Over the years I have read dozens of articles about procrastination. People getting to the root of procrastination seem to pin it on one of two causes. I’ve seen over and over that we procrastinate on something because deep down it goes against our core beliefs or because we know it’s a waste of time.

I think there is a third type of procrastination: where we procrastinate because at some level we can’t accept the larger meaning of our actions.

Here is my example: when I was expecting my daughter, I knew I needed a will. In the state I live in, you can make your own will as long as it is notarized and witnessed. So I went out, got some software, and wrote the will. Then I got it witnessed and notarized.

Now here’s the catch. That process I just described started before my daughter was born, and was when she was in third grade. That’s a grand sum total of 8 years.

Talk about procrastination!

But the truth is, neither one of the definitions above apply. This is something I believe deeply in, and goes with my core value that I had to look after my daughter. I do not believe it is a waste of time.

The reasons I procrastinated were that I hit two sticking points that I had to work through psychologically. The first one was the realization that if should both my husband and I be killed, my daughter will not be given to the guardianship of any of our relatives. That’s a big deal — admitting that even though my husband and I were raised by a set of people, we would not given them my daughter to raise.

The second stumbling block was getting the thing signed. That took almost six months of carrying the papers back and forth to work every day. I simply didn’t want to admit that dying was a possibility, and I sought to get around that by not having a will.

Thank goodness this type of procrastination has not occurred very many times in my life. But when it has, it’s usually dealing with the big stuff, the life-and-death-and-future-well-being stuff. It’s where I can’t accept the larger meaning of my actions. And usually denial has a big role to play in that.

Random numbers are often used in math-heavy fields like machine learning and cryptography. But random numbers are also a great tool to bust through resistance to tasks that lead to procrastination.

Procrastination is baffling and requires a great number of strategies to defeat it regularly. I find that my procrastination gets worse if I don’t change things up. Using random numbers helps me get things done from time to time.

Using Random Numbers To Approach A Task List

This method works to power you through a bunch of tasks. It’s really easy to apply random number to get things done, with a bit of prep.

1. Make a list of tasks.

The first step is to make a list of tasks that need to be done. Make sure they are do-able in your current place and time.

Don’t add tasks that have to take place at work when you’re at home and vice versa.

Also make sure that your task is ready to be done. If you are waiting for Cousin Dorothy to give you a response before you call Aunt Em, the task doesn’t go on the list.

2. Number the tasks.

It doesn’t matter what order the tasks are in on the list. Just number them from top to bottom.

3. Note the number of tasks.

You will need this to generate the random number.

4. Generate a random number.

The next step is to get a random number. There are many ways to get one:

• >An app. There are several random number generators for both Android and iOS.
• Random.org. This website has a little box that allows you to put in your limits. Put in your number of tasks in the box that reads 100.
• Voice assistant.“Hey Google, give me a random number between one and twenty-six.”

5. Do that number task.

If the number is 12, do task number 12. Finish it before you come back to the list.

6. Repeat until your task is empty.

If the random number generator selects the number of a task that you’ve already done, you can:

• Ask for another number
• Do the task previous or after the number
• Renumber your list so there are no gaps before asking for another number

My Results

I have used this method on average about once every other week for the past couple of months. I find it eliminates my resistance to an overly long task list, and gets me through more tasks. I use it when I find myself reading through my task list over and over, trying to figure out what to do next.

There are many different ways that you can use to beat procrastination. In fact, whole books have been written about ways to get going. Here are the 5 techniques I use most often to get me going:

Permission to Fail

A lot of my procrastination is rooted in perfectionism. I don’t want to do something imperfectly so I never do it at all. I get around this by writing out permission for me to fail at something, or I write out a description of how I could complete this task really poorly. Then I attempt to do just that. For example, if I am writing a newsletter article and can’t seem to get started, I give myself the assignment to write out everything in run on sentences or in a mind dump. Then I can go back and work with the material on a second go-around.

Ugly Frog

In the case that I am putting off something really important, I apply the frog principles from Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (BK Life)*. I know that if I have to eat an ugly frog, it doesn’t pay to sit and stare at it first. So I just dig in. I have internalized this message so completely that I cannot think of an example from my life off-hand. A fictional example: let’s say you have a sink full of dirty dishes that need to be washed. They are already starting to smell bad. If you keep avoiding them, it will turn into a worse job. If you dig in, it won’t take as long as you think.

A counterpoint to getting around this situation is to not let it occur in the first place. This is applying another frog principle: you eat an ugly frog one bite at a time. If I keep up with a task, it will never get to the point where it becomes a big job. If I keep the bathrooms clean on a daily basis, I never have to spend an entire day cleaning them.

Delete It

If I am avoiding a task consistently, sometimes it is because I subconsciously recognize that I don’t need to do it at all. If that is the case, I delete it.

Remove Distractions

Sometimes I start procrastinating simply because there are things more interesting going on. I get sidetracked easily, particularly from tasks I don’t have a lot of enthusiasm for. (Example: give me the choice of mowing the lawn or talking to a neighbor, and I will pick the neighbor) I find that removing all distractions will help me get started. I have had some very productive writing sessions by taking my computer to a place where there is no Internet access!

Comparison

The comparison method is a new one for me, and comes from Mark Forster. When I have a whole list of things I can’t get moving on, I take them in pairs and do the easiest one first. Then I take the one I didn’t do and compare it to the next item on the list and do the easiest of that pair. This really has helped get me un-stuck in the past weeks.

By using these methods I can usually get through my ordinary bouts of procrastination. Do you have any that you rely on?

One form of procrastination that I fight frequently is what I call Newton Procrastination: a body at rest will remain at rest. It’s the main reason I can’t get moving on things. And the key to fighting this is to make the barrier to motion so small that it takes almost no effort to get past it. We’ll talk about this today in Episode 79: Lowering Resistance.

Links from show:

• Newton’s Laws
• Timer Book Light*

Support me at Patreon: You can find all the episodes over at Patreon.

I struggle with procrastination, especially if the list of items seems overwhelming. I try to read everything I can, including articles by Leo Baubata (ZenHabits), and Charlie Gilkey (Productive Flourishing). But Mark Forster really hit a home run by bringing relative difficulty into it.

Relative Difficulty

The essence of this approach is to take your to do list in pairs. One task will seem relatively easier than the other, and you should do this one. There will always be one that seems easier, even if the task looked at singly would not seem easy at all.

Putting Relative Difficulty to Work

Instead of spending your time resisting one tasks, it makes more sense to work through the rest of the list using relative difficulty comparisons. That way you will be doing something, getting more done, and also get yourself moving. This will increase your chances that the inertia created will get you moving on your hardest task.

Pros and Cons

I don’t think this is a method to use on a regular basis, because it would lose its effectiveness. Also, I think it must be used on a finite list such as the ones Mark Forster recommends in Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management* , for if you had an infinite amount of little tasks you would get mired in doing little nothings. However, I think it is a good way to get moving on lists and definitely a good way to get moving when resisting the top of the list.

In this episode, we talk about when procrastination is a lack of clarity; approaches to stopping procrastination; and ten specific anti-procrastination methods.

Support me at Patreon: You can find all the episodes over at Patreon.

Sometimes it is hard to get going. Like a battery left too long inactive in the cold, we can’t get started on what we need to do.

Everyone has their methods of getting started on a task. Here are my six favorite:

#1: Use A Timer

For some reason, if I tell myself I only have to work on something for 15 minutes and then I can go play, I get started and keep going. In order to do this, I use my trusty timer. Watching the clock doesn’t have the same effect as a timer for me. There are very few times where I truly want to stop after 15 minutes, but if I want to, I can.

#2: Use A Varied-Task Method

As an expansion on the timer, but when I know I need to slog through a bunch of stuff, I use the (10+2)*5 method. I do 10 minutes on task, 2 minutes off, with 5 repetitions. I can get through a lot of stuff knowing I get 2 minute breaks to do anything I want.

I like this better than Pomodoro because 10 minutes always seems much more do-able than 20!

#3: Shut Down Distractions

I am very distractable. If my task at hand involves the computer, I shut down distractions. If I am writing, I will generally use my writing software in full screen mode, and yes, I will turn the background black with green Courier text (ala WordPerfect). If I am researching something, I use Freedom to block unwanted sites (like mail or news or Pinterest). I have even turned of WiFi when necessary. Staring at a blank screen, knowing I couldn’t do anything else if I wanted to, has spurred me to start on many tasks.

#4: Use File Grouping

If I am doing a task that requires a bunch of apps or browser tabs to be open, I will often get sidetracked while I am opening everything up. For the things that I repeat on a regular basis, I have folders set up in my Documents that have links to all the applications and/or websites I need to complete the task. Then when I want to do that task I open the folder, press Ctrl+A to select everything, and hit enter. With just those applications open, I crank through my work quickly. I am amazed at how well this trick works.

#5: Use A Second Desktop

If I am being pulled away from something to work on another task, the temptation to stay and just get a bit more done is strong. Especially if I don’t want to lose my train of thought. Closing down windows means I have to remember what I had open and why, and can keep me from starting the new task. (This happens frequently at work)

When I need things to be isolated, but I don’t want to lose track of where I am on something else, I will spin up a virtual desktop in Windows. I then use the new virtual desktop to complete my task without the pull of the other open windows.

#6: Rewards

When all else fails, promising myself a trip to Starbucks will get me to start just about anything I have been procrastinating on.

We all have favorite methods for starting a task. What are yours?

Sometimes ideas need time to incubate. We may need to work out details, methods, or even the feasibility of the idea itself.

To the outside person, this can look like procrastination.

But in fact, incubation and procrastination are very different.

How are they different? Here are five ways that procrastinating is different than incubating.

• Incubating is active. The action might only be in your thoughts or unconscious, but incubating is an active process. Procrastination, on the other hand, is about ignoring something.
• Incubating solves a problem. When you are incubating, you are trying to solve some problem with the task at hand. Even if you are doing this subconsciously, you are seeking a solution that will allow you to move forward. Procrastination, on the other hand, is about leaving things as they are.
• Incubating is clear. Incubating about a task means that you have all the facts laid out in front of you. You have some idea of what the outcome should be. All you need is a way from where you are to where you are going. Procrastinating is unclear; usually we procrastinate because we aren’t clear about the current or future states.
• Incubating integrates with life. When you incubate a problem, you are pulling in threads and ideas from your entire life. Sometimes something might jog your brain into considering the problem in a different light. Procrastination is ignoring the matter, so you keep it separate from the rest of your life.
• Incubating is putting something aside. Procrastination is also putting something aside, but with incubation, it is a purposeful decision meant to further your problem solving. With procrastination, the task will keep coming up because you will know that you are not dealing with it in the best way.

So when you are stalling on something, and be completely honest with yourself, are you procrastinating or incubating? Is there some way that you can take the procrastination and turn it into incubation? Share your ideas below.

Anybody out there every procrastinate? Raise your hand. No, you don’t need to look around. Yep, just as I thought. Everyone.

We all know about procrastination. What you may not know is that there are procrastination toxins…people and things and situations that turn the possibility of procrastination into certainty. Today we will look at these productivity toxins and how to fix them.

I am a procrastinator. I live in a world where there is always time to do it later. I put off the necessary, and then feel bad about it, so I don’t get to the fun stuff. My interest in productivity is largely due to noticing that if I don’t address procrastination, my life is frittered away. Getting past procrastination is the key for me to get the things I need to do done…so I can move on to the stuff I really want to do.

How Others Affect Our Procrastinating

It’s part of the human condition: we are all prone to putting things off when something else comes along. Our very survival depended on it back in the day. Think about it: if you were out gathering tubers to eat, and a bear came up, it was necessary to put off gathering and deal with the bear situation. Failure to do so would mean death. We are hard-wired to look at the situations around us and be distracted.

Our modern age brings unprecedented opportunities for distraction. We may not be dealing with bears or any other life-and-death situation, but we still have the response. *Ping* ooh, let’s check email/Facebook/Twitter/instant message. “Hey, do you have a second?” person stops by and all of a sudden you have lost you focus.

And once you have lost your focus, you are prone to procrastinate.

Applying Newton’s Laws To Focus and Procrastination

Newton’s first law of motion states, “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

Think about the distraction as being the unbalanced force. The distraction sends us careening off into another direction, and if we continue on that path, we will never get back to the original.

I’ll bet Newton didn’t think he was addressing productivity issues with his laws.

How To Spot It

So how do you know when you are facing one of those events that will pull you off task?

The first step to conquer procrastination is to be fully aware of what you are doing.  You have to know what path you are on in order to realize when you have been pulled off.

Once you know what you are doing, you need to be aware of what is your intention for doing.

So to spot the procrastination toxins, look at everything that pulls you away from your intent. The unbalanced forces in Newton’s world.

Let’s say that you sit down to do some writing. You know you are writing, and then next thing you know you are texting a friend. You know you were writing, you know you were texting. And even if you go back to writing, that text was a situational procrastination, pulling you away from your original intent.

Don’t Even Think About Playing The “2 Minute Rule” Card.

“But it took less than 2 minutes, and David Allen says that if a task takes less than 2 minutes, you should do it now.”

To that I say: [male bovine excrement].

The 2 minute rule is not there to get you off task. The 2 minute rule is there to be used within context not to pull you out of your current context.

If you know are sending a batch of texts, and the text will take less than 2 minutes, send it. If you are in the middle of doing something else and you remember you need to send a text, note it down somewhere and get back to your original task. Doing otherwise gets you into brain thrash.

How To Fix It

The best way to avoid being pulled off task by productivity toxins is to avoid the toxin. Don’t let something pull you off task. Here are some specific ways to do this:

Limit Visual Distractions

Limit as much as possible what is in your field of vision. If you are in a computer program, see if the program will go full screen. If you are at a desk, clear everything off but what you are working on. If you are doing yard work, focus on exactly what you are doing, and wear sunglasses if that helps to keep you from looking around.

As I was writing this article, I was distracted by the stuff on my desk. My phone was right next to me, and I stopped to pick it up. Then I moved a notebook to put on top of the phone, and I saw the pens that needed to be put away…and so on. Luckily, this was limited to about a minute, no more.

Limit Availability

If people are your toxins, find a way to limit your availability. Most of us don’t have the luxury of being able to close doors anymore. But a note on the back of the chair, or on the cube wall can let visitors know you are not to be distracted.

I find that wearing headphones and making sure they are visible from the cube entrance helps as well – even if I am not plugged into anything.

Turn Off Notifications

This is a big one for those of us addicted to the little pings and whistles. Turn off your notifications on your cell and computer, or put yourself in do not disturb mode (most smart phones and Windows 10 have this feature built right in)

Yes, it’s a pain, but think about it this way: the makers of the program want to constantly draw you back to that program so they can expose you to ads and other money makers. By reacting to their ploy, you are making money for someone else.

Use A Timer

Timers work if you use them correctly. Set a small amount of time on the timer, and don’t stop working on the task until that timer goes off (make sure to start the timer, though!)

I still favor a freeware timer called Instant Boss, which I have written about before  I actually have it running right now, as I had a terrible bout of procrastination as I was trying to finish this article up.

Use Sticky Notes

Sticky notes work when you are not at a computer. If I have a sticky note in my line of sight, I am constantly reminded of what I am on track to do. If I am making dinner, and I see that the fridge needs to be wiped down, but the sticky note is on my leg, I know I need to wait until I have a natural break in the cooking process in order to take care of the task. Until then, it gets noted on the notepad on the kitchen counter.

Over To You

What are your productivity toxins? And what do you do to minimize how they affect you? Share below, or email me your answer to laura@lauraearnest.com