3 Questions to Ask Yourself To Stop Procrastinating
I thought I would one of my favorite productivity hacks, because I’m feeling less than motivated today. Nothing like being productive in a different direction to procrastinate!
Do you ever put off doing something for so long that delaying taking action made the task an even bigger issue? I do that entirely too often, mostly with things that don’t even take that much time to accomplish!
Sometimes just asking ourselves simple questions to help plan ahead can help us make decisions that are more helpful in the long-run. These questions can be used for everything — small tasks (i.e. like putting laundry away, the thing I struggle with the most) all the way to bigger tasks (i.e. having a serious conversation with a loved one). I use them frequently to convince myself that doing whatever task now will let me do something I like more, later.
1 // What happens if I don’t do this thing?
There are consequences to every action, but there are also consequences to every inaction. Sure, Netflix is going to be more fun than your household chores — so it makes tasks easy to procrastinate.
Question #1 helps you to pay attention to the negative aspects of not doing the laundry — feeling stressed in the morning, having the clothes pile grow even bigger, and potentially creating a bigger issue for yourself later in the week. What’s the lesser evil here? This question helps you to decide that.
2 // Will I regret not doing this thing?
Question #2 puts a spotlight on your feelings. Will you regret your inaction? Does your regret often turn into guilt or feeling lazy? Maybe you beat yourself up when you have an unfinished to- do list.
Think about what you know about yourself and use that to inform your decision-making. Know that there is no right or wrong answer for this question. You know yourself better than anyone, so be aware of how you mentally react to inaction and how it inevitably makes you feel.
3 // If I don’t do this thing now, when will I?
Having expectations for yourself sometimes requires wiggle room. It’s unrealistic to think we’ll adhere to our goals or daily agenda without ever wavering. Most things have to get done at some point, so Question #3 helps you to restructure your plan or timing of your tasks.
Here’s the key to this question: you have to find an exact time to complete the task, plan it, and actually do it. If you don’t answer this question for yourself honestly AND follow through, you’re just pushing things off aimlessly without the end goal in mind.
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I’m Maigen Thomas and I’m on a mission to empower 1,000 early-career designers and other digital technologists with the skills and tools they need to increase their socio-economic status.
I’m the Founder of Level 11 Technology, an Apprenticeship Agency. I bring 10+ years of experience in enterprise software SaaS product design and a background in full-stack development to her UX and Gamification Design Consulting. I taught 3 cohorts of the UX/UI Design Bootcamp at UC Berkeley and wrote the $1m flagship UX/UI Design curriculum. Follow me on LinkedIn or join the MaigenUX Patreon for exclusive access to quests (with cash prizes!), professional mentorship and motivation, and Accessibility and Usability learning content.