Procrastination workshop

Jun 7, 2022
Procrastination workshop
Today was the first of two days for the Get Things Done Without Procrastinating.
We were given a survey and videos to watch before the today’s session. I procrastinated on them. But I was committed to finishing them. I finally did around 5-6am this morning, after having stayed up being, being mostly distracted. After 3 hours of sleep, I joined the lesson. It was difficult to concentrate.
Here are some of my notes:
  • People are not their problems or pathologies. Use people-first language.
    • “I’m a person who procrastinates” not “I’m a procrastinator.”
      “I’m a person with perfectionistic tendencies” not “I’m a perfectionist”
  • All behavior has a purpose.
    • Behavior boils down to 3 elements:
      1. Motivation - What do I want?
      1. Ability - Can I do it?
      1. Opportunity - in the case of a habit, a trigger or cue
We focused an a “procrastination pickle” or one task we procrastinate on. I chose “packing for trips.”
We did some reflection writing exercises to list out areas:
  • we have succeeded before in not procrastinating
  • personal strengths, skills, or strategies enabled us to get those things done on time
  • and how we could apply some of those to our procrastination pickle
My result:
  • I want to pack for my upcoming trip without: delaying, stressing about getting it done in time before leaving, or staying up late with distractions. I would feel confident, prepared, and more at peace.
  • Prepare a checklist template of things to pack. Do laundry. Plan the clothes I'll take in my notes. Decide a timeblock a day or 2 before leaving to set all items out. Then pack them. (Leave out things that I'll still be using until the last moment).
  • One of my values has been to be prepared. Sometimes I was overprepared. Packing on time for my trip, a day or two before, instead of frantically stuffing stuff in the travel backpack a half-hour before leaving, would showcase this value.
  • skills: second brain - creating template checklist, write out exactly what clothes to bring
  • strategy: temptation bundling - listen to flow music while planning/packing
  • skills: following guides - create an SOP that I can easily follow step-by-step