4 Brain Tricking Techniques for Tackling Procrastination

Procrastination is an (often illogical) mental block keeping you from doing something you need to be doing. Here are four techniques you can try to trick your brain out of procrastination and into pro-action-ation!

_The 10 Minute Rule
Instead of wasting days or weeks putting off something hard, set a timer and start work on it for just 10 minutes. You can do anything for 10 minutes, right!? Research shows that once you get started on something, it's a lot easier to keep going, and it helps you defeat the fear/worry/whatever is keeping you from doing it. (Inc.com article on why this works)

_Stepping Stones
One of the reasons we procrastinate is because a project is ambiguous. When we sit down and break it into smaller tasks that we understand, we feel more clarity, each step feels more do-able. And accomplishing the first step motivates us to move on to the next. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. (lifehacker article on why this works)

_Schedule a Time
Someday pretty much always means never. If you don't plan it (schedule a time), it will never happen. Studies have shown that when you write down when & where you plan to do something, you are twice as likely to do it. Something about writing it down helps you "set your intention." (James Clear writes more about this here)

_Get a Buddy
Have you ever let anyone down? Me neither, but I hear it's a really sucky thing. When you're working alone, it's easy to justify procrastinating, but when you have an appointment with a real person, it's a lot harder to blow off. (no proof for this, it just sounds true)