How to beat procrastination: a scientific approach

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Psychologists and neuroscientists have long been battling procrastination, or the constant procrastination of things for later. Luke Muehlhauser, executive director of the Institute for the Study of Machine Intelligence, explains how to solve a problem with a scientific approach.

If you are a spirit thinker, then you probably want to solve the problem of procrastination with the power of the mind from scratch. But sometimes it is much more effective to start a solution by structuring all the scientific knowledge that we have on a given issue, as is done in classical studies.

Today I will try to deal with procrastination by summarizing what is known about it and how to overcome it.

I'll start with three typical sketches.

Eddie attended sales seminars, read all the books, spoke in the morning in front of the mirror all the motivating affirmations. But he still hasn't sold anything. Refusals, one after another, completely demoralized him. He cleans up his desk, browses the Internet, and doesn't start calling clients until the day is over.

Valerie lives three houses from Eddie. She opened Word and stares at a blank document. Her assignment - to write an essay on municipal politics before tomorrow - is mind-bogglingly boring. She decides that she needs a break: texting friends, watching the series … and realizes that she still has less motivation than she was. At 10 o'clock in the evening she is immersed in work, but the result reflects the time spent: her essay is terrible.

Tom, who lives on the floor below, has moved on. He got a visa, bought plane tickets, made a note on the vacation schedule and is ready for a vacation in the Dominican Republic. True, he still needs to book a hotel room, but this can be done at any time. Tom first postponed the task for a week, because he had many more urgent matters, and then completely forgot about it. As he packed his things, he remembered that he had not booked the room, but all the seats near the beach were already taken. Upon arrival, Tom received a room in the 10th coastline, decorated with dead mosquitoes.

Eddie, Valerie and Tom are procrastinated. But in different ways.

Eddie has low expectations and is only set to fail. Eddie doesn't expect success from the new cold calling series. In 39 studies of procrastination, low expectations are the main reason for procrastination. You question your ability to lose weight by dieting; you don’t believe you will get a job; you really need to go for a walk, date girls more often, and learn to flirt, but you don't expect anything but rejection, so you put it off. You.

Valerie's problem is in a task that has no value to her. We all put off what we don't like. It's easy to meet up with friends and have a few drinks or open a video game - it's harder to fill out your tax return. And this obvious fact is confirmed by numerous studies.

We put off until later what we don't like.

But the biggest factor behind procrastination is Tom's problem. This is impulsivity. It would have been easier for Tom to book a room in advance, but he was distracted by more important and interesting things and did not think about the need to book a room until the last minute, when he was faced with a very modest choice of places in the hotel. Dozens of studies have proven that procrastination is closely related to impulsivity.

Impulsivity refers to the more voluminous component of procrastination - time. The influence of the event on our decisions is the less, the further in time it is. Future rewards are far less motivating than immediate rewards. Time delays are especially powerful for impulsive people.

Expectations, value, procrastination, and impulsivity are the four main components of procrastination.(Piers Steel), a leading researcher on procrastination, explains: “Reduce the reward or doubt that it will be - that is, reduce the value and expectations - and you are unlikely to put in the effort. Postpone the reward for completing the task or add impulsivity to the character, and motivation will also decline."

The procrastination equation

All of the above brings us to the procrastination equation:

While the knowledge base about procrastination is growing, this equation is applied in every major study as it draws on the best modern theories about motivation.

As soon as the reward increases (this includes both the pleasure of completing the task and the value of the results), and the motivation grows. The expectation of great benefits also always leads to an increase in motivation.

You may have noticed that this part of the equation is one of the basic equalities in economics. But she is criticized for not taking the time factor into account.

For example, in 1991 (George Akerlof), that subconsciously we perceive the current costs as more significant than the costs that are coming in the future. Akerlof's research led to the flourishing of a behavioral economy that takes into account, among other things, time.

Therefore, a denominator appeared in the equation, taking into account the effect that time has on our motivation. The longer we have to wait for a reward for a job, the less desire we have to do anything. The negative effect of procrastination is amplified by our impulsiveness. The motivation of very impulsive people suffers from any delay.

The procrastination equation in action

As an example, imagine a college student who is due to turn in a term paper at the end of the semester. Unfortunately for the student, colleges have built an impenetrable wall of procrastination ingredients. Firstly, even if the value of this coursework for the final grade is very high, its momentary value for a girl remains extremely low. Especially if she is afraid to write work, like most students.

Moreover, her expectations of the result will also be underestimated. It is difficult to evaluate the quality of coursework, and different teachers may give different marks for the same assignment: for an essay done on a solid four, an essay can be given a five with a plus, if you're lucky, and a three if luck turns away. And a lot of time will pass between the time the term paper was set and the end of the semester. And if a student is prone to impulsiveness, the negative impact of the delay on her motivation increases dramatically. Writing a term paper is exhausting work (that is, it has low value), the results cannot be predicted (the performer has low expectations), and the deadline is not soon (a long delay).

But that's not all. Dormitories and campuses are arguably the least suitable places to work on the planet. There are always tons of pleasures available (clubs, parties, communities, relationships, games, events and alcohol). Is it any wonder in such conditions that the term paper has not been written? All of these distractions add to the effect of not being immediately rewarded and impulsivity.

How to beat procrastination

While much is known about procrastination in neuroscience, I don’t want to cover all the scientific theories in this article. Instead, it’s better to go straight to solving the problem.

Once you know the equation of procrastination, your basic strategy is obvious. Since there is usually nothing you can do to speed up your reward, you need to focus on the three parts of the equation that you can control. To defeat procrastination, you need to:

• believe in success;
• increase the value of the task (make the process of completion or the reward more enjoyable);
• reduce the level of your impulsivity.

You may think it is beyond your control, but researchers have found several helpful methods to achieve each goal.

Much of the advice below comes from the best procrastination book in existence, Pierce Steele's The Procrastination Equation. It explains these and many other methods in more detail.

Optimize your optimism

If you don’t believe you’ll succeed, you will not be motivated to complete the task. Everyone has heard the advice: "Thoughts are positive!" But how to do that? To date, researchers have identified three main techniques for increasing optimism: the spiral of success, substitutionary victory, and mental comparison.

The spiral of success. One way to get optimistic is to use the Success Spiral. When you achieve one challenging goal after another, you gain confirmation of your ability to succeed. Set yourself a series of meaningful, challenging, yet achievable goals and achieve them one at a time! Set yourself up for success by doing what you do great to keep your confidence high.

Steele recommends that you set yourself the goal of learning new things or devote time to the process, rather than getting results. The goal to "develop your abilities" is preferable to the goal to "win" or "get the highest grade."

Extreme sports and adventures are best suited for training the spiral of success: rafting, rock climbing, hiking. Learn something new. For example, learn to cook. Or start practicing karate. Take on more responsibilities at work, get involved in community activities. Take your favorite hobby to the next level. The main thing is to achieve one goal after another and think about your success. Your brain will reward you: you will set yourself up for victory, which means you can cope with procrastination.

Substitution victory. Pessimism and optimism are contagious. Wherever you are, you have the opportunity to access communities that simply exude positivity. Visit 5-10 of these associations to join the best of them. Let them first help you to believe in victory, and then you will achieve your goal.

You can also push the boundaries of optimism by watching inspirational films, reading uplifting biographies, or listening to motivational lectures.

Mental comparison. Many popular self-help books suggest using creative visualization, the practice of regularly and vividly presenting what you want to achieve: cars, careers, achievements. Surprisingly, research shows that doing this can destroy your motivation.

And to prevent this from happening, use the technique of mental comparison. After you have imagined what you want to achieve, mentally contrast it with what you have now. Imagine your old, creepy car and your little bank account. This will help to treat the current state of affairs as a hindrance that must be removed in order to fulfill your dreams, will give a sharp start to planning and implementation.

It should be noted that an overabundance of optimism can also be a problem, albeit a less common one. Determine why you are procrastinating until later, make a contingency plan for failure, and use the techniques described in this article to succeed in fighting procrastination.

Increase the cost

It's hard to be motivated to do something that is of no value to you, or worse, completely unpleasant. The good news is that value is somewhat relative and constructable. The plasticity of value is a well-studied area in which psychophysics is concerned. Researchers give some tips on how to add value to tasks.

Flow. If the task you are avoiding is boring, try to make it more difficult to match your skill level. This will help you get into the flow state. This is what the heroes of the movie "Super Police" did - they invented strange games and tasks in order to force themselves to do their boring work.(Myrtle Young), for example, figured out how to make her job in a potato chip factory more fun: she looks for celebrity-like traits in tubers before sending them to a conveyor belt.

Meaning. The search for meaning helps to make sure that the tasks before you are related to the business that you just love, even if the connection is mediated. For example, imagine this chain: you have read a book, which means that you pass the test, which means you will finish your studies perfectly, get a job and build the career of your dreams.

Energy. Obviously, tasks are harder to complete if you lack energy. Get down to business when you are on full alert. Energy reserves depend on your daily biorhythms, but most people are at their peak of activity a few hours after waking up. The productive period lasts about four hours. Of course, this requires getting enough sleep and exercising regularly.

The following life hacks also work:

• drink more water;
• eat less starchy foods;
• use pharmaceuticals (strictly as prescribed by your doctor);
• do a short, intense workout once a week;
• if you feel tired, wash yourself with cold water, take a shower, do a series of jumps or go for a run;
• listen to music that lifts your mood;
• put things in order in your life, because any mess drains your brain, prevents it from functioning throughout the day.

Awards

The obvious way to add value to a task is to reward yourself for completing it. Bitter medicines should be consumed with sugar. Combine long-term benefit with short-term pleasure. Find yourself a work partner with whom you enjoy talking. Make a delicious coffee to drink while solving the problem. For example, when I have to do something unpleasant, I bribe myself with ice cream.

Passion

Of course, the most powerful way to add value to a task is to focus on what you really love. I don’t need to look for additional motivation when I research changes in ethical systems or review scientific publications about working on myself, because I love it. Some people enjoy playing video games and are building careers in this area. To figure out in which profession you will have to solve your favorite problems, take vocational orientation tests. In the USA, for example, there is one who will help you find a job in demand that matches your character.

Keeping impulsivity under control

Usually impulsivity is the largest value in the procrastination equation. Steele offers two methods to deal with this problem.

Self-restraint. Odysseus could not sail past the sweet-voiced sirens if he relied on his willpower. Knowing his weakness, he made sure in advance how to resist the temptation: he literally tied himself to the mast. Several methods of preliminary self-restraint are good for coping with impulsivity.

The first method can be called "throw away the key": block out any distractions. Many people see an increase in productivity if they are not allowed to turn on the TV at home. I haven't had it for many years. But now TV shows and not only they are available on the Internet. To reduce its impact, you may need special applications. Or you just have to turn off the router while you work.

The second method is to make failure really painful. For example, with the help of a resource, you can save money that you will lose if you do not achieve the goal, and an outside observer should give an assessment of the activity. To raise the rate, indicate in the settings that in case of failure your money will be sent to the account of the organization you hate. And ask your supervisor to share this on Facebook if you do fail the building.

Goal setting. Hundreds of books promote SMART goal setting. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Anchored. Are these recommendations supported by good quality research? Not really. First, in this system, “achievable” goals duplicate “realistic” ones, and “time-limited” and “measurable” are included in “specific” ones. Secondly, important concepts are missing from this diagram. Above, we talked about the importance of goals that challenge and help you enter a state of flow, and also mean a lot to you, that is, they are related to the things that you love in themselves.

It's also important to split one big goal into several smaller ones. Small results are easier to achieve in turns, deadlines for small goals are much shorter. As a rule of thumb, putting together a plan for your daily goals will help you get past the starting line, which is to accomplish the most important goal of getting started. The first target may be writing, the second is the task for today. When you complete the first five-minute task, you are already on your way to achieving today's goal, no matter how long it takes: 30 minutes or several hours.

And one more thing: answer the question, is your goal measured by a process or a result? Compare two goals: spend 30 minutes on a business and create a product. Set goals in different ways for different tasks and choose the option that works for you.

Because we are all addicted to our habits, it often happens that turning a goal into a routine will help us get things done. For example, do the exercises at the same time every day.

Conclusion

So, to defeat procrastination, you need to increase the motivation for solving every task you want to postpone. To do this, you can:

• recharge with optimism and believe in success;
• make the task more enjoyable;
• take steps to manage impulsivity.

For each step, use the methods outlined above (set goals, block distractions, use the success spiral).

Attention! Don't try to be perfect. Don't try to get rid of procrastination completely. Be realistic. Excessive self-control can make you unhappy, so balance is important.

You now have all the tools to defeat procrastination. Determine which part of the equation requires you to put in effort, highlight the methods that work best for you. Become faster, better, stronger!

And read more about the procrastination equation.