The Science of Getting Started: How to Beat Procrastination, Summon Productivity, and Stop Self-Sabotage

by Patrick King

Takeaways: Procrastination may be a reflection of battling biological forces, and we can swing the battle in our favor if we use some of the mindset tactics in this chapter. Fear is an understated underlying cause of procrastination. The first such tactic is to understand how Newton’s three laws of motion can apply to procrastination. Viewing your productivity (or lack thereof) as an equation is helpful because it allows you to think through the variables present in your life and learn how to manipulate them. First, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, while an object in motion tends to stay in motion (the first step is the hardest step). Next, the amount of work produced is a product of the focus and the force that is applied toward it (focus your efforts intentionally). Finally, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction (take inventory of the productive and unproductive forces present in your life). Another factor in procrastination is the paradox of choice, wherein choices and options are actually detrimental because they cause indecision and plague us with doubt. They might even cause us to act like Buridan’s donkey and proverbially starve to death between two dishes of food. To combat this, get into the habit of setting a time limit on your decisions, making matters black and white, aiming to become satisficed, and immediately picking a default option. Finally, understand that motivation and the mood to stop procrastinating is not something that ...