Formatting documents, filling in spreadsheets, answering emails – we all face mundane tasks that bore us but need to be done. While delaying them for a bit is perhaps inevitable, we need to get them out of the way sooner or later, so we can focus our energy fully on purposeful and fun activities. But how do […]
Continue readingHere’s what overcoming severe procrastination is not about: Time management, better to-do lists, seeing a therapist, getting organized, setting goals, creating deadlines, ridding yourself of distractions, using rewards, or finding an accountability buddy. While useful, none of them will make a big difference unless you understand the one underlying principle every consistent improvement in any behavior […]
Continue readingWe all use tools to get things done – we eat frogs, set Pomodoro timers, take naps, drink coffee, plan our days, block distracting websites, put our phones in airplane mode, listen to music, wear noise-canceling headphones, swallow caffeine pills. More and better tools mean greater productivity. “Getting things done the dysfunctional way” is another such […]
Continue readingDistractions kill productivity like nothing else. For starters, they are time wastes. Let’s say you check email 50x per day, scroll through your Instagram feed 10x, have a glance at your phone 80x, and watch YouTube videos 3x per day. Even if you give only ten seconds, on average, to every distraction, the time adds up […]
Continue readingHow do I stick to my schedule when sudden and spontaneous requests catch me off guard, and I agree to them even though I don’t really want to? This is one of the most common questions I receive in regards to procrastination and productivity. You may be on your way home from grocery shopping and run […]
Continue readingIf you’ve been following us for a while, you know we’re big on reading here at NJlifehacks. And big on journaling. And big on meditation. But who’s got time for that? How do we find the time to read 50+ books a year, meditate regularly, keep fit and healthy, and write in our morning and evening journals […]
Continue readingI’ve been helping people overcome procrastination for years now, through my articles, books, and coaching. To that end, the one question I have to keep asking myself is this: “What do people need to know, believe, and do in order to beat procrastination?” It’s easy for me to get lost in the science, because it’s so fascinating to […]
Continue readingIt is in the nature of human beings to want things – to desire appreciation, good health, better feelings, kids, a loving spouse, good relationships, peaceful sleep, maybe a beautiful home, a respectable career, or the freedom to travel the world. There’s no denying it. Unless you’re an enlightened being or are willing to meditate for […]
Continue readingGuilt is an emotion all too familiar to most procrastinators. It often leads to a vicious cycle: You feel guilty for procrastinating, then the guilt makes you feel so bad that you procrastinate even more, which makes you feel even more guilty, which leads to even more procrastination, and so on. I’ve been stuck in that loop […]
Continue readingWhat’s the fastest and least painful way to change your behavior? Changing your environment. If you’re familiar with Philip Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment or with Ellen Langer’s Counterclockwise Experiment, you’re aware of the insane changes different environments can lead to, and quickly. In Zimbardo’s case, good people became evil in a matter of days. In Langer’s experiment, they literally […]
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