up:: [[Performance]] x:: [[Flow]] tags:: #on/performance #note/develop # Procrastination **Types of Procrastination**: 1. **Inertia**: Difficulty starting a task despite its importance and enjoyment. 2. **Distractibility**: Getting easily sidetracked once a task is started. 3. **Chronic Delay**: Continuously postponing major goals or projects. **Procrastination as High Motivation Plus Inaction**: It's not a lack of motivation but rather a desire to do something coupled with an inability to start. [[Approach-Avoidance Conflict]]: A neurochemical conflict in the brain between dopamine (encouraging action) and cortisol (encouraging inaction). [[The Flow Cycle]]: Consists of four phases - struggle, release, flow, and recovery. It's essential for achieving peak performance, as observed in action and adventure sport athletes. - **Engage Phase**: A crucial pre-struggle stage, particularly challenging for knowledge workers, where one decides to start the struggle phase. **Overcoming Procrastination Strategies**: 1. **Laser Attention with Ridiculously Clear Goals**: Break tasks into highly specific, manageable steps. Not outcomes, but a tiny process like opening the laptop. 2. [[Tune the Challenge-Skills Balance]]: The task should slightly exceed current skill levels, avoiding both boredom and overwhelm. 3. **Lowering the Hurdle**: Start with easier tasks to build confidence and momentum. The text outlines a detailed approach to overcoming procrastination by understanding its root causes and applying specific strategies to engage in tasks more effectively, thus entering a flow state. 1. **Resource Management**: Reduce the effort required for tasks to decrease the urge to procrastinate. This can be achieved either by increasing effort or restructuring the task to make it less demanding. 2. **Time Regulation**: Adjust the time allocated for a task to manage its difficulty level. Limiting time can increase the challenge, making a task more engaging, while extending time can reduce the challenge for complex tasks. 3. **Defining Scope**: Clearly understanding the scope of a task reduces uncertainty and anxiety, making it easier to engage with the task. Knowing what needs to be done and why enhances the perceived importance and engagement. 4. **Response Inhibition**: Developing the ability to override automatic reactions to stimuli and engage in goal-driven behavior. This helps in managing emotions that may hinder task engagement. 5. **Leveraging Neurochemistry**: Utilize the brain state upon waking (Delta and Theta waves) for enhanced creativity and reduced self-consciousness. Engaging in important tasks immediately after waking can reduce procrastination. 6. **Flow Payoff**: Ensure that the effort put into a task is worth the reward. This involves managing schedules to avoid interruptions that can break flow, thus making the struggle feel worthwhile. 7. **Distinguishing Procrastination from Ambivalence**: Recognize that what appears as procrastination might sometimes be ambivalence, signaling that a task may not be necessary or should be approached differently. 8. **Overcoming Procrastination**: Use flow triggers like clear goals, challenge-skills balance, and a well-managed schedule to eliminate procrastination. Consistently engaging in necessary tasks leads to progression and accomplishment. 9. **Interpreting Procrastination**: Build the skill to recognize ambivalence in real time, differentiating it from procrastination. This insight can help avoid unnecessary tasks and align actions with values and goals. 10. **Strategy of 'Wake Up and Flop'**: Begin important tasks immediately after waking up to leverage the brain's state for increased focus and reduced procrastination. This involves preparation the night before to ensure a smooth start. These points summarize strategies for managing effort, time, task scope, emotional responses, and neurochemistry to overcome procrastination and enhance productivity.