How to productively procrastinate » 3 steps

Procrastination is something that we all wrestle with. It tempts us away from the work that we should be doing to literally any other activity. It can steal hours, days, or even weeks of productivity, and it's a habit that's here to stay. So what can we do about it? Today I'm going to share with you my three-step productive procrastination system to handle the urge to avoid work with both intention and grace. I'm personally a bit of a master procrastinator at times, so this system has literally saved me countless times from starting another endless Netflix binge. If you're new here, my name is Izzy. I'm a medical student at Cambridge University, and on this channel we talk about designing lifestyle systems to help you stay happy, healthy, and efficient while studying. So let's get right into the video. I think it's so important to remember that procrastination is very human, it's very natural, and we shouldn't be beating ourselves up about wanting to procrastinate. And remember, it's not just you and me. Procrastination is literally an ancient problem that even stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius used to struggle with. Procrastination can either stem from a fear of the work that you're avoiding, or just a simple human desire to be doing something fun and enjoyable. If your reason for procrastinating is the second reason, resisting this urge to let your mind take a break can actually be really exhausting. Sometimes the best thing to do in this situation is, instead of feeling guilty about it, finding ways to work with ourselves and work with our natural ebbs and flows of energy. Now let's get into the productive procrastination system. Step one, map out the lay of the land for the task that you're procrastinating from. This starts with the self-awareness and recognition that you are about to procrastinate. Using the last dregs of energy that you can muster, try to convince yourself to write down just the things that you're procrastinating from and break it up into manageable chunks. Try to focus on the most immediate next steps. By dividing it into micro tasks, the overall task seems so much less daunting. Instead of a cliff face, it's more like a staircase with discrete steps that we can actually see ahead of us, and it makes it more tempting to just start work on the next step. The second step, spend literally 30 seconds starting on the first subtask on your list, such as putting a title down on the page or writing half of the first sentence. And then just let it be. Intentionally let yourself stop at this point. Psychological studies have shown that our brains get very easily hooked on cliffhangers. This is known as the Zeigarnik effect, which refers to the phenomenon where when we lack closure on a task, our brains remember it much more strongly and think about it much more often until that task is completed. By literally just starting your first subtask and then intentionally putting it aside, you are giving your brain a big temptation to actually go back and finish what you started. And this might even be enough to end the procrastination train that you just got on. After these first two steps, if I still feel like procrastinating, then I will take out my procrastination inspiration list. Often when we procrastinate, we look for the lowest hanging fruit that can give us a shot of that feel-good dopamine that we so crave. Often literally any brain candy will do, whether that's starting a Netflix binge, playing video games for hours, or ending up in the scroll hole of Instagram. I definitely do this myself, but if I'm brutally honest with myself, I usually end up regretting it and wondering where all the time went, as it's not what I would actively want to do if I were living my best life. So to make procrastination more meaningful, I use my procrastination inspiration list, written down in my bullet journal. This is simply a list of fun activities which will satisfy my brain's craving for enjoyment, while also contributing to a wider sense of fulfilment. For me personally, this includes things like reading, playing guitar or singing, working on random yoga skills such as handstands or splits, watching some cheesy Chinese dramas to improve my Mandarin, etc. Spending just five minutes writing down a few fun yet also meaningful activities, which you then refer to when you want to procrastinate, can make literally all of your future procrastination much more meaningful. Applying this three-step framework has helped me so much in being kinder to myself when I want to procrastinate, and also find ways to work with the natural rhythms of my working energy. It has helped me to stop fighting myself, and instead work with myself, by redirecting my natural procrastinator energies to things that I actually care about. I hope these tips can help you in some small way too. If you enjoyed this video, then you might like this custom playlist that I made for you, which is full of videos with tips on how to take care of our wellbeing, health and happiness while studying. Thank you so much for watching, take care of yourself, and remember that the journey is the destination. Good luck!