#84 Long-term Side Effects of Procrastinating

ByLukas
|

I can choose to procrastinate on a project for weeks – then finish it all in one go, right before the deadline.

In absolute terms, I might have been very efficient with my time – but the time I saved, I spent frustrated with myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I’m a procrastinator.

What if I work a little bit on a project every single day – and have it finished well before the deadline?

I might spend more time in total – but every day, every moment spent makes me feel good about myself.

The long-term effect on my self-image: I cultivate an identity of discipline and consistency. I do what I believe to be good for me. I build character. Taking small daily actions towards a goal becomes part of my identity.

What’s more: I avoid the frustration and resentment that comes with procrastination (=not doing what I know I should be doing), and feel good about myself instead.

Long-term, the benefits of small daily actions always outweigh huge last-minute efforts.

Similar Posts

  • #174 How to turn faith into trust

    ByLukas

    You build self-trust by taking actions – Tiny Trust Builders – in alignment with who you want to be.

    I want to be a writer, and build self-trust by writing every day, even if it’s just one line.

    I want to learn Portuguese, and build self-trust by practicing every day, even if it’s just 2 minutes.

    But often, what stops you from taking these actions in the first place is a lack of trust in yourself.

    I don’t trust myself to write every day – I’ll give up anyway.

    I don’t trust myself to learn Portuguese every day – I’ll probably get busy and skip a day.

    There’s only one way out of this vicious cycle:

    When you don’t trust yourself to take the actions, you take a leap of faith instead.

    Because with every leap, fear turns into faith, and faith into trust.

    Trust you must.

  • #329 The journey to overcoming self-doubt

    ByLukas

    My journey to overcoming self-doubt as a writer:

    • I write every day, even when I didn’t feel inspired.
    • I publish imperfect work every day, and saw nothing bad happened.
    • I publish frequently to reduce the “burden of quality” on each piece (if I publish every day, it doesn’t matter if some posts don’t do so well, because I’ll post again tomorrow anyway.

    In short: write and publish to overcome the fear of writing and publishing. Yes, it can be as simple as that.

  • #390 Make the daily practice easy

    ByLukas

    The trick to successful habit-building: make daily practice easy.

    We often do the opposite: we make weekly practice hard.

    If I tell myself I’m going to post one long blog post every week, I’ll find a million reasons not to write for the first six days until I have no choice but to write.

    But if I tell myself I will post daily, the longest I can procrastinate is… 12 hours?

    And after a week, I’ve practiced my publishing habit 7 times.

    So it goes for meditation, yoga, running, and any skill or habit.

    Make the daily practice easy.

  • |

    #232 You’ll know when it’s time

    ByLukas

    First, you write. Then you become a writer.

    First, you run. Then you become a runner.

    First, you set boundaries. Then you become good at setting boundaries.

    But before all that comes the decision to write. To run. To set boundaries.

    Because you’re dissatisfied with the past and say never again.

    Because you’re filled with excitement about a future vision.

    Because you know you’re ready to make the change.

    You’ll know when it’s time, my friend.

  • |

    #102 When dreams turn into certainties

    ByLukas

    Elon Musk has the rock-solid belief that someday, he’s going to put people on Mars. He doesn’t hope for it. He believes it’s inevitable.

    Whether his belief becomes a reality or not is irrelevant. What matters are the actions and grit his faith inspires in him and everyone working with him.

    That’s the rock-solid determination extraordinary feats are built on.

    But you don’t have to dream of interplanetary travel to reach stellar levels of determination.

    What would you do if writing a new book isn’t just optional or desirable but inevitable?

    What would you do if mastering an instrument isn’t just possible but inescapable?

    What happens when, in your mind, you turn a dream into a certainty?

    How does that change your actions? Mindset? Beliefs? Feelings?

    How much easier does it become to persevere?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *