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1. Keep your shoes on to prevent laying on couch 2. Use a transition ritual like boiling the kettle for tea or coffee 3. Use either background noise or a playlist (instrumental) to get you started 4. Go to library or equivalent to study
I am a mother of 3 and a small business owner.. I am a procrastinator and more embarrassingly a quitter. What causes my procrastination is stress caused from overthinking. The quitting is caused by fear from the negative thoughts. What has been helping me overcome this lately is to clear my mind of thoughts and saying to myself, “don’t think, just do”. Then instead of overthinking and procrastinating, I just do what I need to do.
@@Entertainment-is6kt Yes! It also helps to remind yourself that you are worth it! We are worthy of all the good things that will come to us when we stop overthinking and start doing.
@@CyndiGarguilo you may want to listen to psycho cybernetics. its quite long but touches on some of this. I would also suggest that you should not necessarily "remind yourself that you are worth it". This kind of thinking plays into your narrative that certain people deserve it. This is a narrative destructive to productivity. It sounds counter intuitive but some times letting go and not caring whether or not you achieve your goals is the final hurdle which you need to over come to consistently pursue them.
I want to add to this: firgure out WHERE it's coming from as well as how your procrastination manifests. It changed my life when i discovered that i procrastinate not because my phone is nearby, its actually because of how i feel about the work i need to do. Usually, procrastination happens when I percieve the task to be kverwhelming. When i feel that way, ill do literally anything other than the thing. Even if i were to eliminate every other task available to me other than the one i have to do, i will not do the required task. I will curl up into a ball and pretend to be a rock before i apporach the task. UNLESS i make myself feel differently about the task. I can do this by checking whether or not my sense of overwhelm is realistic (e.g. is this task REALLY as scary as i think? Is the importance of this task THAT major?) and if it is, i do things to make it less overwhelming. I'll commit myself to an extrenely easy version of the task or think about it in small pieces. And sometimes, this means making the pieces REALLY small (especially for chronic procrastinaters). One of the best tips i ever got was to make the task so small and easy that it would feel utterly silly not to do it. For example, if you know you need to finish 100 pages of a textbook by X date and are procrastinating getting started, start out by commiting to only reading 1 sentence a day. Not only will you complete the task, youll probably go far beyond it. Youll read the enitre page, because hey, youre already sitting there and theres actually not that much stuff on the page, and the content is actually kind of interesting, and so on and so forth. The most inportant thing is starting, because thats what gets you momentum. If you can make it easy to start, youll probably reduce your odds of procrastinating and increase your odds of completing the task, as well as build your confidence. And then if you add on everything else in this video, youre golden.
The one thing you've not really addressed is mental health conditions like ADHD and anxiety. This is why if someone is a constant procrastinator and nothing seems to improve no matter how hard you try, or if improvements just don't seem to stick, and this is causes years and years of suffering, then I'd definitely recommend just seeing a psychiatrist to look at things. ADHD was my big one, but anxiety added another level of procrastination that I didn't realize I had. The medications help a lot. Merely thinking about even trying to implement these things without my medication sounds like hell on earth. But, I used to chase all these little methods and routines, and they consistently... didn't work, or barely had an impact. Another BIG trick I have is to actually break things apart into tiny steps. Like, want to get out of bed? Start wiggling your toes. Want to stop scrolling and start studying? Don't aim at studying to get off of scrolling. Instead, close the app first, but don't think "I have to start studying," because the first action is actually to close the app.
That's a fantastic point, and it might be the missing link for many who struggle with chronic procrastination. Mental health conditions such as ADHD and anxiety can significantly affect our ability to plan, prioritize, and focus, often leading to delay and avoidance behaviors considered as 'procrastination'. In such cases, it's not merely about exerting more willpower or applying different strategies. It might be necessary to seek professional help and potentially consider medication, along with cognitive-behavioral strategies, to manage these underlying conditions effectively. Also, you mentioned an extremely useful technique: breaking tasks into small, manageable steps can lower the sense of overwhelm often associated with large or complex tasks, making them seem accessible and achievable. This is likely why alongside strategies like the Pomodoro technique, which splits work into short, manageable bursts interspersed with breaks, can be quite beneficial in reducing procrastination. Nonetheless, remember everyone is unique; what works for one might not work for another. Therefore, it's crucial to try various strategies until you find what composition works best for you. Also keep in mind, there is no such thing as 'perfect' productivity. Some days will be better than others. The most important aspect is to keep learning from every experience.
Absolutely, ADHD is in effect a dopamine deficiency, so chasing those low effort hits is the body's way to bring itself to normal. Without them you feel understimulated which can sap motivation. It definitely takes its own approaches and considerations.
this video does not address many things that concern motivation, and in general human behaviour. In the end its just a 10 min youtube video. Is this is enough to change anything, perhaps nothing was wrong, or this change is gonna be on the scale of this video lenght.
I have no idea why I even clicked on this. Absolutely zero value and he says stuff we've all hear a thousand times before. My advice to quit procrastination for life: a) fix your mental health (like entirely) and b) get a job/life/academic path you don't dread. Literally just two things but the two hardest things that exist.
Check for ADD..... ADHD is diagnosed because of Hyper. ADD is often undiagnosed....... There is no sure shot cure but you will know what the problem is and try to adjust your life (like adopting trechniques in this video).
Whenever I feel unmotivated to do something, I simply just do everything to prepare the task and take a break. I eventually get to doing the task later, and sometimes actually getting motivated to not take a break at all.
Honestly that's a good hack. I have ADHD and am more sensitive to stuff like that. Sometimes all I do in an entire day is to just prepare things I want to do. I might have a low the next day and not do anything or my priorities might change but somehow preparing things is fun when it's just the preparing part, but doing this big giant task where I have these pre-tasks is tideous and these pre-tasks are just painful and annoying.
@@Gustav.J the problem i have with your method is that i usually ends up procrastination with the preparation to be clear though, the problem is NOT your method
Loved this. Something I want to start doing this week is keep a notepad where I jot down any restless “to google” items that pop into my head. It’s become hilarious to observe my brain come up with any reason to stop what I’m doing and look up the most random question I conjure up. I’m hoping I can practise delaying my gratification through this method.
I plan in my mind to study so well. I feel so motivated that I tell myself, 'Oh yes, I can do this and achieve my goal.' However, I end up scrolling on Instagram because the plan I made in my mind is doable and something I know I can achieve. Instead of getting to it, I delay, thinking that I'll eventually finish it since I so clearly envisioned it in my mind. As a result, the day passes, the deadline comes closer, and my new reason for not studying is feeling overwhelmed and thinking, 'I won't be able to finish,' so I end up not starting in the first place. *crying internally* this became a habit
I'm at the point where procrastination is my usual cycle. I've also spent the last 2 years in burnout. Thank you so much for this video, I really needed it! Bookmarking it to play it again later.
01:47 Procrastination is a category of behaviors that lead to undesirable outcomes. 03:34 Identifying and specifying the behavior is crucial to fixing procrastination. 05:21 Changing the environment is key to addressing procrastination behavior. 07:08 Identifying triggers and implementing specific solutions can help overcome procrastination. 08:55 Identify the behavior and manipulate environment to change it 10:42 Procrastination might have become a habit 12:29 Mindfulness meditation helps train the brain to focus on the present moment and let go of distracting thoughts. 14:15 To address trauma, seek guidance from a therapist or psychologist during meditation.
15 minute video that teaches what took me years to understand about procrastination and ways to mitigate it. Tied in nudging, behavioral economics, environment reestructuring (a behavioral change technique), and some neurophysiology in a digestible and actionable way. Well done! I want to add that I’ve also mosty relied on changing my external environment to achieve results, but I do believe creating internal control is also important afterwards. The way I see it is that most of us are like level 5 characters in a lvl 15 world where we are constantly trying to battle mobs that are too difficult. By this I mean social media, video games, TV, etc. These are built by hundreds and thousands of brilliant engineers with the purpose of getting your attention. Is it a fair fight? By decreasing the “difficulty” of the environment you can start battling “mobs” of a similar level, win and increase your XP. Regardless there will be times you face a boss and having developed strong skills and internal attributes you can still likely come out on top. Also have a stronger internal system means that even if conditions aren’t perfect you can also still come out on top. Work on the environment -> Become proficient in stable, optimal settings -> Train the internal system -> Win in any setting. Hope that made sense?
Justin's videos are amazing. They are so captivating and informative that I would gladly spend an entire day watching them. I am learning things that I have never encountered before, and I sincerely appreciate the effort and dedication that Justin puts into creating such valuable content. Thank you, Justin, for your outstanding work.
* Identify the specific behavior of procrastination * Focus on the drivers of procrastination * Map out the chronology of events and triggers * Make specific changes to the environment and structures
I've watched this video, right after "What I Learned after 5000 Hours of Studying" and bro... That's life changing knowledge! Thank you for both videos!
One idea for people who work from home is to build in a "commute." Have breakfast, and then have the next step be to go for a walk. Make a personal rule that you have to go for another walk to get "back from work." This lets you build up a habit of "morning walk = thinking/working time is now" and "evening walk = relaxing time is now." Also it works two walks into your day, which is nice light exercise.
When I procrastinate I am super productive at doing what I do!! You know… that pile of clothes to fold, organize the pantry, clean the washer… you know the stuff you don’t want to do on regular basis.
Meditation worked great for me because it helps with being aware what's going on inside of me. Procrastination really is not the problem, it is a solution to other problems like overwhelm, fear, uncomfortable feelings, you name it. Very specific, like Justin said. If you are able to become aware of the problems you solve by procrastinating, you become able to find better solutions.
About a year ago, I stopped sitting on the coach when I was in the verge of procrastinating, or not sure what to do or what to start doing. It's a soul sinking anchor that glues me on there and I lose so much time doing nothing productive. Now I only sit when I intent to watch something or play something, usually on the laze part of my weekend or after a really long day after I've finished everything. As soon as I start feeling bored or start wanting to do something else I jump off it ASAP. Also had to fix my sleeping habit, similarly, I was procrastinating to sleep. I would just doom scroll or keep watching content/media, fighting off sleep., and I would go to sleep very late into the AM. Now as soon as I start feeling sleepy I immediately turn everything off, and jump to bed.
One of my options of dealing with procrastination is having more clarity in what I'm trying to accomplish. It helps get rid of my FOMO because I get to pick out the essential things I need to do. Still, this stems from my assessment of emotions and mental state.
OMG DUDE MEDITATION IS THE WAYYYY. I like studying but I keep getting distracted from thoughts and then my work seems boring, but tyyy. I have trained will power and literally cleaned out my room without my phone or anything else around and I still procrastinated cuz I couldn’t focus.
This is hands down the best video on procrastination and I've seen them all. Even if the ideas aren't completely new, the way it's implemented is very fresh, straight to the core of the matter in a very practical and digestable way. Matter fact, I've observed my "triggers" but you made me realize I didn't break it down enough. I'm glad I didn't skip on this one and there's new hope. Thank you!
You seemed very happy in this video Justin, laughing and joking a lot. While you never were "too" serious in past videos, you gave me a really good vibe in this one, i enjoyed the video a lot more. Nice advice as ever, thanks Dr. Justin
3rd point is very important, when I start doing something apart from work, I gain so much momentum that switching to other important task is important. It's like climbing down a tall tree and climbing up another tree(work) which looks very tall from the ground, which seems an arduous task. Self realisation is crucial here, as the second tree will bear fruit rather than the first one.
Regarding exercise I learned this years ago: go to the gym. When you have done that you are finished and don't have to do anything else, but oftentime it was bothersome to get there so why not work out a little when you are already there. But I also don't HAVE to. One time I was just at the gym for like 15 minutes before I realized I didn't want to work out that day so I went home, and didn't beat myself up for it. It was ok, it was something just not nothing. And most of the time I am there for at least an hour anyway.
My worst source of procrastination isn't external distractions but internal ones. Ever since I remember, long before TH-cam existed and even before I had access to the Internet, I always constructed stories in my head. The greatest pasttime for me is just doing nothing and thinking. At some point I wanted to become a writer but then I become a programmer and a AI-specialist. So novadays I do less worldbuilding for my nonexistent stories in my head and more designing new solutions, thinking of new experiments, etc. I like to do that but oftentimes it's a distraction that just doesn't let me do things that I should be doing. I don't think you touched on anything like this in your video. Maybe it's just a me problem and I'm broken :P
My thoughts exactly. My mind and the stories and scenarios I create are the most distracting thing ever, more than social media or anything else, so there isn’t a way to “change your external environment” here. It’s maladaptive daydreaming, it’s in your head, always trying to steal your attention. I’m also on my way to working in AI in the future but I can’t seem to focus enough to study for a programming quiz these days, so I have to ask, how did you get where you are? Despite all the internal distractions. I feel like I have goals, and ideas and I have a drive, but most of the time I just feel like a hypocrite since I only seem to take the cool ideas and goals to the realm of my mind. If you’ve read until here thanks :)
PS: you’re not “broken”, we all have our things, as cliche as this sounds we’re not perfect. Yeah most people seem to have a procrastination issue due to social media or Netflix (at least that what it seems from all these procrastination videos) so we might feel weird for having a different issues. Really it’s all the same: a form of distraction and escapism, it just appears differently in different people
@@AlysonsGlitch Hello, thanks for answering. As to how I got into AI, I started working on it during like 2nd or 3rd semester of my uni education. I was studying Computer Science so I was already on track. I wouldn't say that uni taught me a lot but it provided a lot of external motivation and I also got to know many great people there. So if I have any advice then try to get some external motivation. I do that a lot because I want to do things but at the same time, I often feel like I don't have the strength to (like I'm too tired or lack motivation or just my head is preoccupied with something else). External motivation could be anything. For me, it was mainly working with other people. The best is probably hackathons and other programming competitions, doing projects or even just working in a company. I also was a member and later a leader of a study group in my uni and I'm participating in a student group that is focused on AI. Sometimes I have taken too much on my head and got a little overwhelmed but overall I believe it was a good approach to motivate myself. Also, I don't think you need a diploma to land a job in the end but having one does help a little bit. If you don't have one, it's best you can compensate with some other achievements (e.g. participating/winning hackathons, having interesting projects). Anyway, that's what worked for me, hope it helps :)
there is an answer and it's called a trigger. Write in a journal from hour to hour the things you are going to do. You're going to notice that there is a pattern. Whenever you need to do ____ you feel ___ you start to daydream. Realize that maladaptive daydreaming is a form of escapism for those who are very creative but introverted.
I love the format your channel has taken! Precisely your unexpected and absurds « Like this video » really are hilarious. Thanks a lot for the information!
I am literally taking notes on this and putting it into a set of notes app folders. I already journal and go to therapy, but I have a feeling this is going to help me a lot, so thank you!
I got my desk and my bed in the same room, and the only thing that seems to work is to flip the bed upside down before i start studying so i wont fall back to the bed after 5 minutes
I send 100 bucks to my friend before I go to bed. If I don’t FaceTime them at my wake up time they keep the money. It’s the only effective solution I have discovered.
Something that has helped me be a bit more productive or to remind me of the things I need to do is: Download an app that helps you keep memos that way if I open my phone I can see it and I am reminded of it. The other thing is I keep a little white board where I try to write everything I need to do for the day or week. I keep it anywhere I can see it, like near my desk. That way I am reminded of my tasks once again and feel a bit more pressure to do them. This coupled with before I go to sleep I think of all that I did and congratulate me and even if I didn't manage to do every task, I end up feeling better because I tried my best. Then I take a few moments to think of what I need to do tomorrow or today every time I go to sleep and wake up. One thing that really does help is to surround yourself with other people who study, be it a library, or a moment where your friends are also studying. Can help to put you into the mood of the task.
This made a lot more sense to me than anything I’ve heard from other content creators. Especially the way you explained how to go about starting meditation and the ways it can benefit attention span / focus. Thank you so much! 🤗 Going forward with all three steps starting now! 👍👍
Brother this is insane I even procrastinated on this video, I liked this video thinking I'm gonna go through the liked section and watch this video someday later.
Another well trusted voice objectively solidifying just how prevalent mindfulness/metation is at fixing these problems. I've done it for 1-2 days, feel/do great for a short burst and fall off. Maybe it's time to really dive into it.
all these work and I’ve seen it with myself *trigger warning* I used to get sucicidal ideation because of not feeling worthy enough since I became a chronic procrastinator and it started negatively affecting my life prospects. But this sort of thinking about getting ahead of it through limiting distraction and above all being aware of my triggers (e.g. passing by my Xbox, game icons on my laptop, watching shorts while eating breakfast, pacing when thinking) all contributed to my deteriorating mental health however after incorporating meditation, slowing down, changing my environment, trial and erroring things to work on I’m seeing progress, though I still struggle with it now I feel I’m in a much better place and I’m glad he’s talking about it in this manner !
Absolutely, these are all critical points you've mentioned, especially mindfulness of triggers and the importance of self-awareness and self-care. It's truly courageous to confront detrimental habits and work towards better mental health. Let me assure you, it's totally natural to still struggle; progress is often slow and non-linear. Keep in mind that it's okay to have days where you can't meet your goals or expectations. After all, we're humans, not machines.
In my old apartment, I only had two rooms. One of them was for sleeping/resting, and the other one for studying. Unfortunately the "study room" didn't deserve its name, because it also contained my computer setup and I basically made all homework in front or even at the computer. There was simply not enough space or a third room to create a perfect atmosphere with a separate desk. A medicore solution was to switch to the couch in the sleeping room. Sometimes I fell asleep, but managed to read a couple of pages of the material before that rather than getting distracted by the digital world.
I never cared about dieting. A friend told me to try the carnivore diet to bring down my AIC. Reluctantly I gave it a try. Three weeks into I woke up one day with no more anxiety, insomnia or procrastination. I guess all these years it was what I ate. I'm still flabbergasted and shocked.
One of the most effective thing for me was hiding feed and recommendations on youtube and stuff. And being selective about who I follow and what I watch.
@@ikamu9844 Two chrome extentions I use unhook and news feed eradicator. Unhook is great for youtube. New feed eradicator works for multiple websites, but its just not that customizable. And since I don't use most of social media platforms on my desktop, these 2 work well for me.
From personal experience, and a person that procrastinated all the way through high school, I can agree with all that has been said here. And I'd like to emphasize on the fact that, to stop procrastinating, you should simply do that task for at least 5mn. Even if you'll stop after that, you'll will be more interested to come back to that piece of work that you started previously. But honestly I would suggest to first, find out the real reason why this work should be done. Make from it something that is bigger than you, and then you'll have the option to fulfill that gap through your work, or not do it and willingly admit that you're too weak for it. If you choose to keep procrastinating knowing that keep in mind that you're doing a disgrace to your family, friends and other people. That small amount of work that you would force to pursue, would add a probability to reach or gain something that you otherwise would't get, and potentially with it, you could other people. In some sort procrastination is an evil act against humanity, a selfish behaviour seeking pleasure over utility in life.
@@panchofenix9912 If you have ADHD, you have to take this seeking a solution to procrastination thing more seriously. Don't use it as an excuse (even though it is). Studies have shown that eating healthy, moving, and cultivating your brain with neuro exercises is beneficial. With adhd, this is a different topic and the key message there would be to keep trying and push yourself as hard as you can, while staying sane of course. And if you have the money, you can seek professional treatment and help. But the answer stays as simple as for others, even though in different dimensions, which is: don't give up and fight.
What I get from this video: -Sometimes your environment is the problem. Change it in a way that it makes procrastinating as difficult as possible, and doing the desired task as easy as possible. -If you are the problem, cut social media for some time and try mindfulness to rearrange your brain -Analyze: intentions, events (before, transition, results), feelings, triggers
I just say to my self “it’s worth it/ it’s worth to do it or I’m worth it we worth it, so we do it!” Or my energy is worth it, the result will be worth it and then I just do it when I undarstande it’s worth it. it’s really works for me
I procrastinate studies by doing work....... My trigger is perfectionism. Studies are graded, but trial and error is expected in my work. I also hate my studies, but am pretty passionate-ish about my work. I'm gonna come clean to my thesis professor NOW. I will say, environment does help. My work plus a new laptop actually has helped to reduce procrastination. I think the fact that I was progressing elsewhere kinda alleviated the 'depressed' feelings.
Yes, i like that the idea of you putting hightlighted most important content in order thru the podcast feed. If was working for the top notch alpha for a boss I'd clean off a few sections in the house to work and focus. And do mindful meditation. I was just thinking before playing your video...i wrote down the behaviors i need to change work diligently on...I going to display them so its the first thing i see when my eyes open from slumber. Thanks sir dude for your wonderful aurora.
I now carry a dumb phone. It took some time, but now, I don't miss my smart-phone. For me, the toughest situation was public lobbies, for example, waiting for a haircut. I now carry a book, it's better
For more on these topics, I recommend BJ Fogg's book Tiny Habits (it describes the triggers and role of "ease" in unwanted behaviors) and Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism for how to untangle yourself from addictive tech.
VERY true. when i started intermittent fasting/new lifestyle, i wanted to rid of snacking which defeats the purpose of fasting, is to eliminate all snacks from my house. it worked! bc if i REALLY wanted that snack, i would have to get into my car and drive to get it, but never did! I still get a twix or snickers every now and then but this habit helped for the last 5 yrs!
This is the first video I’ve watched and then I went skimming your channel. You really have a wonderful channel with lots of useful content we can all benefit from. I think it might be a good idea to binge a bit, take notes and start applying the knowledge.
Mindfulness mediation is a great tip! I found the easiest form of mindfulness meditation to start is NSDR( yoga nidra ) because you can do it before bed, it will also help you relax/ go to sleep!
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Every week, I distil what really works for improving results, memory, depth of understanding, and knowledge application from over a decade of coaching into bite-sized emails.
1. Keep your shoes on to prevent laying on couch
2. Use a transition ritual like boiling the kettle for tea or coffee
3. Use either background noise or a playlist (instrumental) to get you started
4. Go to library or equivalent to study
Oh, a transition ritual sounds like a cool idea!
>wearing your shoes inside
This is absolutely haram.
@@SingAboutSwayze mashallah my brother
@@SingAboutSwayze haram for muslims only 🙄
@@SingAboutSwayze fr
You know your procrastination is bad when you click on this video and immediately click "Save" > "Watch Later". I will get to this eventually. XD
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂this got me ROTFL 🤣
Lol, sometimes I might do that, but yea its pretty ironic to do that with this video.
I felt that.
Exactly, that is true
Nahhhhh 😂 I feel called out here
I am a mother of 3 and a small business owner.. I am a procrastinator and more embarrassingly a quitter. What causes my procrastination is stress caused from overthinking. The quitting is caused by fear from the negative thoughts.
What has been helping me overcome this lately is to clear my mind of thoughts and saying to myself, “don’t think, just do”. Then instead of overthinking and procrastinating, I just do what I need to do.
@@Entertainment-is6kt Yes! It also helps to remind yourself that you are worth it! We are worthy of all the good things that will come to us when we stop overthinking and start doing.
I came up with the EXACT same phrase “don’t think, just do”! No TH-cam video. Great minds think alike!
@@CyndiGarguilo you may want to listen to psycho cybernetics. its quite long but touches on some of this. I would also suggest that you should not necessarily "remind yourself that you are worth it". This kind of thinking plays into your narrative that certain people deserve it. This is a narrative destructive to productivity. It sounds counter intuitive but some times letting go and not caring whether or not you achieve your goals is the final hurdle which you need to over come to consistently pursue them.
This is literally me. Best advice
Thats a good way to put it... just do it. Its so simple instead of overthinking things. Great advice!
I want to add to this: firgure out WHERE it's coming from as well as how your procrastination manifests. It changed my life when i discovered that i procrastinate not because my phone is nearby, its actually because of how i feel about the work i need to do.
Usually, procrastination happens when I percieve the task to be kverwhelming. When i feel that way, ill do literally anything other than the thing. Even if i were to eliminate every other task available to me other than the one i have to do, i will not do the required task. I will curl up into a ball and pretend to be a rock before i apporach the task. UNLESS i make myself feel differently about the task.
I can do this by checking whether or not my sense of overwhelm is realistic (e.g. is this task REALLY as scary as i think? Is the importance of this task THAT major?) and if it is, i do things to make it less overwhelming. I'll commit myself to an extrenely easy version of the task or think about it in small pieces. And sometimes, this means making the pieces REALLY small (especially for chronic procrastinaters). One of the best tips i ever got was to make the task so small and easy that it would feel utterly silly not to do it.
For example, if you know you need to finish 100 pages of a textbook by X date and are procrastinating getting started, start out by commiting to only reading 1 sentence a day. Not only will you complete the task, youll probably go far beyond it. Youll read the enitre page, because hey, youre already sitting there and theres actually not that much stuff on the page, and the content is actually kind of interesting, and so on and so forth.
The most inportant thing is starting, because thats what gets you momentum. If you can make it easy to start, youll probably reduce your odds of procrastinating and increase your odds of completing the task, as well as build your confidence.
And then if you add on everything else in this video, youre golden.
This is a cool comment. Helpful, not preachy, and concise.
Very insightful, thank you!
The one thing you've not really addressed is mental health conditions like ADHD and anxiety. This is why if someone is a constant procrastinator and nothing seems to improve no matter how hard you try, or if improvements just don't seem to stick, and this is causes years and years of suffering, then I'd definitely recommend just seeing a psychiatrist to look at things.
ADHD was my big one, but anxiety added another level of procrastination that I didn't realize I had. The medications help a lot.
Merely thinking about even trying to implement these things without my medication sounds like hell on earth. But, I used to chase all these little methods and routines, and they consistently... didn't work, or barely had an impact.
Another BIG trick I have is to actually break things apart into tiny steps. Like, want to get out of bed? Start wiggling your toes. Want to stop scrolling and start studying? Don't aim at studying to get off of scrolling. Instead, close the app first, but don't think "I have to start studying," because the first action is actually to close the app.
That's a fantastic point, and it might be the missing link for many who struggle with chronic procrastination. Mental health conditions such as ADHD and anxiety can significantly affect our ability to plan, prioritize, and focus, often leading to delay and avoidance behaviors considered as 'procrastination'. In such cases, it's not merely about exerting more willpower or applying different strategies. It might be necessary to seek professional help and potentially consider medication, along with cognitive-behavioral strategies, to manage these underlying conditions effectively.
Also, you mentioned an extremely useful technique: breaking tasks into small, manageable steps can lower the sense of overwhelm often associated with large or complex tasks, making them seem accessible and achievable. This is likely why alongside strategies like the Pomodoro technique, which splits work into short, manageable bursts interspersed with breaks, can be quite beneficial in reducing procrastination.
Nonetheless, remember everyone is unique; what works for one might not work for another. Therefore, it's crucial to try various strategies until you find what composition works best for you. Also keep in mind, there is no such thing as 'perfect' productivity. Some days will be better than others. The most important aspect is to keep learning from every experience.
Absolutely, ADHD is in effect a dopamine deficiency, so chasing those low effort hits is the body's way to bring itself to normal. Without them you feel understimulated which can sap motivation. It definitely takes its own approaches and considerations.
this video does not address many things that concern motivation, and in general human behaviour. In the end its just a 10 min youtube video. Is this is enough to change anything, perhaps nothing was wrong, or this change is gonna be on the scale of this video lenght.
I have no idea why I even clicked on this. Absolutely zero value and he says stuff we've all hear a thousand times before. My advice to quit procrastination for life: a) fix your mental health (like entirely) and b) get a job/life/academic path you don't dread. Literally just two things but the two hardest things that exist.
@Shirumoon Hopefully, at least, my comment is of some value since it comes from my real experience that resulted in real improvement.
Justin, you’ve given a 53 year old professional procrastinator hope! Thank you.
😮
Good luck🙏
Check for ADD..... ADHD is diagnosed because of Hyper. ADD is often undiagnosed....... There is no sure shot cure but you will know what the problem is and try to adjust your life (like adopting trechniques in this video).
Chill man
Excellent....just what I needed....thank you..
Whenever I feel unmotivated to do something, I simply just do everything to prepare the task and take a break. I eventually get to doing the task later, and sometimes actually getting motivated to not take a break at all.
Honestly that's a good hack. I have ADHD and am more sensitive to stuff like that. Sometimes all I do in an entire day is to just prepare things I want to do. I might have a low the next day and not do anything or my priorities might change but somehow preparing things is fun when it's just the preparing part, but doing this big giant task where I have these pre-tasks is tideous and these pre-tasks are just painful and annoying.
Bro this is best tips
@@furrosama What's nice about this method is that, after a while, you start to get a habit of doing the assignments without breaks.
@@Gustav.J the problem i have with your method is that i usually ends up procrastination with the preparation
to be clear though, the problem is NOT your method
I watch this video and feel a little less "lazy" while I really should be studying 😂
Hehe, ya not the Lone Ranger
@@theline2715l
,
Haha, I think we have a dilemma
Haha, saaaame.
@@JustinSunghow can I get a scholarship for your course?
Loved this. Something I want to start doing this week is keep a notepad where I jot down any restless “to google” items that pop into my head. It’s become hilarious to observe my brain come up with any reason to stop what I’m doing and look up the most random question I conjure up. I’m hoping I can practise delaying my gratification through this method.
I like this and am going to give it a try. Thanks.
I plan in my mind to study so well. I feel so motivated that I tell myself, 'Oh yes, I can do this and achieve my goal.' However, I end up scrolling on Instagram because the plan I made in my mind is doable and something I know I can achieve. Instead of getting to it, I delay, thinking that I'll eventually finish it since I so clearly envisioned it in my mind. As a result, the day passes, the deadline comes closer, and my new reason for not studying is feeling overwhelmed and thinking, 'I won't be able to finish,' so I end up not starting in the first place.
*crying internally* this became a habit
THIS
I'm at the point where procrastination is my usual cycle. I've also spent the last 2 years in burnout. Thank you so much for this video, I really needed it! Bookmarking it to play it again later.
01:47 Procrastination is a category of behaviors that lead to undesirable outcomes.
03:34 Identifying and specifying the behavior is crucial to fixing procrastination.
05:21 Changing the environment is key to addressing procrastination behavior.
07:08 Identifying triggers and implementing specific solutions can help overcome procrastination.
08:55 Identify the behavior and manipulate environment to change it
10:42 Procrastination might have become a habit
12:29 Mindfulness meditation helps train the brain to focus on the present moment and let go of distracting thoughts.
14:15 To address trauma, seek guidance from a therapist or psychologist during meditation.
I’ve had this in my “Watch later” list for a month a now
I think social media like television has jacked our attention spans and brains. When I cut these things out, I was so much more productive!
I'm old enough to be your grandmother but you are like my parent, teaching me life basics- thank you!
15 minute video that teaches what took me years to understand about procrastination and ways to mitigate it. Tied in nudging, behavioral economics, environment reestructuring (a behavioral change technique), and some neurophysiology in a digestible and actionable way. Well done!
I want to add that I’ve also mosty relied on changing my external environment to achieve results, but I do believe creating internal control is also important afterwards.
The way I see it is that most of us are like level 5 characters in a lvl 15 world where we are constantly trying to battle mobs that are too difficult. By this I mean social media, video games, TV, etc. These are built by hundreds and thousands of brilliant engineers with the purpose of getting your attention. Is it a fair fight? By decreasing the “difficulty” of the environment you can start battling “mobs” of a similar level, win and increase your XP. Regardless there will be times you face a boss and having developed strong skills and internal attributes you can still likely come out on top. Also have a stronger internal system means that even if conditions aren’t perfect you can also still come out on top.
Work on the environment -> Become proficient in stable, optimal settings -> Train the internal system -> Win in any setting.
Hope that made sense?
what do you mean by training the actual system ?
Justin's videos are amazing. They are so captivating and informative that I would gladly spend an entire day watching them. I am learning things that I have never encountered before, and I sincerely appreciate the effort and dedication that Justin puts into creating such valuable content. Thank you, Justin, for your outstanding work.
Thanks for spreading this positivity in my life
Watching a video on how to end procrastination while also procrastinating by watching the vide on how to end procrastination. Dude I think I'm meta!
* Identify the specific behavior of procrastination
* Focus on the drivers of procrastination
* Map out the chronology of events and triggers
* Make specific changes to the environment and structures
I've watched this video, right after "What I Learned after 5000 Hours of Studying" and bro... That's life changing knowledge! Thank you for both videos!
One idea for people who work from home is to build in a "commute." Have breakfast, and then have the next step be to go for a walk. Make a personal rule that you have to go for another walk to get "back from work." This lets you build up a habit of "morning walk = thinking/working time is now" and "evening walk = relaxing time is now." Also it works two walks into your day, which is nice light exercise.
Understanding what is happening is half the battle. 감사합니다 의사님.
when he say "or are you?" my brain just automatically play the vsauce theme
@@jelly.17 it's just the song that he play everytime he say "or is it?" so everyone started to call it his "theme" song
@@jelly.17 now you know!
Basically a short summary of Atomic Habits in bite sized form. Thanks.
Adding my painting space to my work desk and getting a comfortable office chair enabled me to finish painting projects sooner.
When I procrastinate I am super productive at doing what I do!! You know… that pile of clothes to fold, organize the pantry, clean the washer… you know the stuff you don’t want to do on regular basis.
Meditation worked great for me because it helps with being aware what's going on inside of me. Procrastination really is not the problem, it is a solution to other problems like overwhelm, fear, uncomfortable feelings, you name it. Very specific, like Justin said. If you are able to become aware of the problems you solve by procrastinating, you become able to find better solutions.
I am so addicted to distracting myself/procrastinating, that I even scrolled down to the comments to entertain myself while you were talking.
About a year ago, I stopped sitting on the coach when I was in the verge of procrastinating, or not sure what to do or what to start doing. It's a soul sinking anchor that glues me on there and I lose so much time doing nothing productive. Now I only sit when I intent to watch something or play something, usually on the laze part of my weekend or after a really long day after I've finished everything. As soon as I start feeling bored or start wanting to do something else I jump off it ASAP. Also had to fix my sleeping habit, similarly, I was procrastinating to sleep. I would just doom scroll or keep watching content/media, fighting off sleep., and I would go to sleep very late into the AM. Now as soon as I start feeling sleepy I immediately turn everything off, and jump to bed.
One of my options of dealing with procrastination is having more clarity in what I'm trying to accomplish. It helps get rid of my FOMO because I get to pick out the essential things I need to do. Still, this stems from my assessment of emotions and mental state.
OMG DUDE MEDITATION IS THE WAYYYY. I like studying but I keep getting distracted from thoughts and then my work seems boring, but tyyy. I have trained will power and literally cleaned out my room without my phone or anything else around and I still procrastinated cuz I couldn’t focus.
I've saved this video to watch later.
Did you watch it yet?
I need this. I'll watch this video later.
how ironic that I added this to my watch later playlist
I knew of the "eliminate the cause to cure the effect" but the things in this video where all new.
I really liked the card from step 2.
Thank!!
This is hands down the best video on procrastination and I've seen them all. Even if the ideas aren't completely new, the way it's implemented is very fresh, straight to the core of the matter in a very practical and digestable way. Matter fact, I've observed my "triggers" but you made me realize I didn't break it down enough. I'm glad I didn't skip on this one and there's new hope. Thank you!
This looks very interesting, I'll watch it tomorrow
You seemed very happy in this video Justin, laughing and joking a lot. While you never were "too" serious in past videos, you gave me a really good vibe in this one, i enjoyed the video a lot more. Nice advice as ever, thanks Dr. Justin
3rd point is very important, when I start doing something apart from work, I gain so much momentum that switching to other important task is important. It's like climbing down a tall tree and climbing up another tree(work) which looks very tall from the ground, which seems an arduous task.
Self realisation is crucial here, as the second tree will bear fruit rather than the first one.
I gave in to the urge to like this video... And I regret nothing!
Regarding exercise I learned this years ago: go to the gym. When you have done that you are finished and don't have to do anything else, but oftentime it was bothersome to get there so why not work out a little when you are already there. But I also don't HAVE to. One time I was just at the gym for like 15 minutes before I realized I didn't want to work out that day so I went home, and didn't beat myself up for it. It was ok, it was something just not nothing. And most of the time I am there for at least an hour anyway.
My worst source of procrastination isn't external distractions but internal ones. Ever since I remember, long before TH-cam existed and even before I had access to the Internet, I always constructed stories in my head. The greatest pasttime for me is just doing nothing and thinking. At some point I wanted to become a writer but then I become a programmer and a AI-specialist. So novadays I do less worldbuilding for my nonexistent stories in my head and more designing new solutions, thinking of new experiments, etc. I like to do that but oftentimes it's a distraction that just doesn't let me do things that I should be doing. I don't think you touched on anything like this in your video. Maybe it's just a me problem and I'm broken :P
My thoughts exactly. My mind and the stories and scenarios I create are the most distracting thing ever, more than social media or anything else, so there isn’t a way to “change your external environment” here. It’s maladaptive daydreaming, it’s in your head, always trying to steal your attention. I’m also on my way to working in AI in the future but I can’t seem to focus enough to study for a programming quiz these days, so I have to ask, how did you get where you are? Despite all the internal distractions. I feel like I have goals, and ideas and I have a drive, but most of the time I just feel like a hypocrite since I only seem to take the cool ideas and goals to the realm of my mind. If you’ve read until here thanks :)
PS: you’re not “broken”, we all have our things, as cliche as this sounds we’re not perfect. Yeah most people seem to have a procrastination issue due to social media or Netflix (at least that what it seems from all these procrastination videos) so we might feel weird for having a different issues. Really it’s all the same: a form of distraction and escapism, it just appears differently in different people
@@AlysonsGlitch Hello, thanks for answering. As to how I got into AI, I started working on it during like 2nd or 3rd semester of my uni education. I was studying Computer Science so I was already on track. I wouldn't say that uni taught me a lot but it provided a lot of external motivation and I also got to know many great people there.
So if I have any advice then try to get some external motivation. I do that a lot because I want to do things but at the same time, I often feel like I don't have the strength to (like I'm too tired or lack motivation or just my head is preoccupied with something else).
External motivation could be anything. For me, it was mainly working with other people. The best is probably hackathons and other programming competitions, doing projects or even just working in a company. I also was a member and later a leader of a study group in my uni and I'm participating in a student group that is focused on AI. Sometimes I have taken too much on my head and got a little overwhelmed but overall I believe it was a good approach to motivate myself.
Also, I don't think you need a diploma to land a job in the end but having one does help a little bit. If you don't have one, it's best you can compensate with some other achievements (e.g. participating/winning hackathons, having interesting projects).
Anyway, that's what worked for me, hope it helps :)
@@Laszer271 Thank you for the advice!!
there is an answer and it's called a trigger. Write in a journal from hour to hour the things you are going to do. You're going to notice that there is a pattern. Whenever you need to do ____ you feel ___ you start to daydream. Realize that maladaptive daydreaming is a form of escapism for those who are very creative but introverted.
This is exactly what i need! I’ll start implementing sometime in the near future!
Your videos have been helping and I just want to say thank you
Your welcome
I love the format your channel has taken! Precisely your unexpected and absurds « Like this video » really are hilarious. Thanks a lot for the information!
Its so seamless smooth and well though of so im not even annoyed.His videos have so much insight so rightfully I like the videos anyways
I am literally taking notes on this and putting it into a set of notes app folders. I already journal and go to therapy, but I have a feeling this is going to help me a lot, so thank you!
I got my desk and my bed in the same room, and the only thing that seems to work is to flip the bed upside down before i start studying so i wont fall back to the bed after 5 minutes
I send 100 bucks to my friend before I go to bed. If I don’t FaceTime them at my wake up time they keep the money. It’s the only effective solution I have discovered.
I think I've had this video favorited for like 9 months now. Just came to check in on it. I'll watch it at some point.
Something that has helped me be a bit more productive or to remind me of the things I need to do is: Download an app that helps you keep memos that way if I open my phone I can see it and I am reminded of it. The other thing is I keep a little white board where I try to write everything I need to do for the day or week. I keep it anywhere I can see it, like near my desk. That way I am reminded of my tasks once again and feel a bit more pressure to do them. This coupled with before I go to sleep I think of all that I did and congratulate me and even if I didn't manage to do every task, I end up feeling better because I tried my best. Then I take a few moments to think of what I need to do tomorrow or today every time I go to sleep and wake up.
One thing that really does help is to surround yourself with other people who study, be it a library, or a moment where your friends are also studying. Can help to put you into the mood of the task.
This guy content are very useful. He has help me a lot, because procastination cause me many problems. Sorry for my English, I am learning.
I found that certainty gives me the motivation to continue studying something.
The book 'Atomic Habits' is similar to the ideas of this video
Thank you teacher Justin for this informative video❤
That's what I thought as well
for me going to the library directly after school kept me in that focused mindset, as soon as I go home I can’t put my head down to study
ill try these later
Thank you for caring!
This made a lot more sense to me than anything I’ve heard from other content creators. Especially the way you explained how to go about starting meditation and the ways it can benefit attention span / focus. Thank you so much! 🤗 Going forward with all three steps starting now! 👍👍
I know it's not the best start but really I NEED to procrastinate this video
Brother this is insane I even procrastinated on this video, I liked this video thinking I'm gonna go through the liked section and watch this video someday later.
I tried listening to this 5 times the other day and it just wasn’t happening but now I’m hearing it and it just makes sense.
Must have been distracted
This video was definitely needed! Thankyou Justin😁
Yep, a very important video covering a very common issue students deal with.
Glad you found it helpful.
My dad was is a heaving smoker, did it give me the urge to smoke as well?
Nope! It gave me Anosmia and Dyspnea.
Thanks dad!
in short, the key is: embrace the boredom and cut the dopamin off, your videos is great, thanks
Another well trusted voice objectively solidifying just how prevalent mindfulness/metation is at fixing these problems.
I've done it for 1-2 days, feel/do great for a short burst and fall off. Maybe it's time to really dive into it.
all these work and I’ve seen it with myself *trigger warning* I used to get sucicidal ideation because of not feeling worthy enough since I became a chronic procrastinator and it started negatively affecting my life prospects. But this sort of thinking about getting ahead of it through limiting distraction and above all being aware of my triggers (e.g. passing by my Xbox, game icons on my laptop, watching shorts while eating breakfast, pacing when thinking) all contributed to my deteriorating mental health however after incorporating meditation, slowing down, changing my environment, trial and erroring things to work on I’m seeing progress, though I still struggle with it now I feel I’m in a much better place and I’m glad he’s talking about it in this manner !
Absolutely, these are all critical points you've mentioned, especially mindfulness of triggers and the importance of self-awareness and self-care. It's truly courageous to confront detrimental habits and work towards better mental health. Let me assure you, it's totally natural to still struggle; progress is often slow and non-linear. Keep in mind that it's okay to have days where you can't meet your goals or expectations. After all, we're humans, not machines.
Thank's, you gain new subscriber from Indonesia🇮🇩
In my old apartment, I only had two rooms. One of them was for sleeping/resting, and the other one for studying. Unfortunately the "study room" didn't deserve its name, because it also contained my computer setup and I basically made all homework in front or even at the computer. There was simply not enough space or a third room to create a perfect atmosphere with a separate desk. A medicore solution was to switch to the couch in the sleeping room. Sometimes I fell asleep, but managed to read a couple of pages of the material before that rather than getting distracted by the digital world.
I never cared about dieting. A friend told me to try the carnivore diet to bring down my AIC. Reluctantly I gave it a try. Three weeks into I woke up one day with no more anxiety, insomnia or procrastination.
I guess all these years it was what I ate. I'm still flabbergasted and shocked.
One of the most effective thing for me was hiding feed and recommendations on youtube and stuff. And being selective about who I follow and what I watch.
oh please tell how do you hide them?? I've been looking for this option for a while but I can't seem to find it. Thanks a lot!!
@@ikamu9844 Two chrome extentions I use unhook and news feed eradicator. Unhook is great for youtube. New feed eradicator works for multiple websites, but its just not that customizable. And since I don't use most of social media platforms on my desktop, these 2 work well for me.
From personal experience, and a person that procrastinated all the way through high school, I can agree with all that has been said here. And I'd like to emphasize on the fact that, to stop procrastinating, you should simply do that task for at least 5mn. Even if you'll stop after that, you'll will be more interested to come back to that piece of work that you started previously. But honestly I would suggest to first, find out the real reason why this work should be done. Make from it something that is bigger than you, and then you'll have the option to fulfill that gap through your work, or not do it and willingly admit that you're too weak for it. If you choose to keep procrastinating knowing that keep in mind that you're doing a disgrace to your family, friends and other people. That small amount of work that you would force to pursue, would add a probability to reach or gain something that you otherwise would't get, and potentially with it, you could other people. In some sort procrastination is an evil act against humanity, a selfish behaviour seeking pleasure over utility in life.
yeah although healthygamergg doesn't seem to make look easy this topic specially if you have adhd
@@panchofenix9912 If you have ADHD, you have to take this seeking a solution to procrastination thing more seriously. Don't use it as an excuse (even though it is). Studies have shown that eating healthy, moving, and cultivating your brain with neuro exercises is beneficial. With adhd, this is a different topic and the key message there would be to keep trying and push yourself as hard as you can, while staying sane of course. And if you have the money, you can seek professional treatment and help. But the answer stays as simple as for others, even though in different dimensions, which is: don't give up and fight.
What I get from this video:
-Sometimes your environment is the problem. Change it in a way that it makes procrastinating as difficult as possible, and doing the desired task as easy as possible.
-If you are the problem, cut social media for some time and try mindfulness to rearrange your brain
-Analyze: intentions, events (before, transition, results), feelings, triggers
That's so cool to heart about this topic for me, it seems like you came at the right time. Thank you so much. this is my 1st comment on youtube. :)
Honour to be your first comment haha, welcome to the family! Get ready to transform the way you see learning and education. : )
You could apply this framework to any sort of negative habit, not only habits that fall under procrastination.
I just say to my self “it’s worth it/ it’s worth to do it or I’m worth it we worth it, so we do it!” Or my energy is worth it, the result will be worth it
and then I just do it when I undarstande it’s worth it.
it’s really works for me
*Saved this one to watch later*
Thanks! I'll start right away tomorrow!
I liked the video, I will work on my procrastination tomorrow 😊
I had similar ideas mentioned in this video, and now they are finally confirmed. Thank you very much! You are an epic!
I procrastinate studies by doing work....... My trigger is perfectionism. Studies are graded, but trial and error is expected in my work. I also hate my studies, but am pretty passionate-ish about my work. I'm gonna come clean to my thesis professor NOW.
I will say, environment does help. My work plus a new laptop actually has helped to reduce procrastination. I think the fact that I was progressing elsewhere kinda alleviated the 'depressed' feelings.
Thank you so much, I will watch this video later 🙏🙏
Love from India🇮🇳🇮🇳
Yes, i like that the idea of you putting hightlighted most important content in order thru the podcast feed. If was working for the top notch alpha for a boss I'd clean off a few sections in the house to work and focus. And do mindful meditation. I was just thinking before playing your video...i wrote down the behaviors i need to change work diligently on...I going to display them so its the first thing i see when my eyes open from slumber. Thanks sir dude for your wonderful aurora.
Nice, this looks good. I’ll add it to watch later when I feel like watching it.
Nice and cool! I'll finish to watch this video later.
😂.
"My intention was ... Sorry,
Someone's intention was"
🤫
I am gonna watch it next week! Thank you
Watching this video instead of doing what you should be doing right now is also procrastination.
Totally procrastinated while watching this video about stopping procrastination. Yup, I have a procrastination-habit-addiction
I now carry a dumb phone. It took some time, but now, I don't miss my smart-phone. For me, the toughest situation was public lobbies, for example, waiting for a haircut. I now carry a book, it's better
This seems like a great video. I'll save to watch it for later.
Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” routine may be another daily technique for slowing down your brain to gain focus.
"your chimney smokes" is a highly underrated joke
For more on these topics, I recommend BJ Fogg's book Tiny Habits (it describes the triggers and role of "ease" in unwanted behaviors) and Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism for how to untangle yourself from addictive tech.
VERY true. when i started intermittent fasting/new lifestyle, i wanted to rid of snacking which defeats the purpose of fasting, is to eliminate all snacks from my house. it worked! bc if i REALLY wanted that snack, i would have to get into my car and drive to get it, but never did! I still get a twix or snickers every now and then but this habit helped for the last 5 yrs!
I procrastinate this video and watch after 4 hrs
Well hope you apply everything and don’t procrastinate my next video 🙂
Not at all sir, due to your study method, I have been able to become a topper from loser. Thank you 😁
OH yeah thanks for the tip. my brain needs to slow down. thanks for the tip. that's why I felt good today because yesterday I was too busy working
Oh this should help. I took screenshots of the form and the examples for each step.
This is the first video I’ve watched and then I went skimming your channel. You really have a wonderful channel with lots of useful content we can all benefit from. I think it might be a good idea to binge a bit, take notes and start applying the knowledge.
Mindfulness mediation is a great tip! I found the easiest form of mindfulness meditation to start is NSDR( yoga nidra ) because you can do it before bed, it will also help you relax/ go to sleep!
Loved this! Thank you ❤