WEBVTT 00:00:20.739 --> 00:00:23.559 Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to Food 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.320 for Thoughts. If it were you, Season 3, I'm your 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.660 host, Neo Gentrics, the podcast where we chew on 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:32.500 the big ideas that shape our lives. And today, 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:35.640 we're diving deep into a topic that, let's be 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:38.060 honest, almost all of us have wrestled with, 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.659 procrastination. You know that feeling, right? 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:44.280 You have a huge project due, a deadline is staring 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:46.960 you down, but suddenly... Cleaning your desk 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:48.719 or organizing your bookshelf becomes the most 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.740 urgent task in the world. We've all been there, 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.659 trust me. And what do we usually tell ourselves 00:00:54.659 --> 00:00:57.600 in that moment? We call it laziness, a lack of 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:00.380 discipline, maybe even a character flaw. But 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:04.620 what if I told you all of that was a lie? A growing 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:07.439 body of scientific research is completely reframing 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:10.019 how we understand procrastination. It's not a 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:14.189 moral failing, okay? It's a complex and deeply 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:17.230 ingrained psychological phenomenon. This is today's 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:20.150 food for thought. The common belief that procrastination 00:01:20.150 --> 00:01:24.670 is more about time management is a fundamental 00:01:24.670 --> 00:01:27.769 misunderstanding. In reality, bad time management 00:01:27.769 --> 00:01:29.810 is just a symptom of a much deeper emotional 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:33.730 struggle. Think about it. For real, like, think 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:37.030 about it. When you label your own avoidance as 00:01:37.030 --> 00:01:38.890 laziness, you're actually making the problem 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:41.590 worse. You're at a whole new layer of negative 00:01:41.590 --> 00:01:44.370 emotions like guilt and shame for the next that 00:01:44.370 --> 00:01:47.390 have nothing to do with it. This extra emotional 00:01:47.390 --> 00:01:49.510 baggage makes the past you're already avoiding 00:01:49.510 --> 00:01:53.310 feel even more unpleasant. Which only increases 00:01:53.310 --> 00:01:55.390 your brain's impulse to avoid it even further. 00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:57.849 It's at least a cycle where beating yourself 00:01:57.849 --> 00:02:00.269 up actually fuels the fires of procrastination 00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:02.530 and makes the whole situation a lot bigger and 00:02:02.530 --> 00:02:05.450 more grand than it should be. Though the first 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:07.769 step to breaking this cycle isn't just to try 00:02:07.769 --> 00:02:10.629 harder to apply more willpower. The first step 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.490 is actually to dismantle what I'm calling the 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:17.750 laziness lie, if you catch what I'm saying, and 00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:20.490 replace that self -blame with some genuine self 00:02:20.490 --> 00:02:23.229 -awareness. So today, we're going to deconstruct 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:25.490 this myth. We'll explore procrastination as a 00:02:25.490 --> 00:02:28.710 problem of emotional regulation. We'll also look 00:02:28.710 --> 00:02:31.430 at the neuroscientific conflicts happening within 00:02:31.430 --> 00:02:34.069 your brain, you know, the little wiggly cell 00:02:34.069 --> 00:02:35.590 on the top of your head that helps you think, 00:02:35.629 --> 00:02:38.590 and identify the common triggers, and most importantly, 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:41.860 I'll give you a whole suit of evidence -based 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:47.159 strategies to take back control. You ready? Let's 00:02:47.159 --> 00:03:16.229 break that down, shall we? All right, everybody, 00:03:16.430 --> 00:03:20.050 let's begin with part one, though. Why? Emotional, 00:03:20.189 --> 00:03:26.090 but yet not a time problem. So, what is the real 00:03:26.090 --> 00:03:29.569 reason we fall asleep? Modern psychologists and 00:03:29.569 --> 00:03:32.909 consensus says that procrastination is fundamentally 00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:36.830 an emotion regulation problem, a time management 00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:39.650 issue. Scientifically, procrastination is the 00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:42.009 voluntary and unnecessary delay of a task intended 00:03:42.009 --> 00:03:45.500 to do. Even though you know that delay will just 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.000 lead to horrible consequences in the long run. 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:53.180 And that's a key distinction. As Dr. Tim Cycle, 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:55.360 like that's the type that has this guy's name, 00:03:55.400 --> 00:04:00.319 P -Y -C -H -Y -L, puts it, all procrastination 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.020 is delay. Not all delays is procrastination. 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.439 The funny word for a family emergency is irrational 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:09.020 choices like procrastination. Putting them off 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:10.699 to watch TV when you know there's a deadline 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:13.699 will mean death procrastination. That's the irrational 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:15.930 act where we're that we're talking about right 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:19.089 there. The core idea here is something called 00:04:19.089 --> 00:04:22.449 temporal mood regulation. Okay? We procrastinate 00:04:22.449 --> 00:04:25.509 on the tasks that make us feel bad. Any task 00:04:25.509 --> 00:04:28.509 that makes us feel bad, we tend to put it off. 00:04:28.589 --> 00:04:31.350 Tasks that trigger anxiety, boredom, or self 00:04:31.350 --> 00:04:33.509 -doubt. Believe it or not, I'm just as guilty 00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:35.670 of this as anyone else. Most of the time how 00:04:35.670 --> 00:04:37.149 I put off a task is not because I don't want 00:04:37.149 --> 00:04:39.370 to do it or I can't do it. It's because I'm bored. 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:44.110 I have to at least admit that. First step is 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:45.769 always a minute when there's a problem before 00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:48.949 you can actually go forward. But hey, we all 00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:52.850 do it as a short -term strategy to manage our 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:55.990 intermediate moods, however we're feeling. You're 00:04:55.990 --> 00:04:57.829 not actually avoiding the task itself, you're 00:04:57.829 --> 00:04:59.750 just avoiding the uncomfortable feeling that 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:02.449 that task brings up inside you, more or less. 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:05.269 By sidestepping those difficult emotions, your 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:08.189 present self gets an immediate reward, relief. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.860 But that relief comes at a huge cost to your 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.699 future self, who has to still face the same task. 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:19.120 But now you're under even greater pressure. And 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:24.120 that's not exactly fun for you, is it? Now, this 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.819 internal struggle you feel is not just a metaphor. 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:30.899 It's a literal neurological tug -of -war happening 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:33.300 inside your head between two very different parts 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:36.240 of the brain. The limbic system and the prefrontal 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:39.889 cortex. First up, the limbic system. This is 00:05:39.889 --> 00:05:42.649 one of the oldest, most dominant parts of your 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:46.990 brain. It's your, as I say, automatic, powerful, 00:05:47.050 --> 00:05:51.689 emotional hub. Its main job is to seek immediate 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:54.750 reward and avoid discomfort. In the other corner, 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:57.870 you have your prefrontal cortex. It's a more 00:05:57.870 --> 00:06:00.769 recently evolved and therefore weaker part of 00:06:00.769 --> 00:06:03.709 the brain, if you will. As they've defined it, 00:06:03.769 --> 00:06:06.779 it's your brain's CEO or rational twin. handling 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:09.379 things like long -term planning and impulse control. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.220 Procrastination happens when the limbic system's 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:16.720 primary screen for immediate emotional relief 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.959 overpowering the prefrontal cortex' logical long 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.180 -term planning. Basically, you want the sweet 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:27.139 relief versus trying to actually do the work. 00:06:27.579 --> 00:06:30.000 It's like trying to keep yourself from going 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.259 to use the bathroom, knowing you have to go because 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:34.379 you have to finish something, but the urge to 00:06:34.379 --> 00:06:37.470 scream it. It's there, pushing, pushing, pushing, 00:06:37.490 --> 00:06:39.990 until at some point you give in and you go. You 00:06:39.990 --> 00:06:42.490 get the sweet relief now, you do feel better, 00:06:42.589 --> 00:06:44.430 but then what happens? You still have all that 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:48.370 work you gotta go back and do. You know? The 00:06:48.370 --> 00:06:50.509 Linux system is your brain's default setting, 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:55.050 okay? If your PFC isn't actively engaged, your 00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:57.250 brain will automatically do what feels right 00:06:57.250 --> 00:07:00.310 in the kind moment. This is why a lot of people, 00:07:00.329 --> 00:07:03.069 when bored, tend to go drive off into a different 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:05.519 direction, not literally drive, but... fall off 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:07.160 in a different direction and do random stuff 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:08.879 that they know they really shouldn't be doing. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:11.879 This battle has been reinforced by dopamine. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:13.699 Y 'all remember this. We've talked about this 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:16.699 before in previous episodes. When you give in 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:19.819 and do something distracting, your brain's reward 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:23.600 system releases a little hint of this feel -good 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:27.259 chemical. This creates a powerful feedback loop 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:28.959 that actually straightens the neural pathways 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.949 for avoidance. Each time the limbic system wins, 00:07:32.050 --> 00:07:34.050 that procrastination habit gets more and more 00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:35.810 automatic to the point where you just kind of 00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:40.370 do it without thinking. So consider that in the 00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:44.009 process of what you're doing, that the moment 00:07:44.009 --> 00:07:45.889 you feel like you should probably go do something 00:07:45.889 --> 00:07:47.649 else because it feels better rather than doing 00:07:47.649 --> 00:07:49.589 the task you need to do, you should probably 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:51.730 face up and just go ahead and do the task that 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:54.149 needs to get done. The longer you hold it off, 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:56.290 the more likely it is you'll never get around 00:07:56.290 --> 00:08:29.050 to it. All right, everybody. Welcome back. Let 00:08:29.050 --> 00:08:31.189 me go and talk about the triggers, unmasking 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:34.690 your procrastination profile. So, first off, 00:08:34.830 --> 00:08:37.309 to really beat procrastination, you have to know 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:39.889 your enemy. The act of delay is often a symptom 00:08:39.889 --> 00:08:42.909 of a deeper trigger. Let's unmask the most common 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:46.870 ones, okay? First off, task aversionness. We 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:49.210 abide allegedly a wire to avoid things we find 00:08:49.210 --> 00:08:51.590 unpleasant. A task might be boring, frustrating, 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:55.029 difficult, unstructured, or just lack personal 00:08:55.029 --> 00:08:58.100 meaning. The more of these boxes we tick, uh, 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:01.620 with tasks tick, tasks tick, there's a phrase. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.379 The more of these boxes that we, uh, of tasks 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:08.080 that we tick off, the more you're going to resist 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:11.200 it. In other words, the more work you have to 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:13.659 do within a short period, the more daunting it 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:15.340 feels, the more likely it is you're going to 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:18.940 want to not do it. The second thing is perfectionism 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:23.519 or fear of failure. Which, I feel like fear of 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:25.200 failure is something we should definitely talk 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.299 about in the future moving forward, so look forward 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:30.279 to that. But anyway, for a perfectionist, the 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:32.759 real fear isn't the task itself, it's producing 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.080 something that falls short of impossibly high 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.700 standards. It feels psychologically safer to 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:39.759 not even try than to risk creating an imperfect 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.620 product. I've been there, and it took a while 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:46.460 for me to climb down that ladder. The fear of 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:49.320 success, this is another one. The myth of succeeding 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:51.700 in itself is something that people are afraid 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:53.419 of and therefore they don't wish to do anything. 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:55.960 It's a fascinating one when you think about it. 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:58.720 Success can bring its own anxieties, new responsibilities, 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:02.879 higher expectations, and more visibility. Although, 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.440 procrastination can also become a way to unconsciously 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:09.340 self -sabotage yourself to avoid those heavy 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:13.039 consequences. As a result, that kind of brings 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:18.059 us to the fourth one. Decision Paralysis. I know 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.019 you've heard it before. It's a thing that exists. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.059 This happens when you're overwhelmed by choices 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:25.860 or the fear of making the wrong one. But you 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:28.740 just can't make any decision at all. Avoidance 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:33.240 feels like a relief in the time being. Except 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:36.740 it's only temporary. Like the feeling or high 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:38.980 that coffee gives you. Remember, we talked about 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.580 this before. Now it falls into the same category. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.700 Not quite procrastination. The expression says 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:48.340 coffee is more related to... how your body deals 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:52.480 with energy and drowsiness. The last one is low 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.840 self -efficacy. This is the belief in your own 00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:00.279 ability to succeed. I'm like, uh, uh, what's 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.799 the word I'm looking for here? I do believe it 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:06.279 is self -confidence. When it's low, you doubt 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.500 yourself, which triggers anxiety. Procrastination 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:11.639 then becomes a defensive mechanism to postpone 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:14.500 that anticipated failure. Because you don't want 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:16.299 to have to sit there and deal with the result 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:19.080 of not doing good enough because you don't think 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:21.320 that you're possibly capable of doing better. 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:24.240 Richest researchers break these patterns down 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.120 into different art types. Basically, the question 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.840 to ask is, are you the perfectionist, the worrier, 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:32.419 the crisis maker who thrives on the last -minute 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:35.399 pressure, or the dreamer who loves planning but 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:38.539 hates doing any of it? If I'm being perfectly 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:41.139 honest here, and I'm talking about myself as 00:11:41.139 --> 00:11:44.899 a whole here, There are times I find myself in 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:47.539 the dreamer category. I like planning and I like 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:50.100 doing a lot of different things. But sometimes 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:51.960 when it comes down to doing it, it just seems 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:55.200 like too big or too daunting a task. Or worse. 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:59.379 I start off in the dreamer archetype and I end 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:01.379 up moving over to the perfectionist archetype. 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:03.820 Where now I'm trying to perfect everything I'm 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:05.559 doing to the point where I'm actually avoiding 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:08.740 finishing the project entirely. You don't have 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:12.139 to be any one of these four or five things. You 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:14.500 could end up being in multiple categories by 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:17.899 trying to avoid being in a certain gun. You know, 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:20.700 moments where I feel like I'm the dreamer, I'm 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:23.039 fine, but then I realize I'm not doing anything, 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:25.919 so I try to work on it, because then now that 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:29.379 puts me in the worrier category. Now I'm trying 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:31.379 to make sure I finish it, but then I'm looking 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.159 at what I'm doing, and I'm like, this isn't good 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:35.460 enough. So then I move into the perfectionist 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:37.980 category, art type. You know, I'm trying to get 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:39.779 it done, get it right, get it right, get it right, 00:12:39.820 --> 00:12:42.870 get it right. Until I realized that I don't have 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:44.570 a whole lot of time to still finish this and 00:12:44.570 --> 00:12:47.490 now I'm in the crisis maker archetype. Not very 00:12:47.490 --> 00:12:51.149 many people fall into all four or five. But they're 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:53.669 young at the same time. But everyone has the 00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:56.330 same issues now. Even if I said four, not five, 00:12:56.409 --> 00:12:59.389 right? That's because the last one with the self 00:12:59.389 --> 00:13:02.009 -confidence issue isn't as common. This is one 00:13:02.009 --> 00:13:04.269 that's more of a personal thing. It depends on 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:06.149 how you were raised or how you look at the issues 00:13:06.149 --> 00:13:09.330 as a whole. It can affect your ability to do 00:13:09.330 --> 00:13:11.789 work, which then in itself makes it its own level 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:14.029 of procrastination in the six ones that I listed. 00:13:14.309 --> 00:13:17.629 But the top four, being a procrastinator, the 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.370 warrior, the crisis maker, and the dreamer, these 00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.549 are the four that are the main issues and the 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:24.509 main driving problems, especially for students 00:13:24.509 --> 00:13:27.789 nowadays. Identifying your profile is a huge 00:13:27.789 --> 00:13:30.070 step in finding the right strategy to fight back. 00:13:30.250 --> 00:13:32.690 And I recommend this for a lot of people, especially 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:35.500 those who are going to do whatever it is they 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:37.840 need to do, but it takes them a while to get 00:13:37.840 --> 00:14:24.600 there. All right, time for the last part of this. 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:28.120 Ah, let's talk about the antidote, a toolkit 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:32.279 for taking action. Okay, so we've diagnosed the 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.580 problem, now for the antidote. Overcoming procrastination 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:38.240 isn't about becoming a productivity machine, 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.720 okay? It's about becoming a more self -aware, 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:43.740 compassionate strategist, if you will. And the 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:46.220 foundational mindset shift you need is a radical 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:49.759 self -compassion. In other words, be nicer to 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.370 yourself, okay? The more effective antidote to 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:55.230 delay is not harsher discipline, but greater 00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:57.950 self -kindness. When you procrastinate and then 00:14:57.950 --> 00:14:59.769 you berate yourself, you're just amplifying the 00:14:59.769 --> 00:15:02.769 guilt and the shame that made you make the task 00:15:02.769 --> 00:15:05.990 feel awful in the first place. It's better not 00:15:05.990 --> 00:15:08.649 to make the situation worse. If any way, it's 00:15:08.649 --> 00:15:12.350 better to try to find a way to solve it by going 00:15:12.350 --> 00:15:14.289 easier on yourself in the sense like, oh, okay, 00:15:14.350 --> 00:15:18.450 well, I wasn't able to do it. I failed it, but... 00:15:18.920 --> 00:15:21.519 The bright side is I now know what I don't need 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.980 to do or what not to do, and I can move forward 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:25.399 from there. You know, like, what did you learn? 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.820 Okay? Forgiving yourself for past procrastination 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:31.320 actually reduces the likelihood that you'll actually 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.600 do it again because you're becoming a little 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.919 bit more forgiving. And this kind of also relates 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.500 to a topic that I plan to cover next, which is 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:42.179 forgiving others. Before you can serve, what 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:43.919 do you think about how to forgive others and 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.340 move forward? That'll first learn how to forgive 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:49.600 yourself. Because most of the blame when it comes 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.799 to issues moving forward, especially relationships 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:55.320 and dealing with other people, is the inability 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:59.759 to forgive others, even when it isn't their fault. 00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:03.700 Or is in some cases. There's times where issues 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:05.899 have occurred and I know it's their fault, but 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:08.240 I'm still going to forgive them anyway. Because 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.820 if I can't forgive them or I can't forgive myself 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:12.919 for allowing it to happen in the first place. 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:14.830 I'm never going to be able to forgive anyone 00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:16.490 else, and I'm just going to be walking around 00:16:16.490 --> 00:16:18.769 with a chip on my shoulder. You'll never get 00:16:18.769 --> 00:16:22.190 anything done in a way. Once you have that foundation, 00:16:22.450 --> 00:16:24.990 you can start using some practical tools. So, 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:28.110 with that being said, let's build your toolkit. 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:32.169 First things first, the two -minute rule. If 00:16:32.169 --> 00:16:34.330 a task takes less than two minutes, just do it. 00:16:34.370 --> 00:16:36.809 Do it immediately. For bigger tasks, the goal 00:16:36.809 --> 00:16:39.529 is just to start working on it, even if it's 00:16:39.529 --> 00:16:42.000 just for two minutes. This lowers the mental 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.259 barrier and helps you build momentum. By doing 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:46.899 it in two -minute bursts, here, here, here, here, 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.700 and there, you'll get little bits of it done 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:52.559 at a time to the point where at some point, you'll 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:54.940 be almost finished. You'll be like, oh, well, 00:16:55.059 --> 00:16:56.940 if that's all I have to do, then you'll just 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:00.179 go get it done. Simple as that. Then there's 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:02.539 the other part of it. The next one is tasks. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.119 E -composition. Or, as I was just explaining, 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:10.180 chunking. Break a huge, ambiguous project like... 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:12.829 or writing a report, or in my case, writing a 00:17:12.829 --> 00:17:16.789 book, or writing a chapter, right? I do a series 00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:20.069 of small, concrete, manageable sub -tasks, like 00:17:20.069 --> 00:17:23.369 find resources, email for your report. This makes 00:17:23.369 --> 00:17:25.549 the project feel less strained. Like, this is 00:17:25.549 --> 00:17:27.670 how I handle writing my books, okay? A lot of 00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:30.130 people ask me if I'm able to write, how do I 00:17:30.130 --> 00:17:32.150 write my books? How long does it take me to write 00:17:32.150 --> 00:17:33.990 it? I can honestly tell them it doesn't take 00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:36.009 me more than a week or two to write most of my 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:38.549 stories that I have to write. This isn't me showing 00:17:38.549 --> 00:17:40.950 off. This is me telling you that the reason that 00:17:40.950 --> 00:17:43.289 I'm able to do this is because instead of literally 00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:46.470 as a story as a whole, I break it up into three 00:17:46.470 --> 00:17:48.230 sections. I have them beginning, middle, and 00:17:48.230 --> 00:17:50.529 end. And then I break those sections down into 00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:53.869 chapters. Then I break those chapters into smaller 00:17:53.869 --> 00:17:56.549 sections. By writing them in sections and then 00:17:56.549 --> 00:17:58.690 writing them as chapters as a whole, like each 00:17:58.690 --> 00:18:01.369 chapter is its own individual small short story, 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:04.130 it's a lot easier to focus on the whole thing 00:18:04.130 --> 00:18:06.539 and get it done. By writing a chapter by chapter 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.279 by chapter by chapter. And if I happen to go 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.000 a little bit longer than I originally wanted 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.720 for either each chapter or I write an extra chapter 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:16.920 or two, that's not a problem because it's smaller 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:19.539 tasks. These are things that are a lot better 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:21.539 to digest. So it makes it easier to progress 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:24.420 forward. Which kind of brings me to the third 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:30.279 tool. Eat the frog. And that sounds stupid. And 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:31.720 most of y 'all will be like, no, I don't want 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:33.779 to eat a frog. That's gross. That's not what 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:36.880 I mean by that. Identify your single most dreaded 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:40.799 task of the day. That is your frog. I don't know 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:42.880 why it sounded weird when I said that, but that's 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.940 the idea. And do it first day in the morning, 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.319 when your willpower and cognitive resources are 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:51.039 at its peak. By doing the thing you dread the 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.039 most in the morning, the first task that you 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:56.160 touch, after you've had your honey coffee and 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.319 everything else, right? You knock it out early. 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.079 By knocking that out early, it becomes the least 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:08.480 likely issue of cause or provocation or procrastination. 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:11.200 This will keep you on task. It'll allow you to 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:13.420 move forward. And again, you're still chunking. 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:15.259 You're still breaking everything down into sections. 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.640 But now you're able to get it done faster because 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.180 you're focusing on the portions that you know 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:22.220 are going to be the hardest to get, which brings 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:25.920 us to the fourth tool in this toolkit, the Bramadoro 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.339 technique. Work in a focused 25 -minute interval, 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:32.819 okay? The two -minute interval issue is great 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:34.720 for when you're handling small tasks like creating 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.420 outlines or something. When you're focusing on 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:40.940 the bigger things, focusing on 25 -minute intervals 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:43.640 separated by short five -minute breaks, well, 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:46.640 this gamifies the work, preventing burnouts, 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:48.660 and it aligns with your brain's natural attention 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:51.500 cycles. Some people have longer attention cycles, 00:19:51.539 --> 00:19:54.140 and this works fine. I'm one of them. I can sit 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.000 here and work for an hour and a half on something 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.220 without losing concentration unless someone comes 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:01.160 in and bothers me. And this is great, especially 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:03.299 when you're working on your projects, handling 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:05.779 homework assignments, or in college students' 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:07.839 case, multiple homework assignments from different 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.619 classes all on the same day. Especially when 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:13.019 you have exams coming up, you know? But so pretty 00:20:13.019 --> 00:20:15.720 sure, like now, that we are at the end of September, 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:18.440 so midterms should be coming up soon, if they 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:21.559 haven't already started. So this is something 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:24.420 that would definitely help when handling homework 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:26.359 assignments, projects, or anything of the like, 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:28.619 and get them mocked out as soon as possible. 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:00.019 So, what's the big takeaway from all of this? 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.279 The journey to understand procrastination reveals 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.019 a profound shift. It's not a character flaw or 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:10.099 devoid of laziness, but a deeply human, emotional, 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:13.700 driven coping mechanism. Overcoming it isn't 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:16.480 about brute force. It's about replacing that 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.900 cycle of avoidance and self -criticism with a 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:21.900 cycle of awareness and action. But that forward 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.740 begins not with an iron will, but with a single 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:27.799 compassionate act of self -forgiveness. The ultimate 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:30.559 goal is not the total elimination of procrastination, 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:34.519 but the cultivation of progress, one small intentional 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:38.160 step at a time. This is something for you guys 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:42.359 to keep in mind moving forward. Well, that's 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:43.980 all the time we have for today. Thank you for 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.140 tuning in to Food for Thought. I'm Neil Gentry, 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:48.519 reminding you to think deeply and be kind to 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.269 yourself. If you haven't already, feel free to 00:21:51.269 --> 00:21:54.069 check me out on any of the many platforms that 00:21:54.069 --> 00:21:57.549 I'm on, whether it's iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, 00:21:57.549 --> 00:22:01.910 Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, you name it. 00:22:01.930 --> 00:22:05.329 I'm even on Deezer and YouTube. And for all you 00:22:05.329 --> 00:22:07.430 too, when you're listening to this podcast here, 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:09.410 feel free to leave a comment down below on what 00:22:09.410 --> 00:22:11.549 you liked about this episode or any feature topic 00:22:11.549 --> 00:22:14.970 you would like to see me cover. That's it for 00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:17.009 today. Have a great rest of your day.