What is the unbelievable solution to procrastination?

If being a procrastinator means that you are lazy, then almost all of us are in trouble. Putting off important tasks seems to be something the majority of people struggle with, despite how illogical it really is.

I’ve found myself completing a task at the absolute last minute, just to realize that it would’ve been significantly easier if I had done it sooner. In some cases, I’ve been punished severely for my laziness, yet I do it again anyway.

Well, we’re all about solutions here at Thriveworks, so I did what any closet procrastinator would do and decided to put off more important work to find a solution to procrastination (yes, I recognize the irony).

There are numerous resources that point to possible solutions for procrastination, and I caught a major theme surrounding all of them: environment.

I came to the general conclusion that your surroundings and context may determine how likely you are to complete a task.

Once I realized this, it all became very clear to me. Normally, we try to solve procrastination by procrastinating (we move on to another task, believing it will be easier to do the important one later). But we then find it’s even harder to do the urgent task once the minor, easier ones are complete.

This is because working is what actually fuels procrastination. It’s a distraction you would never think to recognize because you believe you’re being productive, alleviating the inevitable punishment of your procrastination.

Actually, doing nothing is how you solve procrastination. I’ve actually done this many times when dealing with writer’s block or feeling distracted. I’ve left my current environment where I had access to the Internet, books and my phone, and I’ve went to places where I had to do the task I’d been putting off.

The alternative was doing nothing.

When your task is your only option, the punishment of boredom is a motivator to completing your task as soon as you can in order to leave the environment for a more stimulating one.

I suspect that this won’t solve procrastination for absolutely everyone, but I still dare you to try it to see for yourself. Especially if you’ve got a lot of work to do.