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Are you 'ambitious but lazy'? This 3-minute video might be just the push you need.

It's a physics problem, actually.

Photo credit: Canva

Physics actually plays a big role in procrastination.

You're an ambitious person. You've got big dreams and lofty aspirations. You know you're capable of success. You envision reaching or even exceeding your goals, and you know All The Things you need to do to make it happen.

But your couch is so comfy. And Netflix has all the Gilmore Girls seasons. And you're just going to check the news on social media real quick. And you should probably do some laundry because you're out of underwear, so you don't do All The Things. You're lucky if you do any of The Things to reach your goals.

You wake up an ambitious dreamer and go to bed a lazy procrastinator, over and over, and the cycle of wanting-to-but-not-willing-to continues.

ambitious, lazy, procrastination, inertia, struggleJoin the ambitious-but-lazy club.Photo credit: Canva

Don't worry. You're not the first person to be stuck in the ambitious-but-lazy rut, and you certainly won't be the last. There's a good chance you've tried various methods to motivate yourself or boost your willpower without lasting success. Quick dopamine hits trump ambitious dreams nine times out of ten.

But is it really laziness? A three-minute video from The Blurb explains how the cycle of knowing what you need to do but not doing it over and over again leads to a cycle of procrastination, creates guilt, and causes you to label yourself as a lazy person. And most methods of addressing the problem only deal with the symptoms—turn off your phone so don't get distracted, etc.—but don't deal with the root cause of procrastination.

What is that root cause, according to The Blurb? One word: Inertia.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In physics, inertia is Newton's first law of motion—an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.

"This applies just as much to tasks as it does to object," the video states. "Getting started on any task, no matter how small, requires an initial push and some amount of energy to overcome the resting state of inertia, and this precisely is the issue. We make this initial push so big and difficult in our minds that instead we just avoid the task entirely and distract ourselves with cheap dopamine-inducing activities. So to break break procrastination, we need to break inertia."

ambitious but lazy, procrastination, inertia, movement, ambition So many ways to procrastinate.Photo credit: Canva

The video explains that there are two ways to break inertia:

1. Reduce the stakes

We tend to build things up in our minds, which can overwhelm us. Thinking about the entirety of a task can cause us to not want to act at all because it seems so daunting. Reducing the stakes by breaking tasks down into tiny steps and only focusing on the step in front of you is often enough to break inertia. Instead of thinking, "I have to write a 5,000 word essay," tell yourself you just have to write the first 50 words. That feels much more doable, which makes inertia much lower.

2. The two-minute rule

Again, the getting started is the biggest hurdle, so tell yourself you only have to do the thing you need to do for two minutes and give yourself permission to stop after that. Need to clean your room? Put on a song, start cleaning and stop as soon as the song stops. It's unlikely that you'll not want to continue at that point.

gif, hacks, ambition, laziness, inertia2 Minutes Close Enough GIF by Overlook HorizonGiphy

"The best part is usually you'll continue longer than two minutes or you'll end up writing more than 50 words," the video states. "And this is because objects in motion stay in motion, meaning once we get started, we start gaining momentum and this momentum keeps us going for longer. Initially, it's like pushing a ball uphill but once we pass the point of inertia, it's downhill from there and that's why it's important that the initial push is small and easy."

There are lots of examples of reducing the stakes and utilizing the two-minute rule to get yourself past inertia:

Having a hard time consistently working out? Tell yourself you just have to put your workout clothes on and step out the door. That's it. Once you're outside or at the gym (because once you're out the door in your workout clothes, you'll might as well head to the gym if you belong to one) tell yourself you only have to exercise for two minutes.

ambitious but lazy, procrastination, inertia, movement, downhill Once you break inertia, tasks become easier. Photo credit: Canva

Need to work on a school or work project? Break it down into small parts and just do the first small part. Write one paragraph. Make the first presentation slide. Spend two minutes doing research. Just take the first step.

It might sound overly simple, but sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective and you might be surprised by how well this works. Instead of searching for motivation, think of creating momentum. All it takes that first tiny push to break inertia and get the ball rolling, literally and figuratively.

You can find more helpful videos on The Blurb's YouTube channel.

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The science behind procrastination and how you can beat it.

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but when it comes to procrastination, freedom is your enemy.

Procrastination has been around since the start of modern civilization.

All images by Darius Foroux, used with permission.

Historical figures like Herodotus, Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and hundreds of others have talked about how procrastination is the enemy of results.

One of my favorite quotes about procrastination is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

The funny thing about procrastination is that we all know that it’s harmful.

Who actually likes to procrastinate? No one enjoys doing that. Me neither.

And yet, procrastination was the story of my life. When I was in college, this would happen every semester:

In the beginning of each semester, I was the coolest mofo on the planet. Relaxing, going out, enjoying myself. Big time.

I experienced no stress whatsoever. However, about a week before my exams, I would freak out. "Dude, why didn’t you begin earlier?" I would tell myself.

And what would follow is an ugly sight of me, with a bunch of Red Bull cans, locked up in my room, freaking out while I was studying.

Research shows exactly that: When you procrastinate, you might feel better in the short-term, but you will suffer in the long-term.

It doesn’t really matter why you procrastinate. Some love the pressure of deadlines. Some are afraid to fail so they put it off until the very last moment. But one thing that all procrastinators have in common is that procrastination has a price.

A highly cited study from the American Psychological Society journal, by Dianne Tice and Roy Baumeister, discusses the cost of procrastination. They found that it is related to:

  • Depression
  • Irrational beliefs
  • Low self-esteem
  • Anxiety
  • Stress

So when it comes down to the research, procrastination is not innocent behavior. Scientists believe it’s a sign of poor self-regulation — and they even compare procrastination to alcohol and drug abuse.

Why do we procrastinate anyway? Most people who procrastinate will tell you that it’s a habit that just sneaks into your system.

The years after I got out of college were again a struggle in terms of starting and finishing work. It’s not something you can shake easily. Every time I had a business idea or wanted to start something, it went like this:

Every time I had an idea or a goal, I would start, but along the way, things would go wrong. I went from start to total chaos.

Distractions, other ideas, other opportunities, failure, negative self-talk, etc., would get in the way.

And the results are always the same: I never get anything done.

To me, the key finding from that study I mentioned before is this:

"The present evidence suggests that procrastinators enjoy themselves rather than working at assigned tasks, until the rising pressure of imminent deadlines forces them to get to work. In this view, procrastination may derive from a lack of self-regulation and hence a dependency on externally imposed forces to motivate work."

Self-regulation, self-control, and willpower are all things that we overestimate. We think: "Yeah sure, I will write a novel in three weeks." In our minds, we’re all geniuses and mentally strong. But when the work comes, we cop out.

Sure, everybody fears to step outside of their comfort zone — that’s why we call them comfort zones. It takes courage to make a bold move. But it sure doesn’t take any courage to complete small tasks like paying bills, printing out something for your boss, doing taxes, etc.

The truth is, procrastination has nothing to do with the actual task either.

For me, completing tasks — any tasks — while procrastinating went like this:

There comes a moment, I call it "the slope of procrastination," when you give into one distraction and you give up being productive.

And it always starts with just one thing. You think: Let’s watch the news for a second.

Then you think: I might as well watch one episode of "Game of Thrones." Then, a Casey Neistat vlog. And then another YouTube video. Then, a little bit of Facebook. And so forth.

It ends with a bang: "This is the last time I’ll waste my time!" Yeah, right.

What we really need, according to all of this research, is a system for doing work.

A lot of people shy away from routines, systems and frameworks because they want to have "freedom."

But I’m sorry to disappoint you: When it comes to procrastinating, freedom is your enemy! If you want to get things done, you need rules.

What are some things that research proved to be effective?

  • Self-imposed deadlines
  • Accountability systems (commitment with friends or a coach)
  • Working/studying in intervals
  • Exercising 30 minutes a day
  • A healthy diet
  • Eliminating distractions
  • And most importantly: internal motivation

If you combine all of those things, you'll have a system.

The deadlines create urgency, accountability will create responsibility, working in intervals improves your focus, exercising will give you more energy, so does a healthy diet, and eliminating distractions will take away the temptations.

But there’s no system that can help you if you don’t have an inner drive. People overcomplicate that concept, but it’s simple:Why do you do what you do? If you don’t know. Make something up. That's your motivation.

If you know why you’re doing something, even the most annoying tasks might become bearable.

Those tasks will become a part of the bigger picture.

So, instead of diving into work, take a step back and think about why you do what you do. Then create a system that supports that. It’s not rocket science. Just science. And maybe it’ll help you become more productive!

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