Insights from a Procrastinator's Mind

#88 - From Panic to Productivity

Hello friends! I hope you’re doing great.

I have been sitting on the topic of today’s post for a few months, since I saw this picture and thought “that is me!!”:

The picture is about the creative process but I actually recognise myself in the picture for many aspects of my life: work, when I was a student, writing this newsletter, etc.

As I was thinking about the topic I stumbled upon this TED talk by a popular blogger (Tim Urban) exactly on the topic of procrastination and finally ended up structuring my thoughts following his lead.

As a college student, Urban frequently fell into the trap of last-minute work, even when faced with substantial projects like his 90-page senior thesis. He describes how he would plan to start his work early and pace himself, only to find himself succumbing to procrastination repeatedly. Urban’s normal workflow involved an initial period of minimal progress, followed by a slight increase in activity, and finally a desperate sprint to meet the deadline. This pattern is familiar to many procrastinators, and deeply relatable to me. I often find myself postponing tasks until the last possible moment, only to pull sprints right around the deadline and experience high levels of stress to complete my work.

The Instant Gratification Monkey

In his TED talk, Tim Urban introduces an interesting concept to explain the behaviour of procrastinators: the presence of two key characters in the brain—the Rational Decision-Maker and the Instant Gratification Monkey.

The Rational Decision-Maker is the part of our brain that plans, makes sensible choices, and focuses on long-term goals. It’s this part of us that sets deadlines, makes to-do lists, and envisions a productive day ahead.

However, the Instant Gratification Monkey lives in the same brain and has a completely different agenda. This monkey thrives on immediate rewards and pleasure, constantly seeking activities that are easy and fun. It lives in the present moment, without any concern for future consequences. This is the part of us that prefers watching funny YouTube videos, scrolling through social media, or reading random articles instead of working on that important project.

When the Instant Gratification Monkey takes control, procrastinators find themselves in what Urban calls the “Dark Playground.” This metaphorical place is where leisure activities happen when they shouldn’t. The Rational Decision-Maker wants to work on the task at hand, but the monkey takes over, leading to unproductive activities that fill the time meant for work.

The Dark Playground isn’t as enjoyable as it sounds. While it involves activities that are typically fun, like watching videos or browsing the web, the fun is tainted by a constant undercurrent of guilt, dread, and anxiety. This is because the procrastinator knows that these activities are unearned and that important work is being neglected. The enjoyment is superficial and accompanied by a sense of impending doom as the deadline approaches.

The Instant Gratification Monkey’s motivations are simple: it seeks easy and fun activities and avoids anything that requires effort or causes discomfort. In the context of evolutionary biology, this makes sense. For early humans, prioritizing immediate pleasure and avoiding discomfort helped them survive. However, in modern society, this behavior often leads to procrastination and unproductive time.

The Rational Decision-Maker, on the other hand, can visualize the future, understand the importance of long-term goals, and plan accordingly. This part of the brain knows that sometimes it’s necessary to do hard and less pleasant tasks to achieve meaningful outcomes. The conflict between these two parts of the brain is at the heart of procrastination.

The constant battle between the Rational Decision-Maker and the Instant Gratification Monkey results in a cycle of avoidance and guilt.

The Panic Monster

The Panic Monster is a metaphorical figure that lies dormant most of the time but wakes up in moments of extreme urgency. When deadlines approach or when there is a risk of significant consequences—like public embarrassment or a career disaster—the Panic Monster emerges, triggering a surge of anxiety and fear.

The appearance of the Panic Monster is what finally motivates the procrastinator to take action. It’s the sudden realisation that there is no more time left to delay, and the consequences of not completing the task are imminent. This intense fear overrides the Instant Gratification Monkey’s influence, allowing the Rational Decision-Maker to regain control and push the procrastinator into a frenzy of productivity.

The Panic Monster explains some of the most perplexing behaviours of procrastinators. It’s why someone can spend weeks unable to start a project but then suddenly find the ability to work nonstop when the deadline is just days away. This behaviour might seem irrational, but it makes sense when considering the Panic Monster’s role in breaking the procrastination cycle.

The Panic Monster is effective in situations with clear deadlines and immediate consequences. It’s the looming threat that triggers a burst of productivity, often resulting in completed tasks, albeit in a stressful manner.

And while many smart people point out that this method of working is far from ideal because it surely leads to high levels of stress and anxiety, I have actually come to embrace it.

The biggest thing I focus on is to ensure that Panic Monster does not come into play at the expenses of quality of work. It’s ok to concentrate lots of work in a short timeframe near the deadline, but you need to ensure that does not mean you deliver lower quality.

There are indeed some strategies to engage the panic monster that I find helpful:

1. Artificial Deadlines: Create self-imposed deadlines for long-term projects to invoke the Panic Monster’s urgency.

2. Public Accountability: Share goals and deadlines with others to create external pressure and consequences. This is basically the role of this newsletter for me!!

3. Chunking Tasks: Break down large projects into smaller tasks with individual deadlines to maintain steady progress.

4. Visualizing Consequences: Regularly remind yourself of the long-term consequences of not completing tasks to keep the Panic Monster engaged.

The 5 choices framework

As I was writing this post I connected the dots with a methodology I have learnt a few years ago and that I found very powerful to manage the battle between monkey and monster in my brain. This framework is called the “5 choices framework” and it is from the book "The 5 Choices for Extraordinary Productivity". One of the central concepts in the book is the Time Matrix, also known as the 4 Quadrants framework. This model categorizes tasks into four quadrants based on their urgency and importance:

1. Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important- These are crises and pressing problems that require immediate attention. Examples include last-minute deadlines and unforeseen emergencies. Full panic monster mode, no time to mess around!

2. Quadrant 2: Not Urgent but Important - These tasks are key to achieving long-term goals and maintaining balance. Activities like strategic planning, relationship building, and personal development fall into this quadrant. Here the monster is quiet, you need to keep it awake to avoid falling into quadrant 4.

3. Quadrant 3: Urgent but Not Important- These are tasks that seem urgent but are not truly important. They often involve interruptions or unnecessary meetings. Monkey is taking control…

4. Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important - These activities are trivial and time-wasting, like excessive social media browsing or binge-watching TV shows. Full monkey territory!

This framework is meant to help you prioritize how you allocate your time and ensure that you are proactive in where to put energy, mainly making sure that emergencies and “fire drilling” does not fill up the entire space of your working day, not allowing any space for the strategic and important (yet not urgent) work.

I find this framework very powerful, and I feel like it can be a good tool to manage time more effectively and focus on what truly matters, thus managing the procrastination stress. For instance:

1. Prioritize Quadrant 2 Activities: Focus on tasks in Quadrant 2, as these are crucial for long-term success and personal fulfillment. Regularly investing time in these activities prevents them from becoming urgent crises in Quadrant 1.

2. Set Clear Boundaries: Learn to say no to Quadrant 3 activities that do not add significant value. Delegate or eliminate these tasks whenever possible to free up time for more important work.

3. Minimize Quadrant 4 Activities: Identify and cut down on time-wasting activities in Quadrant 4. I heavily rely on tools like time limits on iphone to ensure I do not end up spending 4 hours watching people building mud houses in the jungle on TikTok.

4. Schedule Quadrant 2 Tasks: Allocate specific times in your schedule for Quadrant 2 activities. Treat these appointments as non-negotiable, just like meetings or deadlines. The key to leverage this methodology, at least for me, was to embed it in the day activities. I usually set a quick 15’ slot in the morning to review my key tasks for the day and ensure there is some time allocated to “Quadrant 2” activities. And obviously that might not be true everyday, but if that happens for too many days in a row it’s usually a sign the monkey has taken over…

While obviously one can’t be productive all day, and I strongly believe that one should self indulge and get time to distract and watch that nonsensical Netflix series you don’t tell anyone you’re watching (my guilty pleasure is listening to La Zanzara, a very brain-free italian podcast :) ), often procrastination does have a psychological toll.

Chronic procrastinators often experience heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. The constant cycle of delay and guilt can erode self-esteem and create a negative self-image. Procrastinators may start to believe that they are incapable of achieving their goals, which further perpetuates the cycle of procrastination and self-doubt. This negative feedback loop can make it increasingly difficult to break free from procrastination habits and take proactive steps towards personal and professional growth.

Long-term procrastination also creates invisible barriers to success. Opportunities that require consistent effort and perseverance are often missed because the procrastinator fails to take the necessary initial steps. This can be particularly damaging in fields where self-motivation and initiative are crucial, such as in sports for instance.

Moreover, important aspects of life that contribute to overall well-being, such as maintaining health, building relationships, and personal development, often fall by the wayside. The absence of immediate consequences allows these tasks to be indefinitely postponed, leading to long-term negative outcomes that are not immediately apparent but can be profound.

Strategies to Overcome Long-Term Procrastination

Urban has some tips on how to overcome the negative and stressful long-term procrastination:

1. Set Clear, Specific Goals: Break down long-term goals into specific, actionable steps. Clear goals with defined outcomes can help create a sense of urgency and direction.

2. Create a Timeline: Establish a timeline for achieving these goals, even if there is no external deadline. Assign deadlines to each step to create a sense of accountability.

3. Develop a Routine: Incorporate tasks related to long-term goals into your daily or weekly routine. Consistency is key to making progress on non-urgent tasks.

4. Seek Accountability: Share your goals with friends, family, or colleagues who can provide encouragement and hold you accountable for making progress.

5. Reflect on the Consequences: Regularly remind yourself of the long-term benefits of achieving your goals and the potential regret of not pursuing them.

But more importantly I think a key point is to practice Self-Compassion. Recognize that procrastination is a common human experience and be kind to yourself. Avoid harsh self-criticism, which can be counterproductive. Instead, focus on making positive changes moving forward.

Hopefully this post helps some procrastinators out there, you (we) are not alone!

Have a fantastic weekend,
Giovanni