How to get on with it.

Three minutes on how to stop procrastinating, make better decisions and optimise your creativity.

Procrastination

Struggling to find your work mojo lately? You’re not alone. Whether it’s the change in temperature, location, or the added anxiety—procrastination is rife.

The first step to curing procrastination is to work out why you’re avoiding the task in the first place. Is it too difficult? Too boring? Too arduous? Do you not have the right tools?

If, once you’ve solved that, you’re still skirting around it like a politician and a direct question—here are three simple ways to break the habit:

Think of future you 

If the 'you' in a couple of hours would thank the current you for doing something—do yourself a favour and do it. 

Make it a ritual

For truly grisly tasks, schedule a manageable chunk of time to do it bit-by-bit, like an hour every week. 

The Pomodoro method

Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on your task until the alarm goes off. Then, you get five minutes of play time to do whatever you want. Then start again and repeat until your task is done. 

Decision making

We’re faced with around 35,000 choices to make every day. With that much practice, you’d think we’d be better at it really. Yet, many people get daunted or freeze when trying to make the “right choice”. 

Quick tips for snappy decisions:

Think outside the box

Not all problems are black and white, and thinking that they are can mean you get stuck. Get creative and look for solutions that aren’t that obvious. 

Make a plan

Small decisions get 10 minutes, big decisions get 20. You have an innate ability to problem-solve, and setting a time limit forces you to believe in that.

Don’t run out of time

If you allow time to run out on a situation, meaning a decision is made for you by default—you’re inherently undermining your own abilities and self-confidence.

You deserve better than that.

I already wrote about how to walk to boost creativity according to science, and I'm pretty sure that walking solves everything.

A quick walk—8 minutes to be precise, is the ideal way to kick start creativity. You’re at your most creative during the walk, and in the 8 minutes after you get back.

So, if you need to find some solutions, or come up with new ideas—set yourself in motion little and often, to get the job done.

To do this while you’re in motion - consider leaving yourself a voice note, or taking a buddy along with you to brainstorm with.

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I'm the Co-Founder of brain health and mental wellness company Heights - we make the highest quality natural smart supplements taken daily by some of the sharpest brains in Europe.