SUCCESS FORMULA

Theory: Destroy Procrastination

RESOURCES

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Theory: Destroy Procrastination

Procrastination. We all do it to some extent but the best among us have learned how to conquer it to sustain peak motivation in pursuit of their goals. In this video, we look at what SCIENCE says works to quit putting our life on hold and actualizing our potential.

The Big Ideas 

1. Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.

2. Shallow Work: Noncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.

3. Deep Work Hypothesis: According to Cal Newport in Deep Work, the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.

4. Here are practical implementation strategies to cultivate a skill of deep work:

   1. Embrace Boredom: For some reason, these days, the MOMENT we have a lull in our lives—whether that’s a few minutes before a friend arrives for lunch or in line at the grocery store or whatever—most of us *immediately* grab our smartphone and compulsively check out whatever we think we need to see right.this.second. We have about a hundredth of a second of tolerance for boredom. If we want to create the capacity for more deep work, then feeding that beast is NOT a good idea. Rather than immediately flail around in the shallow end of the distraction pool, we need to EMBRACE BOREDOM.

   2. Brain Interval Training:  It’s not enough to have the intention to work more deeply. We need to systematically install new routines to create the 'practice' sessions that will lead to more and more deep work. Just like you plan your workouts and progressively challenge yourself to lift heavier - do the same for your brain! Sit down and do deep work as long as you can till you 'give in' to distractions. That is your new baseline. Practice doing that amount of deep work as often as possible, and I recommend adding 10min to that time every 2 weeks and incrementally building up to 2 hours.

   3. Meditate More: Regular practice of meditation will increase your concentration power which leads to an increase in productivity. If you are meditating regularly, you will be able to do more quality work within the same amount of time. (which is quite literally the definition of deep work). Also, meditation helps reduce stress and bring more peace. If you are completely relaxed and stress-free, then your mind will also work more effectively.

5. Attention Residue: When you switch from Task A to another Task B, your attention doesn’t immediately follow—a residue of your attention remains stuck thinking about the original task. … ‘People experiencing attention residue after switching tasks are likely to demonstrate poor performance on that next task,’ and the more intense the residue, the worse the performance.

6. Use Routines To Ritualize Deep Work: The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration.

7.  Timebox Strategy: Timeboxing is a type of scheduling that prioritizes what you do and when you do it. It’s the act of making an appointment with yourself in order to get your most important work done. When you time block, you take control of your schedule, which can help relieve time-related stress. An effective time blocking system prioritizes progress towards an individual task and leads to healthy productivity. Choose a chunk of time, and hold yourself accountable (that is the only way it works). Putting aside a chunk of time to focus on one thing can help increase concentration, reduce distractions, and discourage multitasking.