Hello everyone, this is Helen Huang @ Organizing, based in Beijing, China.In order to better learn and practice the YiXiaoNeng Time Management System, after finished publishing 100 Chinese articles, I decided to continue writing and publishing a daily English article in another 100 days based on the "YeWuBin Time Management 100 Episodes" audio program. Today is the 129th day.
Today's topic is: The Procrastination Treatment Pills - Part 1.
Today, I will continue to talk about how to overcome procrastination.
In the previous lecture, I talked about the method that is simplest to understand but most difficult to actually execute:To do something happy and meaningful.Under the pressures of reality, many people cannot choose to do happy and meaningful things, which is the reason why it's difficult to overcome procrastination.
So today, in this lecture, I'll talk about a second method to overcome procrastination: a simple method but one that is not really sustainable over the long term.I call it: the Procrastination Treatment Pills.
There are a total of four pills or methods in "the Procrastination Treatment Pills" prescription. In this lecture, I will explain the first two in detail:
The first is the "Time Alternating Method".
In previous lessons, I shared the "Pomodoro Technique" . Do you still remember it? If this is the first time you've heard of this technique, then please take a moment to listen to lessons 10 and 11 for a detailed explanation.
In short, the Pomodoro Technique is a method which consists of repeating cycles of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest. After completing 4 consecutive cycles, or, as we say, eating 4 tomatoes or pomodoros, you should rest for half an hour.Working in this way combines inertia with proper relaxation to keep you focused and energized throughout the day resulting in consistently productive work.
While this works for most, many people struggle with successfully using this technique, because they are unable to focus continuously for 25 minutes straight.So, what should we do under this situation?
Interestingly enough, observing from children has given us a very useful solution.If you've had children, you know that they love to be active and full of energy but still don't like to do homework, which is a headache for us parents. An effective technique to get children work is the "5-minute Alternating Method" to repeatedly switch between 5 minutes of work and 5 minutes of play, and then back to 5 minutes of work, and so on.
Anyone can handle 5 minutes. The goal is to gradually increase the time you spend working and playing or resting from 5 minutes to 10 minutes each. After you get used to it, re-train yourselves to work for 15 minutes, and then play for 15 minutes. When you get to this point, you will find that you are continuously focused for each 15 minutes period and your work is productive and efficient. As you increase the time you spend working before playing or resting, you will find that you have completed a lot of work! You will feel quite a sense of accomplishment.
This is the procrastination pill called the "Time Alternating Method".The idea is to begin with this technique, but once you have mastered it you should switch to the more effective Pomodoro Technique. The second pill or method is the "Quadrant Integration Method".
Before we talk about that, let's review the procrastination formula we have been talking about:
U=E×V / I×D
U stands for utility or the desire to complete a specific task
E stands for expectation of success
V stands for how important the task is to complete or its value
I is the immediacy of the task or how quickly it must be completed
Finally D is how much you tend to procrastinate.
U is the goal you desire to complete the task. E & V are positive charactieristics that you want to maxinze.
E represents happiness and V represents meaning.
So let's break efficiency and value into its four possible combinations or quadrants:
Happy and meaningful;
Unhappy and meaningful;
Happy but meaningless;
Unhappy and meaningless.
I believe you will not want to do unhappy and meaningless things; and I think you'd be willing to do happy and meaningful things.
So what about the remaining two?Happy but meaningless things are those you want to do but cannot, such as spending all your money on vacations. While unhappy and meaningful things you may need to force yourselves to do using discipline and self-control – like eating properly or exercising.
Now, I'll introducethe secret to the Quadrant Integration Method.Which is this: combine meaningful and meaningless things together! For example:
Men, if you like sports, but do not like to go shopping with your wife, then you can integrate sports with shopping with your wife – that is to shop for sports items with your wife.
If you do not like studying, but you fall in love with a girl who is a "straight-A student", and she loves to learn very much, then you can love your girl by learning and studying together.
If you do not like to get up early, but you like to make friends, then you can join some groups or social circles that integrate the two. For example, our Easy Efficiency students started an early morning group to "get up early in the morning".
If you do not like sports, but you love to spend time with your children, then you can take your children to sports activities and watch them.
The quadrant integration method combines a positive and negative aspect of the procrastination formula to cancel out the negative effect. It's simple to understand and to execute but in the long run is not a sustainable method for defeating procrastination.
The time alternative method is a great technique to help you develop your skill in alternating work and rest until you can successfully practice the much more effective Pomodoro technique.I will continue to talk about the other two procrastination treatment pills tomorrow.
Thank you being with me together today. Have a wonderful day!
