Ah, procrastination. It happens to all of us, no matter how much we try to prevent it.
Sometimes it’s a temporary thing and you are able to quickly catch up and get back on track. Then, there are times when you procrastinate on something for so long that it affects your quality of life.
I am a seasoned procrastinator, particularly regarding tasks I find boring, so I’ve developed a range of techniques that allow me to function like a normal human being, that (eventually) completes personal paperwork, runs errands and deals with home maintenance.
One of my favourite ways to tackle procrastination is by using a timer, particularly when I am feeling distractable, unmotivated or overwhelmed.
Here are three ways a timer is helpful.
1. A timer can help you get started.
If you’re having trouble starting a specific task or doing any work at all, try setting a timer for 5 minutes. Tell yourself that you only have to work for 5 minutes and then you can stop.
Often it’s the perceived dread of a task that’s holding us back. Once we get started, we find that it’s not so bad after all. And in most cases, we continue to work once the 5 minutes are up.
Another way a timer can help you get started is by demonstrating how long things actually take to complete.
If you put tasks off because they seem like they will take ages to do, try timing yourself to see how long the task actually takes to complete. You may find that it’s not as long as you think and that the problem lies elsewhere.
I recently timed myself doing a task that I don’t particularly enjoy and commonly avoid, thinking it takes me 30 to 45 minutes to complete. Then I timed myself and realised that it only takes 18 minutes.
So, now it’s not such a big deal to do it because I know that I can get it done in under 20 minutes. I don’t enjoy the task any more, it’s just that I know it won’t be a big ordeal to get it done.
If you don’t like the idea of timing yourself doing something, you could also set your timer for 15 minutes and see what you can get done. You might be surprised with how much you can accomplish in this short time.
2. A timer can help you stay focused.
It creates an artificial deadline and increases your sense of urgency.
If you set a timer for 30, 45 or 60 minutes and tell yourself that this is the only time you have to get the task done, it will be easier to avoid drifting over into your inbox or responding to other distractions. You can actually see the time being spent.
This is particularly useful when you are working on something that is not urgent but that you need to be chipping away at over the course of several days or weeks for a quality result.
We commonly don’t need an extra push for things that are actually urgent because a deadline has already been created for us - there is either a fear of letting someone down or a fear of missing out on something if we fail to deliver.
3. A timer can help you keep going.
If you find yourself putting off boring but necessary tasks by doing more interesting but non-essential ones, try setting a timer for 15 minutes. Tackle the thing you don’t want to do for 15 minutes, followed by a thing you do want to do for 15 minutes. Repeat this until the first thing is done.
Task switching every 15 minutes may not sound productive, but on a day when you are particularly distracted or unmotivated, it can help you make some progress and avoid wasting your day away on things like ‘procrasti-reading’ or ‘procrasti-cleaning’.
I hope this is helpful.