Done is better than perfect!
~ Sheryl Sandberg
How many times do you feel internal resistance before starting anything? I’ll give you something to ponder upon- how many times did you take way longer in starting a new project and when you started working on it, it got over in no time? My friend, your mind’s thinking capability can be your biggest friend or your biggest enemy. For most of us especially the Gen Zs and Millenials- the mind is not our friend. But don’t worry — there are proven hacks that can make your mind your best friend; that will help you take decisions without thinking about them forever. This will definitely do you good in the longer term. Here are the top 3 ways that I’ve acquired over a lot of trial and testing in the last couple of years to beat procrastination-
1. Forget about GOALS; Create SYSTEMS instead- If you’ve read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, you would have come across the statement- Winners and losers have the same goals. Then what differentiates winners from losers? The daily actions without getting biased by the end result. You need to move if you want to reach a destination. Let’s take an example- Messi wanted to become a world-renowned footballer. Do you think just setting the goal was enough? He started playing football at the age of 4, getting coached by his father. Finally at the age of 17 is when he did his first debut in a professional football match and only in 2022 he won his very first world cup.
Breaking your goals down into small daily achievable actions is going to change your story from a loser to a winner. This is only applicable if you want to win a long-term game. To win long-term you’ll have to show up and do the dirty work every day of your life without obsessing over the end result.
Let’s get into further detail on how you can create systems-
Want to learn a new language? Your system is how often you practice speaking and writing in that particular language, receive feedback from native speakers, and dedicate a fixed learning time every day no matter what.
Want to set up a business? Your system will be how to test product ideas, hire talent, manage marketing and sales and so on.
2. Think about your next two steps– The next two steps should be on your close radar. Your very next move should be complimenting your next to next move which is what is going to help you reach your ultimate destination. I received this advice from a great business leader.
Fixating on only your goal can be a source of constant worry, many times you would have had recurrent thoughts like “ Once I achieve this, then I’ll be happy.” Well, the goals are endless and if you keep postponing your happiness every time, then your life on this planet will get over in no time chasing happiness.
Fall in love with daily progress, and let these small everyday wins be your source of happiness. If you consistently keep adding in the work, there is no force that can take away what you desire to achieve. At the end of the day, if you do not end up getting what you desire, you still have come a long way with massive learning that is something worthwhile.
3. Microbreaks — Procrastination is nothing but your mind playing games on you because it’s lazy. Microbreaks can act as bait to trick your mind about rewards post-deep work. Pomodoro Technique can be a good way to start with- 25 mins of deep work followed by a 5 mins break. Initially, you’ll have to consciously build the habit, gradually the brain gets used to it without an external trigger.
An average human brain can focus for 40–45 mins followed by a small break. You can cut yourself some slack and focus for 25 mins followed by a short break cycle. As time proceeds you’ll get better at it and focus durations will increase.
Breaking bad habits and inculcating good ones depends on how discrete your systems are. Better systems to start new tasks can make novel tasks your regular habits. Reverse engineering works best here as there could be times when you’ve actually accomplished tasks without much thinking- learn from those instances; look at the system you used to get those tasks done. You can refer to a mind-blowing article by Kurtis Pykes to get a granular ability to build better systems. Here’s the link.
Hi friends, hope you enjoy this piece, do let me know your thoughts in the comments. Do share this with your friends and let them benefit from this blog post.
Check out other Blog posts from the author here.
