Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2016, when Pokémon Go had just been released; its examples of workplace distractions, such as WhatsApp, cat videos on YouTube and hunting Pokémon, reflect that time.
Procrastination (putting things off until later) is usually the main ingredient in most failures in life. And procrastinating is nothing more than a lack of discipline. Not all of us are disciplined, but the good news is that all of us can bring more discipline into our lives.
So how can someone who isn’t disciplined become more disciplined? As in other areas, that person will have to behave as if they were disciplined until the moment comes when they really are.
We live in the greatest age of distraction in history, where it is very easy to get distracted by the internet, answering emails, chatting on WhatsApp and even hunting Pokémon. And all these distractions take minutes or hours away from all the productive things we could be doing.
(See: 7 things successful people have in common)
This is when someone thinks something like “but life can’t be all work, can it? You have to have fun too.” And this is when I say that sex is fun, having a drink with your friends is fun, even reading a book or watching a film is fun, but chatting constantly on WhatsApp is a distraction, and spending hours watching cat videos on YouTube is a distraction.
It isn’t fun at all, considering that different scientific studies have already shown that procrastinators are more prone to depression. At the end of the day and of the week, they know, consciously or unconsciously, that they have wasted their time, that they could have done more but didn’t, that tomorrow they’ll get serious, but tomorrow they’ll do exactly the same as every day for the past weeks, months or years: waste time. And that, logically, is depressing, besides being very unattractive.
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(See: The akrasia effect: why we don’t do what we set out to do, and how to fix it.)
Now that we know this, how can we be more disciplined day to day? Let’s bring in these simple habits in a simple way.
1. This is what I’m going to do next
It’s fine to plan your day and have a to-do list. Disciplined people do it. But if you aren’t disciplined, forget to-do lists of the “I have to do all this at some point” kind and replace them with “This is what I’m going to do right now”.
Pick one thing, one task, whatever it is, close your web browser, put your mobile phone away and get on with it until it’s finished. Treat that small thing or task as the most important thing you have to do in your life for the next few minutes, because often it could be.
It could be finishing a project, writing your CV, calling clients, creating a professional profile, and so on. Whatever it is, do it.
2. What is the smallest step I can take?
Many people, especially “expert procrastinators”, think about doing something as if they had to eat an elephant in one go. But no: there is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.
Whatever it is, avoid looking at the whole project or task. The example we always use in these cases is the writer who has to write a book, which, as you can imagine, usually takes a lot of time and effort. Well, don’t look at the book; focus on writing just a couple of pages right now. With small efforts, page by page, the book will be finished at some point.
In the same way, don’t focus on finding a job; focus on handing in your CV and talking to managers or business owners. Don’t focus on closing sales; focus on visiting clients.
3. What is holding me back?
If you’ve followed the previous steps and still can’t focus on what you need to do, the question is obvious: what is still distracting me, and how can I avoid it?
If you’ve started on the task and begun with the easiest part (the first bite) and you still run into distractions and resistance, we have a problem, and you need to put an end to it. Close the internet, switch off your phone for 30 minutes, ask your family members or co-workers not to disturb you for the next few minutes. Get rid of every distraction.
Once you’ve managed that, treat it as therapy or an exercise and do it with different tasks throughout the day, until procrastination gradually disappears and gives way to a more disciplined life. In time, you’ll be grateful.
See also: 3 simple steps to solve any problem and turn the situation around
Featured image: Aaron Burden aaronburden, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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