If one of the challenges to your productivity in 2022 has been procrastination, you'll want to check out the video
Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad, from the Ted-Ed YouTube channel.
The video is just over 5 minutes long and it's not a traditional "Ted Talk" but instead an animated short. This is the first time I've come across this Ted-based channel which produces nothing but educational animated shorts. Apparently I've been living under a rock, because this channel has existed for years!
Some takeaways from the video:
- We usually procrastinate tasks that are more stressful
- Procrastination is basically your body trying to protect you
- People procrastinate because they care too much and have a fear of failure
- Procrastinators suffer from feelings of anxiety, shame, higher stress, and physical ailments that result from stress
- Procrastination works as a stress reducer in the short term, which feeds into more procrastination
To get better, the video recommends:
- Being hard on oneself doesn't work and often has the opposite effect
- Break a task into smaller tasks so it's more manageable (this goes well with one of the apps I'm featuring in the "Tools" section below!)
- Remove any nearby distractions that hold you back from doing what you need to do
- Journal about your stresses/concerns related to procrastination, as this will hep reduce the stress and encourage you to get things done
For a short video, it's got a lot of good info related to procrastination so be sure to check it out if you haven't already.
