How to Stop Procrastinating

Alright, let's be honest. Is there something else you're supposed to be doing right now? Do you have a paper due in 10 hours? Is there a stinky pile of laundry slowly inching its way across your bedroom floor? You should be doing those things, but instead, you're here, listening to me lecture you on YouTube. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, don't go away just yet. The next five minutes will be the most productive bit of procrastination you have done all day. And you're not the only one procrastinating. Thanks to a suggestion by one of our viewers, today's episode of WellCast is going to bring you a three-step program to wrangle your monster of procrastination into submission. About 20% of the population identifies themselves as chronic procrastinators—people who constantly put off the things that they really need to do. And that is because procrastination is about lying to yourself. You know, telling yourself, "Eh, I'll have plenty of time to finish that paper tomorrow," when you know you are way behind. In a recent study, two groups of university students were assigned to write three papers in three weeks. Group A was given the opportunity to turn in all three papers at any point during those three weeks. Group B, on the other hand, had strict weekly deadlines for each paper. Ultimately, the ones who did the best on the papers were the ones given the strict deadlines. Group A, the students who had to pick their own deadlines, did pretty poorly. Generally, humans are not the best at regulating themselves. So when it comes to procrastination, you have to trick yourself into getting the job done. And this brings us to our WellCast three-step method for stopping procrastination. Please pause and print out your worksheet at WatchWellCast.com. Okay, are you ready? **Step One: Eat an Elephant** Hey, uh, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Look, what I'm saying is, you need time to digest, or you're going to make yourself sick. Reward yourself for getting through parts of the project, rather than waiting to reward yourself after the whole thing's over. Okay, procrastinator. Think about that one project that you really need to get done. But calm down. Instead of letting it overwhelm you, organize that project into small, bite-sized, manageable segments. Think about what needs to get done, and write down what you're going to be doing to tackle this project hour by hour, and make it specific. By breaking down this giant project into smaller tasks, this elephant will become a lot less daunting. **Step Two: Pick Out the Itsy-Bitsy Goblins Instead of Going for the Whole Dragon** The hardest part about starting any project is always starting the project. A good way to get around this is to start a project off with the task you like the best. Listen, when you do something that you like, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you happy. Maybe it's decorating the cover of a report or writing a snappy intro into an otherwise incredibly boring paper. **Step Three: Ignore the Siren Songs** Seriously. This step is straight out of Homer's epic poem, *The Odyssey*. In *The Odyssey*, our protagonist Ulysses is trying to get home. Unfortunately, this requires maneuvering through a strait of water, where sailors are often lured onto the rocks by creatures called sirens. Instead of giving up, Ulysses instructs his crew to tie him to the mast of his ship and for all of them to plug their ears. No matter how much he yells and screams to head towards the beautiful sirens, the sailors must keep on track. We're not saying that you need to actually tie yourself up to anything, but you should plan to clear any distractions that will hamper your ability to procrastinate later. For example, if you're a sucker for Facebook or online video games, have your parents or your roommates change the internet password to keep you on track for studying. The fewer temptations you get, the more likely you are to get lost.