One of the biggest reasons to postpone what we have to do, is this sense that there is still time left for us to get it done.
This isn't entirely bad, as long as "last minute work" doesn't affect us emotionally.
11 reasons we procrastinate
A thread...
One of the biggest reasons to postpone what we have to do, is this sense that there is still time left for us to get it done.
This isn't entirely bad, as long as "last minute work" doesn't affect us emotionally.
Break down the task into smaller measurable tasks.
Add up the times it will take.
Add some buffer.
The sum is the estimated time you will need.
Now compare it with the time you actually have.
We just don't know which one to pick.
FOMO takes over.
What if we pick the wrong one?
Creativity takes over.
The ideas just keep coming.
Sit with each option and imagine the future consequences. Eliminate them, basis what you don't like.
You have a lot to do.
So it becomes easy to procrastinate what, in your head, isn't urgent.
But it could be important.
Classify your tasks into urgent and important.
The most important things in life, will rarely be urgent.
We are paralyzed, because we are scared we might fail.
What if this doesn't work?
So, we don't even start!
I take the smallest first step that I can, which has zero chance of failure.
And that sense of progress, tricks my mind.
It stops feeling scared.
Our mind is trained to warn us of danger.
And hence, it focuses on the bad more than the good.
The trick is to focus on probabilities. And not possibilities.
Just because something is possible, doesn't make it probable.
We are worried our work will be sub-optimal, setting us up for judgement.
Plus, the visualization of what is needed for perfection, overwhelms us.
Accuracy >> Perfection.
Nothing is ever perfect.
But if it accurate, it is well on its way.
A ping.
And we drop our work.
An email.
And we drop our work.
A thought.
We drop our work.
Stop all notifications.
Write down all thoughts that distract you.
Close all other windows.
And follow the Pomodoro technique
https://t.co/EtblWRoHiR
2. Pomodoro Technique
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) November 26, 2021
A time management technique that's proven to maximize productivity and attention.
Break your day into 25min chunks followed by a 5min break (this 30min unit is called Pomodoro).
After about 4 pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-20mins.@sketchplanator pic.twitter.com/3hpQrJpU14
We do not feel like doing it.
We get to it and feel drained.
"I will pick it up tomorrow, when I am fresh."
How we manage our time, is an outcome of how we manage our energy.
Pick up the hardest things to do, when high on energy.
https://t.co/IpHuusS2GM
10. Pick the hardest things when high on energy
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) November 26, 2021
Find out when is your energy at its peak.
Could be early morning, mid-day or late into the night.
Reserve the hardest things for that time.
That is when you will find the flow to get it done.
We want to get fit, but what does that even mean?
We want to feel fulfilled, but what does that even mean?
The more vague a goal we set, the likelier it is that we will procrastinate.
Set small, quantifiable, achievable goals.
Goes back to pt 1 above.
When the result is far away, it becomes hard to understand how our work today will get us there.
We think we still have time!
Break down the journey into smaller milestones.
Pause at each milestone, celebrate, reflect.
We procrastinate that thing the most which does not come naturally to us. That forces us to become someone else to complete it.
Here is the harsh truth
You will never be motivated to do anything that is not naturally you!
I know enough folks who deliver well under pressure.
Their choice to procrastinate stems from their self-awareness.
But not everyone is self-aware.
It baffles me how many of us do not understand the reasons behind their procrastination.
"What is it that I am trying to solve here?"
The deeper I understand the problem, the clearer the solution becomes.
This list is such an attempt.
https://t.co/fIGFT0YrfB
Do follow me @warikoo to catch these threads on your timeline.
I write a thread every Friday
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) August 30, 2020
Here are all of them, chronologically
https://t.co/LIBu8BKvmt
11 reasons we procrastinate
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) December 3, 2021
A thread...
More from Ankur Warikoo
How I created content in 2020
A thread...
Back in Aug 2016, I started creating content to share my experiences as an entrepreneur.
Over 3 years I had put out 1,200+ hours of content - posting every week without
Little did I know that something I started almost 4 years back would give my life an entirely new direction.
At the end of 2019, my biggest platform was LinkedIn with ~700K followers.
In Jan 2020, I decided to build a team that would help me with the content.
I ran a month long recruitment drive to hire a team of interns.
It comprised 4 detailed rounds - starting with my loved 20 questions, then an assignment, then a WhatsApp video round and finally F2F.
Through 1,200+ applications, I finally selected 6 profiles, starting March.
I am a firm believer in @peterthiel's one task, one person philosophy
So the team was structured such that everyone was responsible for ONLY one task
1. Content ideas
2. Videography
3. Video editing
4. LinkedIn (+TikTok) distribution
5. FB+IG distribution
6. YouTube distribution
A thread...
Back in Aug 2016, I started creating content to share my experiences as an entrepreneur.
Over 3 years I had put out 1,200+ hours of content - posting every week without
August 2016.
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) October 2, 2020
It has been 3 months since LinkedIn had launched its video feature.
And I had been waiting for it to be activated on my profile.
A thread...
Little did I know that something I started almost 4 years back would give my life an entirely new direction.
At the end of 2019, my biggest platform was LinkedIn with ~700K followers.
In Jan 2020, I decided to build a team that would help me with the content.
I ran a month long recruitment drive to hire a team of interns.
It comprised 4 detailed rounds - starting with my loved 20 questions, then an assignment, then a WhatsApp video round and finally F2F.
Through 1,200+ applications, I finally selected 6 profiles, starting March.
I am a firm believer in @peterthiel's one task, one person philosophy
So the team was structured such that everyone was responsible for ONLY one task
1. Content ideas
2. Videography
3. Video editing
4. LinkedIn (+TikTok) distribution
5. FB+IG distribution
6. YouTube distribution
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Recently, the @CNIL issued a decision regarding the GDPR compliance of an unknown French adtech company named "Vectaury". It may seem like small fry, but the decision has potential wide-ranging impacts for Google, the IAB framework, and today's adtech. It's thread time! 👇
It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details): https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha
I've read it so you needn't!
Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.
The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.
Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.
It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details): https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha
I've read it so you needn't!
Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.
The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.
Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.
MDZS is laden with buddhist references. As a South Asian person, and history buff, it is so interesting to see how Buddhism, which originated from India, migrated, flourished & changed in the context of China. Here's some research (🙏🏼 @starkjeon for CN insight + citations)
1. LWJ’s sword Bichen ‘is likely an abbreviation for the term 躲避红尘 (duǒ bì hóng chén), which can be translated as such: 躲避: shunning or hiding away from 红尘 (worldly affairs; which is a buddhist teaching.) (https://t.co/zF65W3roJe) (abbrev. TWX)
2. Sandu (三 毒), Jiang Cheng’s sword, refers to the three poisons (triviṣa) in Buddhism; desire (kāma-taṇhā), delusion (bhava-taṇhā) and hatred (vibhava-taṇhā).
These 3 poisons represent the roots of craving (tanha) and are the cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain) and thus result in rebirth.
Interesting that MXTX used this name for one of the characters who suffers, arguably, the worst of these three emotions.
3. The Qian kun purse “乾坤袋 (qián kūn dài) – can be called “Heaven and Earth” Pouch. In Buddhism, Maitreya (मैत्रेय) owns this to store items. It was believed that there was a mythical space inside the bag that could absorb the world.” (TWX)
1. LWJ’s sword Bichen ‘is likely an abbreviation for the term 躲避红尘 (duǒ bì hóng chén), which can be translated as such: 躲避: shunning or hiding away from 红尘 (worldly affairs; which is a buddhist teaching.) (https://t.co/zF65W3roJe) (abbrev. TWX)
2. Sandu (三 毒), Jiang Cheng’s sword, refers to the three poisons (triviṣa) in Buddhism; desire (kāma-taṇhā), delusion (bhava-taṇhā) and hatred (vibhava-taṇhā).
These 3 poisons represent the roots of craving (tanha) and are the cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain) and thus result in rebirth.
Interesting that MXTX used this name for one of the characters who suffers, arguably, the worst of these three emotions.
3. The Qian kun purse “乾坤袋 (qián kūn dài) – can be called “Heaven and Earth” Pouch. In Buddhism, Maitreya (मैत्रेय) owns this to store items. It was believed that there was a mythical space inside the bag that could absorb the world.” (TWX)