Your Cart is Empty
Over a month ago, I was experiencing a bad case of procrastination.
With wedding planning and my actual wedding, I was throwing a lot of things aside, telling myself I'll handle it later.
That is until it all piled up and overwhelmed me to a point where I wasn't able to give my best at the things that mattered.
Since procrastination is a common thing for myself, curiosity hit and I decided to learn more about procrastination.
I started getting into the psychology or "science of procrastination".
Why causes us to procrastinate?
Why do we procrastinate on things that needed to be done that mattered?
As I learned more about procrastination, I experienced some sort of revelation.
My procrastination hasn't been a recent thing: it's been something that I've been experiencing while I've been building my business these past few years.
Some of the most important things that moved the needle were not done in a timely manner because I subconsciously believed I wasn't ready for the task at hand.
For myself, a fear that I wasn't good enough was holding me back.
Fear of the risk, fear of failure, fear that my negative thoughts will be proven right.
Fear that makes you half-ass the important stuff because somewhere deep down, you believe you're going to fail regardless.
Does this sound familiar to you?
If it does, know that you're not alone.
Research shows about 20% of U.S. adults consider themselves chronic procrastinators, with the number being much higher with college students.
But here's what most people get wrong about procrastination: it might not be something you have complete control over.
In fact, procrastination is an evolutionary adaptation.
It is your brain trying to conserve as much energy as possible.
For thousands of years, our brains developed to avoid expending too much energy.
Conserving energy for when it mattered most meant we would live to see another day.
Today, that same mechanism sabotages our goals.
If you're dealing with depression, it amplifies it even more, as some sort of "proof" that you can't fix yourself.
From this, you might believe you need motivation to destroy procrastination.
I believed this too.
Truth is: we've got it backward.
Motivation doesn't precede action: action generates motivation.
This is why waiting to "feel like it" is a trap that keeps you stuck, especially when procrastination has drained your energy reserves.
What if I told you there's a way to hack this entire system?
A method that doesn't require motivation, willpower, or feeling good to get started?
In this post, I'll share the counter-intuitive approach that has been helping me break free from procrastination, especially now during a crucial time in my life.
Let's get into it!
"I'll do it when I feel more motivated."
"I don't have the energy today."
"I'll start on Monday."
These thoughts seem reasonable, even compassionate toward yourself.
They're also the perfect recipe for perpetual procrastination.
Let me explain what's actually happening in your brain:
Your prefrontal cortex (the "planning" part of your brain) sets goals and makes commitments.
However, your limbic system (the "feeling" part of your brain) controls your in-the-moment decisions.
When the time comes to act, your limbic system evaluates the immediate emotional cost - discomfort, boredom, anxiety - and chooses immediate relief instead.
This creates three deadly thinking patterns:
Couple that with depression or anxiety, and this cycle is particularly vicious.
Not only are you dealing with the normal human tendency to procrastinate, but you're also fighting something that actively drains the resources you need to overcome it.
I remember the times where I suffered the largest bouts of my depression.
Obligations piled up that I pushed aside.
High School and College didn't matter.
Things overwhelmed me, and I couldn't take action when it mattered.
Grades suffered.
And it perpetually built a cycle of disappointment and hatred toward myself.
The turning point for me wasn't a motivation breakthrough.
It was implementing something that I now call the "Action-First Framework" - a system that bypasses motivation entirely.
Instead of waiting to feel better, you create a system that made action possible even on your worst days.
This is the counter-intuitive secret: action doesn't just accomplish tasks - it actually generates energy, generates momentum.
The act of overcoming inertia, no matter how tiny, creates momentum that builds upon itself.
Each small victory releases dopamine, which encourages you to push and accomplish more.
This framework isn't about productivity tricks or time management.
It's a mindset shift in how you approach taking action, regardless of procrastination.
Rather than seeing action as the result of motivation, you recognize action as the catalyst for everything you want: energy, confidence, and the ability to pursue your deeper ambitions.
When I implemented this framework recently, I rediscovered something: the tasks I completed weren't just checkmarks on a to-do list.
Each action became evidence that I could follow through despite how I felt, or how crazy life was getting.
This significantly took my self-confidence to the next level.
With that being said, let's get into the juicy stuff!
"Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill."
— Christopher Parker
Think about your favorite game for a moment.
What keeps you playing?
It's not just entertainment: it's progression systems that provide clear objectives, manageable challenges, and immediate rewards.
Your brain responds to these elements whether they're in a game or the real world.
What if you could apply these same principles to overcome procrastination?
What if you could gamify your life in a way that your tasks become main and side quests?
Let's break down a system designed specifically for when your energy and motivation tanks are running on empty.
"What gets measured gets managed." — Peter Drucker
The first step isn't about doing more.
It's about understanding where your energy is currently going.
Most productivity advice fails because it ignores the emotional component of procrastination.
Different tasks trigger different avoidance responses.
Some feel overwhelming (big projects), others boring (routine assignments), and others anxiety-inducing (job applications, social communications).
Action Item: Create a simple "Procrastination Map" in your notes app.
After 2-3 days, patterns emerge.
You might discover that your resistance isn't to studying necessarily, but specifically sitting down and starting to study.
Or that job applications trigger intense anxiety that you go to gaming for relief.
I recently realized that some of my procrastination was due in part of lack of clarity on some of the projects that I was working on.
Although I had a vision of the end goal, I didn't have clear steps to work up towards the goal, so I would set the project aside.
This insight opened my eyes to how I can transmute my procrastination patterns into productive momentum.
I started building a step-by-step plan to get there, along with key performance metrics, and it became easier to stay driven to complete the project.
Remember: you can't solve a problem you don't understand.
This simple exercise takes just seconds but reveals the unconscious patterns keeping you stuck.
"The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place." — Brian Tracy
The most powerful procrastination hack is all about starting.
Your brain dramatically overestimates how difficult or unpleasant a task will be before you begin.
Truth is, our brains vastly overestimate the difficulty or unpleasantness of a task.
We are not naturally seers or tellers of fortune.
Here's the cool thing though: once you're engaged in an activity for just a few minutes, continuing becomes significantly easier.
The 5-Minute Rule leverages this part of our psychology.
The only goal is to start the activity in its simplest form for just five minutes.
That's it.
No pressure to continue.
Here are some examples of this:
These micro-commitments bypass your brain's resistance because they're too small to trigger threat responses.
They're so easy that the belief that you might not have the energy becomes irrelevant.
The science is clear on why this works: the hardest part of any task is the initiation.
Once started, the Zeigarnik effect kicks in: your brain actually becomes uncomfortable with leaving things unfinished.
You'll often find yourself naturally continuing beyond the five minutes.
The Zeigarnik Effect is a phenomenon where our brain remembers unfinished tasks better.
When you get some exercise or studying in, you're more inclined to do the activity for longer because of the anxiety or uneasiness of not completing the task.
In fact, my recent post on the Minimum Viable Workout Plan alludes to this.
Commit to the first two exercises on your workout plan, and just do those.
You'll probably not want to go home until you finish the entire thing. ;)
I've suggested in the past that blocking time on your calendar for important tasks is a powerful tool in building a habit and actually getting things done.
However, this approach can be difficult when motivation is low, especially when these tasks haven't been habitually engrained into your life yet.
Action triggers work differently.
Instead of associating tasks with times, you link them to existing habits or events that already happen automatically in your day.
For example:
The power of this approach is that it harnesses habits you already have rather than trying to create motivation from scratch.
It uses the neurological principle of "habit stacking" to bypass the need for remembering or deciding.
To make this even more effective, modify your environment to support these triggers:
For roommate situations, create a dedicated "focus corner" that you keep your stuff at.
This becomes a dedicated environmental trigger that signals your brain to shift modes.
"Celebrate small wins to cultivate the feeling you want more of." — BJ Fogg
Games are designed to provide immediate rewards for actions.
Your productivity system should do the same.
The problem with most reward systems is they're too distant from the action.
Telling yourself "I'll play games after I finish all my studying" creates a massive gap between effort and reward.
Instead, create tiny reward loops that provide immediate positive feedback.
For example:
Consider these strategic dopamine hits that retrain your brain to associate action with positive feelings.
The key distinction: the rewards should be guilt-free, time-boxed, and genuinely enjoyable.
Many procrastinators withhold pleasure as punishment, which actually makes things worse.
Your rewards should be treated as essential parts of your productivity system.
"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today." — Benjamin Franklin
Perhaps the most dangerous procrastination trap is the belief that "future you" will somehow be more energetic, disciplined, and motivated than "present you."
This is the future-self fantasy, where your brain creates an idealized future version of yourself who you believe won't be affected by the procrastination barriers you are experiencing now.
The reality?
Tomorrow you will face the same barriers, plus the added burden of tasks that have accumulated and the guilt of previous procrastination.
This is where Implementation intentions come in.
These are specific if-then plans that connect situations to responses:
"When I finish dinner, I will immediately open my laptop and work on one problem from my assignment."
"If I feel the urge to game before starting my work, I will first do just 5 minutes of the task I'm avoiding."
"After brushing my teeth each morning, I will do 3 push-ups before touching my phone."
These statements are significantly more effective than general intentions because they remove decision-making from the equation.
The trigger (finishing dinner) automatically activates the response (opening laptop).
Research shows implementation intentions can increase follow-through by up to 300%.
Why?
They bypass the need for motivation by turning decisions into automatic responses.
To make this even more powerful, use visual confrontation with your future self.
Take a photo of your workspace when it's cluttered with uncompleted work.
Set it as your phone background or place it somewhere you'll see it during procrastination activities.
This creates a direct connection to the consequences of current choices.
For the socially-minded, leverage commitment devices:
Even as an introvert, you can create lightweight accountability that doesn't require ongoing social interaction.
All you need is a simple check-in mechanism.
Finally, implement a shame-free review system.
Each evening, spend a few minutes reflecting on what actions you took and what you learned.
The goal isn't to berate yourself but to gather data for refining your system.
This approach acknowledges that beating procrastination isn't about perfect execution but about consistent improvement in your relationship with action itself.
The methods above aren't just productivity techniques.
They're energy-generating practices.
Each small action you take creates evidence that contradicts the narrative that you're helpless or incapable.
Remember: You don't need to feel good to get going.
Getting going, even in tiny ways, helps you feel good.
For someone dealing with depression, reverse engineering motivation like this can be life-changing.
The traditional advice to "find your passion" or "get motivated" places an impossible burden on someone whose neurochemistry is actively fighting against positive feelings.
The Action-First Framework acknowledges your current reality while creating a pathway forward.
It doesn't demand that you transform overnight.
It simply asks: what's the smallest possible step you could take right now?
I know because I've been there.
I spent an entire year staring at my computer screen, feeling the crushing weight of everything I wasn't accomplishing, and watching my goals slip further away while seeking escape in entertainment.
It made me believe that I couldn't build something great.
The way out wasn't through monumental willpower or waiting for some sort of inspiration to come.
It was through tiny actions that gradually rebuilt my energy, confidence and drive.
Start with just one of these techniques today.
Not tomorrow, not when you "feel ready" - today.
Now.
Choose the smallest possible implementation:
Your journey out of procrastination and into action doesn't require you to become a different person overnight.
It just requires you to start exactly where you are, with what you have right now.
What's your five-minute action going to be?
Let me know.
Until next time!
Many of us are attached to other people's opinions, and it's keeping you trapped in a life you hate.
You change your personality to accommodate someone in the room with you.
You sit in silence when you should be speaking up for yourself or someone else… all because you're terrified of judgment.
And for what?
Your future self is calling.
Are you ready to pick up the pen?
