Procrasti-working: How I Get Shit Done I Don't Want to Do
...and apparently James Altucher does the same.
There are various ways to approach tasks that you need to do but don’t really want to do. Here’s what I do.
In the 10th issue of A Little Bit of Anarchy, I would like to share one of the life hacks I apply to make my workdays a little easier.
You know how you often start your workday staring at your ‘To Do’ list realizing that you have that one thing on there that you really don’t want to do but have to get done plus a bunch of smaller things that you also need to do.
That’s most people’s Monday mornings.
Many of us would start procrastinating at this point, pushing the thing we don’t want to do down the road, often until the last minute when we have to scramble to get it done.
Productivity experts and self-help gurus will tell you to do the most challenging thing on your ‘To Do’ list first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
Well, I say fuck that because I don’t want to.
I mean who wants to start their mornings with something super annoying? Absolutely nobody!
Here’s what I have found myself doing, instead, in these situations. I have even come up with a somewhat cool-sounding name for it.
I call it procrasti-working.
Procrasti-working: The Life Hack You Never Asked For
As the name suggests, the fine art of procrasti-working is a combination of procrastinating and working.
Let me explain.
Instead of jumping onto that big task, you don’t want to do today right away, you push it back until a little later and use the time until you feel ready to tackle it by completing a bunch of other tasks on your today list, including smaller things you have been pushing down the road in the past.
That way, you end up completing a ton of tasks (including things you “haven’t gotten round to”) while building enough momentum to complete the big task you have been procrastinating.
At the end of the day, you will have not only completed that big task but you will also have completed a whole bunch of smaller tasks that you also didn’t really want to do but felt less painful to do than the big task.
Procrasti-working can, therefore, actually help you to get more done!
While listening to the audiobook version of James Altucher’s book Choose Yourself a few weeks ago, I realized he does the same.
He applies the same concept in these situations. The only difference is that he didn’t come up with a fancy-sounding name for it. :)
If you don’t know who James Altucher is, check out his books and podcast. He is an author, entrepreneur, and hedge fund manager. I quite enjoyed Choose Yourself. There is solid advice in there that many of us need to hear.
Alright, beautiful people of the internet, that’s it for this week. I look forward to speaking with you again next Friday!
By the way, if you have feedback (I received a lot on the last issue), just hit reply and I will receive it in my personal inbox.
Peace, love, and anarchy,
Alex Lielacher