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HOW TO KILL YOUR PROCRASTINATION HABIT 

by: STEPHANIEVOZZA

from: FastCompany 

Once youunderstand your reason for procrastinating, you can craft a way to solve it,says Bailey. “There isn’t a magic bullet,” he says. “The best thing you can dois spot the moment when you are falling into unhelpful habits of mind--whenyour mind acts on autopilot.”

The key toresolving procrastination is moving out of autopilot and engaging with what youwant to achieve. Bailey offers three tactics:

1. TheFive-Minute Start
If you’re having trouble getting started, make a commitment to work on the taskfor five minutes. Use a kitchen timer or the stopwatch on your smartphone. At the end of five minutes, youcan choose if you want to continue or stop. This technique can work withemotional barriers or fear of failure.

“Committing tofive minutes is not a big deal,” says Bailey. “Once you get started, you oftenget into flow and overcome the barrier. But if you want to stop, give yourselfpermission to do so.”

2. CreativePunishments
This tactic is good for complacency or avoiding discomfort--when the cost of anaction is low. Decide on a punishment you will give yourself for not doing thetask, such as making an appointment for a physical. It should be something thatmotivates you into action.

“You could donatemoney to an organization you loathe, such as a rival sports team or opposingpolitical party,” says Bailey. “Then write a check that would be uncomfortableto lose and give it to a friend. Ask them to mail the check if you don’tcomplete the task by a certain date. This tactic significantly increases thecost of inaction.”

3. ImplementationIntentions
Another solution for procrastination is putting the dreaded task into a contextwith something else, suggests Bailey. This solution works well with actionillusion.

“Setting goals orbreaking bad habits are two things we all want to do, but you’re likely to failif they’re context independent,” he says. Add context to your task by pairingit with something else; for example, give a task a deadline or an order ofcompletion.

“Think hard aboutsituations that will trigger a series of behaviors and actions,” he says. “Seta rule that if it’s Thursday afternoon, you’ll dedicate time to productinnovation. Or create an order for completing your business plan, such as doingcustomer research first. Context reduces cognitive effort you have toexpend--it’s a less expensive way to think.”