2296: How to Stop Procrastinating: A Psychologist’s Trick for Tackling “I’ll Do It Later" by Dr. Allison Niebes-Davis of Dr. Allison Answers

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, before we start, you might want to check out our other podcasts covering topics like personal

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[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Relationships Daily. How to Stop Procrastinating? A Psychologist Trick

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: for Tackling I'll Do It Later by Dr. Allison Niebes-Davis of Dr.AllisonAnswers.com

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Hello everybody and welcome back to another Sunday bonus episode here on OLD.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host Greg Audino, and what I do in our weekly bonus episodes, such as this,

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: is actually just introduce episodes that have aired on other shows in our network.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: This way you get a little taste of everything we have to offer. And today we'll be featuring

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: a previously aired episode of Optimal Living Daily, which is our very first show in the network

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: and focuses on all things personal development. So with that, let's turn it over to OLD host

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Justin for the post and his commentary as we optimize your life.

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_02]: How to Stop Procrastinating? A Psychologist Trick for Tackling I'll Do It Later by Dr.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Allison Niebes-Davis of DrAllisonAnswers.com

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Procrastination might seem like a silly little habit, but if you're a chronic procrastinator,

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_02]: then you know how much damage and chaos can be caused by putting things off.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I'll do it later. I'll take care of it tomorrow. I'll get to it when I have more time.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_02]: This waiting becomes a habit, and before you know it, this habit becomes a way of life.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Procrastination is sneaky. It has major consequences. And I'll be honest,

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_02]: it's a hard habit to break. It might surprise you, but I'm actually a recovering procrastinator.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_02]: For most of my life, I waited until the last minute. I felt anxious and stressed as I scrambled to get

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_02]: things done. I felt exhausted when it was all over. And then just days later,

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_02]: I repeat the cycle all over again. If you're a procrastinator, I know you can relate.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_02]: You put things off until the last minute. You stress about how you're going to get it all

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_02]: done. And then you exhaust yourself swearing you'll never procrastinate again. It's a maddening habit.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_02]: You know it's not helpful, yet you keep doing it. And you can't understand why. Several months ago,

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_02]: I shared the real reason you procrastinate. I explained the simple reason that you keep

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_02]: putting things off. The response to that video was overwhelming with so many people

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_02]: having an aha moment, finally understanding the reason behind their chronic procrastination.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Knowing why you procrastinate is powerful, but knowing why you procrastinate and fixing

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_02]: your procrastination. Those are two very different things. Several years ago,

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_02]: after a lifetime of procrastinating, I finally got fed up. I was done with my habit of putting

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_02]: things off tired of the stress it caused me. When I realized that my procrastination wasn't a

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_02]: complicated habit, but rather a simple avoidance of anxiety and distress, it clicked. After all,

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm a psychologist, one that specializes in anxiety. And I know a lot about the anxiety avoidance

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_02]: cycle. It's my bread and butter and something I talk about daily with clients. Yet I'd almost

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_02]: missed it, hidden away in my procrastination. So I started applying what I know about anxiety

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_02]: to procrastination. And within weeks, things started to change. By using a series of simple

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_02]: questions, I went from I'll do it later to I'll do it now. These questions are simple yet effective,

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_02]: challenging your habit of waiting. Wondering how to stop procrastinating? Well, these

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_02]: questions will help you tackle your to do list and break your procrastination habit for good.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Number one, am I going to or do I have to do this thing? Eventually. Start by asking yourself

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_02]: whether you will end up doing the task you're procrastinating on at some point. Will you

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_02]: eventually write and turn in the paper? Or will you not write it and take a zero? Will you

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_02]: eventually go to the grocery store? Or will you eat out for the rest of your life?

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Will you eventually do laundry? Or will you go and buy new clean clothes to wear?

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_02]: This question is designed to help you identify whether or not you have to or will do this thing

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_02]: at some point. If the answer is yes, then move forward to question number two.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Number two, will it get easier if I wait? Will the paper be easier to write in three days?

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Will the load of laundry be smaller in a week? Will grocery shopping take less time in another

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_02]: few days? It's important to note that this question can be tricky because we're not asking

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_02]: if it will feel easier. We're asking if it will be easier. So to be clear, this question involves

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_02]: objectively looking at a task and then determining whether or not it will reduce, shrink, or be easier

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_02]: if you put it off. Spoiler alert, less than 1% of tasks get easier if you wait. The laundry pile

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_02]: won't magically shrink and the words you have to write won't come easier. If the answer to

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_02]: question is no, meaning that the task won't get easier, then proceed to question number three.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Number three, what are the negative consequences if I continue to wait? This question

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_02]: prompts you to think through the potential consequences of procrastinating. This question

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_02]: asks you to be honest with yourself about how putting things off and waiting will really affect

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_02]: you. And here's why this question is critical. When you're about to procrastinate, the

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_02]: positive consequences of avoiding are tangible. They're tempting. Perhaps procrastinating would give

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_02]: you more time in bed, more time with friends or another episode on Netflix. Maybe procrastinating

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_02]: would reduce your anxiety for a moment or help you feel less stressed for a second. These positive

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_02]: consequences have immediate intangible benefits and they register with your brain big time.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Meanwhile, the negative consequences of avoiding feel far off. They're less in the moment. They're

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_02]: less tangible. So this question is about bringing those potential consequences to the front of

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_02]: your mind. It's about helping your brain compare apples to apples, making a more informed decision

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_02]: about whether or not you want to procrastinate. For example, if you procrastinate, the

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_02]: negative consequences might include more stress, more anxiety or reduced sleep. It might mean

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_02]: less time to ask for help, less confidence in the product you put out or having to do a whole

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_02]: day of laundry rather than just an hour. The more specific and detailed you can be about

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_02]: these negative consequences, the better. And number four, the final question,

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_02]: do I want to experience these negative consequences? Do you want to feel more stressed, frantic and

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_02]: anxious? Do you want to lose sleep or risk getting a lower grade? Are you willing to experience all

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_02]: the negative consequences you just named? If the answer is no, then start now. Start the task

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_02]: immediately. No more delaying, no more waiting, and no more procrastinating. Take a step

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_02]: right where you are toward the task you've been avoiding. Let's pause for a second and recap

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_02]: what questions one to three have taught you. You've acknowledged that at some point you have to do

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_02]: the task. You've acknowledged that it won't get easier if you wait, and you've outlined several

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_02]: negative consequences of waiting. So this thing you're procrastinating on, it's not going to

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_02]: get any easier than it is right this second. So start now. At this point you might be

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_02]: thinking, but Dr. Allison, I still don't want to do the task I've been procrastinating on,

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_02]: doesn't sound any more appealing, and I'm not any more motivated. Well, of course it doesn't.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_02]: The thing you've been avoiding involves discomfort. We're not going to trick your

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_02]: brain into thinking it's a spa day. One of the major things that fuels procrastination is the

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: unconscious belief that the task you're avoiding will get easier if you wait,

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_02]: that it'll be easier to do later. This belief tricks you into waiting,

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_02]: procrastinating, and then waiting some more. This series of questions is designed to challenge

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_02]: your unconscious belief that it will get easier if you wait, because that's a huge part of what

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_02]: procrastination is. It's a skewed and inaccurate belief that it'll get easier later. So much

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_02]: of my job as a psychologist is helping people challenge their unconscious beliefs, because

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_02]: as I tell my clients and myself, often your thoughts are not the truth. Just because you think it

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_02]: doesn't make it true. If you want to know how to stop procrastinating, you've got to be honest

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_02]: about the little lies your brain is telling you. You've got to be vigilant about teasing a part

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_02]: of the untruths about waiting till later, because it won't get easier. The discomfort

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_02]: won't go away, and you won't magically feel like doing it tomorrow.

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_02]: These four questions will give you a concrete, surefire way to stop waiting and do things now.

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Enough avoiding, enough anxiety, and enough stress.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Enough telling yourself you'll do it later than saying that again a week later.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Take control of your procrastination, show it who's boss, and use these four questions

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_02]: to regain control. You just listened to the post titled How to Stop Procrastinating,

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_02]: a psychologist trick for tackling I'll do it later, by Dr. Allison Nebus Davis of DrAllisonAnswers.com.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_02]: If you get a Dr. Allison, I thought these were great questions to consider if you really struggle

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_02]: with procrastination, because it makes you think about the consequences of procrastination,

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_02]: or in some cases, something's on your to-do list, and then by asking yourself

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_02]: these questions, you could realize that it doesn't need to be on your to-do list at all,

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_02]: and it's causing stress for pretty much no reason since it's always sitting there on your list,

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_02]: or in the back of your mind, taking up space. But like she said, if it really will need to get

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_02]: done eventually, thinking about the consequences and repercussions of procrastinating can definitely

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_02]: help. But getting started is usually the hardest part for us, so definitely try to take that

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_02]: baby step today to get started, that's often all it needs. And with that have a great start

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_02]: to your weekend, and we'll be back tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.