How to Stop Procrastinating

Introduction

The speaker introduces the topic of procrastination and how it affects people.

Procrastination is about lying to yourself

• About 20% of the population identifies themselves as chronic procrastinators.

• Procrastination is about lying to yourself, telling yourself that you'll have plenty of time to finish a task when you know you're way behind.

Study on university students

• 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 had strict weekly deadlines for each paper.

• The ones who did the best on the papers were the ones given strict deadlines (Group B).

Three-step method for stopping procrastination

The speaker presents a three-step method for stopping procrastination.

Step 1: Eat an elephant

• Organize your project into small, manageable segments.

• Break down this giant project into smaller tasks so that it becomes less daunting.

Step 2: Pick out the itsy-bitsy goblins

• Start with the most enjoyable part of the project.

• Doing something that you like releases dopamine which makes you happy.

Step 3: Avoid the siren songs

• Clear out distractions that will hamper your ability to procrastinate later.

• For example, if you're a sucker for Facebook or online video games, have someone change your internet password to keep you on track for studying.

Conclusion

The speaker recaps the three-step method and invites viewers to leave feedback or comments.

Recap of tips

• Trick yourself into doing work by breaking tasks into segments, starting with the most enjoyable part of the project, and avoiding distractions.

• The less temptation you give in to, the better you'll be at acing that exam.

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