How to beat procrastination
How to beat procrastination with one rule
For most of us - there is always a task that is in the ‘too hard’, ‘too unappealing’ or ‘too boring’ box that we are avoiding. Sometimes these things are things we put off for hours, days or even years.
I once had a stack of old house paint that I didn’t know what to do with. I knew the rubbish dump wouldn’t take it. It was too old to resell. I tried to give it away to a beekeeper for his hives but it wasn’t the right paint for him. I had no idea what to do with it. Someone had mentioned recycling - but no one knew who, how or where. Every time I looked at the old paint in the garage - I put it in the ‘too hard’ basket and let it sit there.
For 10 years.
When it came time to move house recently - I knew the time of procrastinating about this challenge had come to a head. Someone had mentioned that ‘some paint shops accept returns’ - but they charge money. I wasn’t hopeful.
Finally, I put the paint cans in the back of the car and drove to the paint shop. “No, we don’t take it. Resene might - but I hear they charge” Great, I thought, where is the nearest Resene shop? Google told me there was one 1.5km away. So I drove to Resene.
Unhopefully I popped inside, and said ‘do you take or recycle old paint?’. “Yep,” they answered, “but we charge”. I braced myself for the worst, I had four cans.
“That will be $4” they said.
….
Ten years I had tins of paint, taking up space, not only in the garage by also in my head.
Why procrastinate?
Some time ago - I was doing a workshop with a friend & psychologist when she described to me a theory about procrastination.
I don’t remember all of it, but I did pick up on one very important point.
It’s getting started that’s often the problem.
So, I took her talk, broke it down and nicknamed it:
The 10-minute anti-procrastination rule
Here’s the gist of it:
When you have difficulty getting something done (study, exercise, housework, cleaning the oven, getting rid of stuff...)
Ask yourself - "Can I do (this task) for ten minutes?" Or “Can I invest ten minutes into solving this problem?” Most of the time - the answer is "Yes".
If not - you might need to break it down into even smaller moments of time. Five minutes? One minute?
Once you've decided on your time
Set a timer
Simply do ten (or your chosen amount) minutes of the task.
Then stop.
That’s it.
You can then go on and ask yourself “can I do another 10 minutes'?”
In the case of the paint return - the whole exercise actually took no more than 20 minutes. But I had been so overwhelmed by the thought that the task would be: time-consuming, fruitless (I’ll never find someone to take it), expensive (I’ll have to pay loads to recycle the paint!) etc I’d put off even trying.
The decision to put the paint in the car and take it to the paint shop and ask the question took probably 10 minutes - but it was the start of the exercise that lead to the result. (Admittedly, I only even did that under duress, as the thought of taking the paint to my next home was ludicrous).
When we think it’s going to be difficult, unappealing or take too long (and sometimes it does) - so we avoid starting the chore in the first place.
But, once we start - we often get into the groove of it, embrace the challenge and before we know it - we are 1/2 of the way through.
The 10-minute anti-procrastination rule helps you get things done!
Can you think of something you have been putting off? Can you apply the anti-procrastination 10-minute rule?
Cleaning the oven? Tidying the bookshelf? Doing your taxes?
Can you make a ten-minute start?
It really does work well to overcome the overwhelm when starting a difficult or time-consuming task.
(Try it next time you are stuck - and leave a comment below!)
Helen is a registered nurse, specialising in mental health from a holistic perspective. She is passionate about supporting people to have optimal mental health and well-being.
Based in New Zealand, Helen is available for speaking, education sessions and one on one appointments.