Hello, fellows!
Whether you're a developer, tester, writer, engineer, CEO, or anything else, here's some great news - We all struggle with procrastination! Yay! 😲
(Now let's get serious)
So, how can we overcome procrastination and become more motivated?
In this article, I'd like to share some tips from Alex Vermeer blog on procrastination, where you can also download its chart.
Based on Alex’s equation, motivation is influenced by four major components: Expectancy, Value, Impulsiveness, and Delay.
If you want to boost motivation, you must first change your expectations. Whatever task you are currently working on, try to anticipate success and add value to it to make it more pleasant. On the other side, if you are distracted while executing a work due to impulsiveness, you will soon become unmotivated.
This post will provide you with some practical tips on how to improve each of these areas. So let's start combating procrastination. 👊🤜
Increase Expectancy 🌟
Choose to cultivate a mindset that allows you to see possibilities. Your next task should be considered as an opportunity to succeed. Refuse to see your attempts as failures. As Alex's chart shows: plan for the worst and hope for the best.
More details on how to increase expectancy can be found here.
Increase Value 💎
We can add value to a task by finding a deeper meaning for it. You'd be more inspired if you could see the big picture by answering some of the following questions:
- What is the significance of this task?
- Why is this material vital to learn?
- Where and how should I apply this knowledge?
- What useful lesson can I learn from this?
You can also be creative with your work by creating a sense of competition in it, as if it were a game. 😄 🎲
Check out Alex's article for more information on how to increase value.
Decrease Impulsiveness 🧹
When you are distracted, you become unmotivated to complete a task.
As a first step, recognize when you are procrastinating. What is causing you to avoid your task? You may receive many notifications while working or learning, or you may become distracted by social media or other thoughts.
Set a reasonable goal and break it down into manageable chunks. This actually reduces the delay between now and completion of an important task. Then use the Pomodoro method. It will help you in starting the process of focusing!
More on how to decrease impulsiveness can be found here.
Final thoughts
I would suggest choosing one or two components to work on. You must be patient with the changes. As Alex pointed out:
Do not even think about doing all of it – at least not right away!
Aside from that, depending on the season, you may need to rest and recover instead of looking and doing for more. Sometimes less is more!
However, if you are determined to beat procrastination, you may find this material useful, as I did. Until next time, cheers! 😊