How to Stop Procrastinating 🛑

Hey y’all,

This week, we’re talking about procrastination.

First off, if you’re procrastinating by reading this email about procrastination, stop now and get to work.

Jokes aide, I think procrastination is part of human nature—something that we can better manage over time but not eliminate completely.

Do I still procrastinate? Of course. I procrastinated writing this very newsletter. But I don’t procrastinate nearly as much as I did back in school, all thanks to three helpful tricks.

Trick #1: Visualize the Benefits

Close your eyes (yes, actually close them) and envision finishing your work early. How would that feel? What would you have the free time to do? Imagine the stress off your shoulders and the relief you’d feel getting that work off your plate.

Hopefully that feeling alone should be enough to motivate you to start your work. But if not, I now want you to imagine the opposite.

How would you feel if you don’t finish the work in time? How late would you stay up? How tired would you feel tomorrow morning?

I’m a proponent of positive reinforcement and recommend focusing on the benefits of not procrastinating. But sometimes, especially when you’re in the depths of laziness, thinking about the drawbacks of procrastinating might be more effective.

Trick #2: Focus on the “Minimum Viable Step”

Alright, let’s say you still can’t find the motivation to start your work. Here’s what I want you to do: think about the Minimum Viable Step (this is just a random term I made up).

In other words, think about the smallest thing you can do at this very moment to make even a tiny amount of progress.

For example, if you have to write an essay, your Minimum Viable Step could be getting off the couch, turning on your computer, or grabbing your pencil.

If you have to create a presentation, your Minimum Viable Step could be loading up PowerPoint or completing the title slide.

Try not to think about the road ahead or everything you have to complete; doing so will only overwhelm you. Narrow your scope and try to focus just on your next step, and before you know it, you’ll have the momentum going.

Trick #3: Follow the Five-Minute Rule

This is another one of my favorite anti-procrastination tricks. Force yourself to work on a task for just five minutes, and if after those five minutes you don’t feel like continuing, you can stop.

Nine times out of ten, however, you’ll find the motivation to continue along.

Again, the point here is to reduce that cognitive burden—that dread of getting started. If you convince yourself that you only have to work for five minutes, you’ll have a much easier time getting started.

And truthfully, the hardest part is getting started. Once you’ve gotten past that initial hurdle, you’ll have a much easier time completing your work.

Hope that helped you get started on your work! (Also, sorry for sending this on a Saturday, haha—will try to send these every Thursday from now on.)

If you want additional study advice, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. Would love to see you there.

And if you need help with college applications, check out Next Admit! We have a team of Ivy League consultants eager to help you navigate the admissions process.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar