How I beat procrastination by doing this 1 thing

How I beat procrastination by doing this 1 thingHow I beat procrastination by doing this 1 thingProcrastination has been around since the start of modern civilization.Historical figures like Herodotus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and hundreds of others havetalked abouthow procrastination is the enemy of results.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreOne of my favorite quotes about procrastination is from Abraham LincolnYou canleid escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading ittoday.The funny thing about procrastination is that we all know that its harmful. Who actually likes to run away from responsibilities? No one takes pride in doing that. Me neither.And yet, procrastination was the story of my life.When you procrastinate, you might feel better on the short-term, but you will suffer in the long-term.It doesnt really matter why you pro crastinate. Some love the pressure of deadlines. Some are afraid to fail so they put it off until the very belastung moment.One thing that all procrastinators have in common is that procrastination has a price.This highly cited study, published in the American Psychological Society journal, by Dianne Tice and Roy Baumeister discusses the cost of procrastination. It is related toDepressionIrrational beliefsLow self-esteemAnxietyStressProcrastination is not innocent behavior. Its a sign of poor self-regulation.Researcherseven compare procrastination to alcohol and drug abuse. Its serious. And Ive experienced that for many years.It can waitThe years after I got out of college were also a struggle in terms of starting and finishing work. Procrastination is a habit that just sneaks into your system.Its not something you can shake easily.Every time I had an idea or a goal, I would start, but along the way, things would go wrong. I went from start to total chaos.Distractions, other ideas, other opportunities, failure, negative self-talk, etc, would get in the way. And the results are always the same You never get anything done.To me, the key finding from the study by Dianne Tice and Roy Baumeister is thisThe present evidence suggests that procrastinators enjoy themselves rather than working at assigned tasks, until the rising pressure of imminent deadlines forces them to get to work. In this view, procrastination may derive from a lack of self-regulation and hence a dependency on externally imposed forces to motivatework.Self-regulation, self-control, willpower, are all things that we overestimate. We thinkYeah sure, I will write a novel in 3 weeks.In our minds, were all geniuses and mentally strong. But when the work comes, we cop out.If youre a procrastinator, you cant help but delay work. And thats true for the small and big tasks.Sure, everybody fears to step outside of their comfort zone - thats why we call themcomfortzones. It takes courage to make a bold move .But it sure doesnt take any courage to complete small tasks like paying bills, printing out something for your boss, doing taxes, etc.The truth is Procrastination has nothing to do with what youre trying to do - small or big, it can wait until later. It can always wait, right?For me, completing tasks, went like thisAvoid the slope by eliminating distractionsThere comes a moment between the start and end of a task- I call it the slope of procrastination- when you give intoonedistraction. And thats exactly the moment you give up being productive.You start working on a task, youre excited, youre focused, but then, after some time, you think Lets read the news for a second.It always starts withjustone thing.Then, you think I might as well watch one episode of Game Of Thrones. Then, a video on YouTube- and thenanotherone. Then, a little bit of Instagram browsing. And so forth.It always ends with a bangThis is the last time Im wasting my timeYeah, right.So, if you want to avoid all that , simply dont give into that single distraction. Now, the idea might be simple, but the execution is hard. Its very difficult tonotgive in.We often overestimate our willpower. We think we can resist distractions. Unfortunately, were not that strong. If you realize that, youre already ahead of 99% of the population. Because most people dont get it.If you want to stop procrastinating, you need to eliminate everything that distracts you. You have to make your life easier for yourself, not harder.Finally, heres one truth about procrastination that doesnt get enough creditNothing will help you if you dont have an inner drive.People overcomplicate that concept, but its simpleWhy do you do what you do?If you dont know. Make something up.If you know why youre doing something, even the most annoying tasks become bearable. It will become a part of the bigger picture.So, instead of diving into work, take a step back, think about why you do what you do, andthenremove distractions. Now, its time to do work.This article originally appeared on Darius Foroux.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will ersatzdarsteller your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people