to ask “Can I do a little more now?”.
As we looked into procrastination, we identified 4 powerful drivers: fear, overwhelm, uncertainty, and perfectionism.
Let’s look at them individually now, and find out how to overcome them.
Overcoming Fear
The best way to overcome your fears is to face them head on, exposing yourself to them, but starting in a safe environment.
For example, if you are afraid of public speaking, you may start by asking a group of close friends to your home and give a speech in front of them.
It’s all about going one step at the time. Don’t break out of your comfort zone; stretch it gradually until you get out.
Overcoming Overwhelm
It’s very important to dream big and find inspiration. But when we focus only on the whole picture, we get intimidated and overwhelmed.
This is why it’s so important to break big goals into smaller action steps (or chunks) and prioritize them.
By focusing on just one or two priorities at a time, you’re more likely to get effective on those, and get used to them before moving on to the others.
Overcoming Uncertainty
One thing that usually leads to procrastination is not knowing what to do next; not having a clear picture of our road ahead. But we can start taking steps and then use feedback to adjust our advancement until we get to our final destination.
Remember, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take one step at the time.
Overcoming Perfectionism
Nothing can be made perfect, so you need to focus on making it right instead. We all make mistakes, so we have to be ready for them, get them right the next time, and move on.
Make a commitment to yourself, set up some specific amount of time, and work on your task. Great work, lousy work; it doesn’t matter for now.
Ironically, once you remove the pressure to be perfect, your work flows freely, giving space for creative expression. Then you can go back and review it with an improvement mindset.
This process is a great way to hack into your procrastination tendencies. When you start applying it, you may notice that momentum building and an inner transformation.
The key is to get started today.
Commit to something you’re guaranteed to easily say YES to, pick your first “chunk”, and start moving forward one step at the time towards your biggest breakthroughs.
Stay strong!
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