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The Only Solution to Procrastination
Are you a procrastinator? Do you always put things off until the last minute? If so, you're not alone! We're here to help.
Sol TV
June 01, 2023
This Newsletter at a Glance:
š” What is the Procrastination Equation?
š TL/DR: The Real Cause of Procrastination
šŖ Sol Bites: 4 Best Ways to Fight Procrastination
š„ Video Bite: Beat Procrastination with Greg Carruthers
š Words of Wisdom
If youāre reading this email instead of doing something more pressing, youāre in the right place! And if thatās not the case, weāre guessing youāve done something similar before. According to University of Calgary psychologist Piers Steel, at least 95% of people procrastinate occasionally.
Steel has done a lot of research on procrastination, and itās shown that the two oldest psychological theories for why we procrastinateāanxiety and rebelliousnessāactually have little to do with our tendency to put things off.
Instead, he found that four primary factors are the strongest and most accurate predictors of why we do it:
š„“ Low self-efficacy
š„± Low task value
š« High impulsiveness and distraction
ā³ The delay between task inception and completion
Steel developed The Procrastination Equation, which explains what drives our interest in doing something at a given time.
š TL/DR: The Real Cause of Procrastination
Letās dig into why people canāt get started, put things off, or get sucked into unimportant tasks when they must do something else.
š° Low Self-Efficacy: Your belief that you can complete the task. When we lack confidence in our ability to complete a job (or to complete it well), our likelihood of procrastinating goes way up. Most commonly, this occurs when weāre uncertain how to start a task.
š„± Low Value: When you think a task at hand isnāt enjoyable. Generally, the more enjoyable a job, the less we procrastinate. Still, mildly painful and tedious tasks tend to trump challenging tasksāwhich helps explain why we tend to procrastinate with busy work (like organizing a messy drawer or feeling the sudden urge to vacuum).
š± Impulsiveness: Your ability (or lack thereof) to maintain focus due to urgent or more appealing distractions. Being exposed to many distractionsāor working in a distracting environmentācan invite procrastination.
āļø Delay: When you have a lot of time between starting a task and its completion date. The longer you have to finish a task, the longer youāll wait to get started on it.
š¤ Sol Bites: 4 Best Ways to Conquer Procrastination
ā
Create small wins. Break down tasks into manageable pieces. For example, have a book or big paper to write? Complete one part of it daily. It will help you believe you can get the job done.
šļøāāļø Create āartificialā systems of reinforcement. When a task isnāt enjoyable, pair it with something that feels good. For example, create a routine where you work out, then reward yourself with your favorite smoothie or coffee. Once paired with an unfavorable task, its overall value increases.
š« Eliminate distractions. Addicted to watching TikTok videos? Leave your phone in another room until you get your work done. Donāt rely on willpower to resist distractionsāchange your environment instead.
ā° Set mini-due dates. Even if you have weeks to finish a project, the goal is not to leave it all until the last minute. Instead, divide the project or task into chunks, then create deadlines for each mini-task.šļø Video Bite
Meet Greg Carruthers, a Toronto-based choreographer, actor, and body-positive activist. He shares his journey to overcome self-doubt, perfectionism, and rejection to become the best version of himself that he can possibly be.
In this video, Greg shares a master hack to help you retrain your brain and get out of the perfectionist trap and beat procrastination.
Words of wisdomš”
Procrastination is the most common manifestation of resistance in our lives.
Along the Same Linesā¦
We love you,
Mona & The Sol TV Team ā¤ļø
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