Productive procrastination: how to spend time productively, even when you're not doing business

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

"Avid procrastinator" is a phrase that most of the working population of planet Earth can include on their resume. However, it turns out that you can dodge business and still have a good time. Today we will show you how to do this.

Almost all of us have experienced something similar: we take on a specific task, but we can not concentrate on it, we think about something abstract and ultimately postpone it indefinitely. Many of us occasionally sit in front of the TV and eat cookies, although yesterday we planned to spend that hour and a half in the gym. The black hole of procrastination is pulling us in.

After psychologist Pierce Steele coined the term “productive procrastination,” there was a debate about whether “procrastination” could be of any benefit. But there is no doubt that out of the thousands of ways our time is spent, some are more beneficial to us than others. Well, let's get to know them.

Structured procrastination

How many times have you opened your browser just to check the weather, and then suddenly realize that you have been surfing the Internet for 45 minutes like Alice falling down a rabbit hole?

At first glance, it might seem that the best way to focus on a task is to keep things to a minimum. The less we have to do, the easier it is to focus, right? However, John Perry, a philosophy professor at Stanford and author of The Art of Procrastination, believes this approach is fundamentally wrong.

He suggests using a different approach, which he calls structured procrastination. We all remember how we procrastinate. At best, we are doing low-priority tasks from our to-do list (and at worst, we are not doing even easy tasks, but simply wasting time). At the same time, we dodge the important and difficult tasks that come first, which are the main reason for our procrastination.

Avid procrastinators rarely tackle the tasks on their to-do list. Instead, they sit and watch YouTube videos of cats.

Create a trap for yourself that will later help you be more productive. Prioritize tasks on your to-do list that are not important or difficult to accomplish, but prioritize them. And then add to your list those tasks that are actually important and urgent.

Remember how we already got used to dodging those tasks that are in the first place on our to-do list? Chances are that you will finally get down to the things that need to be done by simply moving them to the bottom of your list. And if this little trick does not work, then you will still be doing, albeit low-priority, but still things. It's much better than hanging out in front of your computer again watching a cute but completely useless cat video.

Clean up your workplace

Desktop clutter contributes to head chaos. Many studies show that clutter can interfere with your focus.

So, if you've decided to postpone your work tasks anyway, now is the time to clean up your desk. Let only the essentials remain on it, and everything else will move to the drawers or to the trash can. The goal is to get rid of everything that distracts you and interferes with your concentration.

Be often in the company of people who always get things done

Each of us has several acquaintances whose concentration and responsibility remain a mystery to us. Surround yourself with people who have learned how to effectively manage their time and are accustomed to achieving their desired goals.

Psychologists believe that if we see a pattern of this behavior and the bonuses that follow, then we are more likely to copy that pattern.

Write about your plans on social networks

Of course, social media takes one of the leading places on the list of things that distract us from business. But with the right approach, they can play into the hands of your productivity.

Post your plans on social networks, let your friends and acquaintances know about them. If someone knows about our plans, it will be much more difficult to let them go by themselves than in the case when only ourselves know about our affairs. Other people may call us a weak or disorganized person, and this very thought alone motivates us not to postpone the announced cases until later.

Take a walk for about 20 minutes

Taking a walk or yoga for 20 minutes can work wonders. Of course, it is very tempting to sit in front of the TV and do nothing. But think carefully: the box can be very intrusive and annoying, and a walk can help you relax and collect your thoughts. Perhaps it is at this moment that the very breakthrough idea that you have been waiting for for several days will come to you.