Like everyone else, sometimes I don’t feel like working. Fortunately, I found a way to deal with that productivity.
I’m a bit drawn out
I like my job. I love writing blogs. But not always. And sometimes that’s a problem, because things just have to happen . When you work for an employer, you pull yourself together and just do as you are asked. But that’s not how it works when you work for yourself.
I can manage my own time. So if I don’t feel like working I can just daydream all afternoon without anyone getting mad at me. With the exception of my future self, of course. Because if I’ve procrastinated in the past, I’ll have to pay for it now , and that doesn’t make me happy.
Anyway, if I don’t feel like working then I will postpone. Hanging out on YouTube, playing useless games or chatting about useless games.
But like I said, sometimes things just have to happen.
So what do I do? I’m doing something crazy.
I release myself
Precisely. I release myself. Now I have a huge toolkit of techniques to reduce procrastination (you can create your own toolkit) . But if the task has some slack, this is my favorite technique. If I find that I don’t want to work, I give myself permission not to work .
I say to myself, “Fine, you don’t have to work. You have the rest of the day off.”
That feels very nice. Why? In the first place because being free is just nice. It means I can get on with YouTube and do other things guilt-free . Being lazy without feeling like you should be doing something is the best form of being lazy.
It feels like summer vacations when I was a teenager. No responsibilities, no obligations, no homework. Pure fantastic-ness.
By letting go of myself, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Because if I think I should write a great article, but I can’t do it, I feel bad. Then I consider myself a loser. And that feels terrible.
But if I tell myself it’s fine. I do not need to write if I do not want. Then I feel light and free.
And then something even crazier happens .
I feel like working!
Yep. That’s how it almost always works. I tell myself, “I can game for the rest of the day if I want.”
And then I feel so free that I often think, “Okay, you know what – I’ll just write this article and then I’ll just relax.”
And suddenly there is an article on my screen . And that feels good. After which I think to myself: “Hmm – I’ll answer these emails before I start gaming.” And voilà, the mailbox is empty!
Sometimes I put my laptop away at this point and do indeed relax. But often one leads to the other. And my to-do list is finished and I don’t even feel the need to game anymore.
In fact, I often feel so happy and energized from completing tasks that I decide to go for a run or do something useful.
Nice stuff.
I Just change my mind
The situation does not change. Just changing my mind about the situation. And this makes me suddenly behave very differently.
Because if I don’t, I’m going to stare at my screen all afternoon without doing anything. That I might as well do something else useless that makes me happy. And as soon as I allow myself that, it suddenly becomes much less annoying to work for a while.
And you know – often this is also the best remedy for procrastination in the future. For the bow cannot always be tense. If I don’t feel like working, it’s often because I’m tired or stressed. A bit of lounging around will make me feel like tomorrow.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Perhaps the strange technique will help you too. Give yourself the freedom to your tasks do not perform, and see what happens.
You may also suddenly feel like finishing a few tasks. Doesn’t it help you? No worries. Set up your own list to help you reduce procrastination.