5 Micro-Habits That'll Help You Beat Procrastination on Autopilot

It was 8 pm, and I still hadn’t started my paper due the next day.

I had been procrastinating all day, and now only a few hours were left. I knew I would never get it done if I didn’t get started right then.

So I sat down at my computer and got to work.

But even though I tried hard, I couldn’t focus. My mind kept wandering, and every few minutes, I would check Facebook or email or the news headlines.

The hours flew by; before I knew it, it was midnight…and my paper was still unfinished.

That’s when it hit me: I am a textbook case of chronic procrastination. And up until that point, I had no idea how destructive it could be.

Procrastination not only caused me stress and anxiety at the moment but also cost me grades and opportunities in the long run. It was time to do something about it.

But, very soon, I realized that the “more you fight procrastination, the more you fail. The more you challenge your will, the more it resists.”

That’s why my search on the internet was to find ways to avoid procrastination on autopilot without “directly” addressing it.

And thanks to those simple micro-hacks, I could overcome procrastination without challenging my will. I could optimize my daily schedule in such a way that there’s no scope for delayed actions.

I am sure these small changes to your lifestyle will help you reap the same benefits as I did.

#1. The 2-Minute Miracle

It was the middle of the night, and I was wide awake. I had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

I was thinking about everything I had to do the next day: go to work, pick up the dry cleaning, tidy up the living space for the party, order groceries, call the HVAC guy, etc.

The list seemed endless, and each task felt more daunting than the last. I was starting to feel overwhelmed, and I knew that if I didn’t find a way to calm down, I would never get to sleep.

That’s when I tried experimenting with the 2-minute rule I’ve read on Reddit.

The 2-minute rule is a simple productivity hack that says if a task will take less than two minutes to complete, then do it right now.

So instead of lying in bed stressing about everything I had to do, I got up and did what could be done in two minutes.

I wrote a note to pick up the dry cleaning, set a reminder to call the HVAC guy, and set the priorities for the tasks to be done the next day (with time).

And you know what? After completing those smaller tasks, I felt so much better. My mind was no longer racing, and I was able to fall asleep within minutes.

#2. Kill Your MITs

MIT stands for “most important task.”

Your MITs are the tasks that will have the biggest impact on your day, week, or month.

So instead of trying to do a little bit of everything, focus on completing your MITs first.

For example, let’s say you’re working on a project due in two weeks.

There are a million things you could be doing to work on, but you need to focus on the tasks that will get you closer to your goal.

What are the most important tasks you must complete to finish the project on time?

Those are your MITs.

Maybe you need to research, write a rough draft, or create a presentation. Whatever it is, complete your MITs before moving on to anything else.

#3. Make a “Not-to-do” List

I used to build to-do lists. Now I make a not-to-do list.

In his book, The Power of Less, Leo Babauta talks about the importance of identifying and eliminating the non-essential tasks in your life to focus on what’s important.

He recommends doing a 5 to 10-minute review of your day to help you identify these non-essential tasks.

At the end of each day, take a few minutes to reflect on what you did and ask yourself if it was really necessary.

If the answer is no, cross it off your list for the next day.

This simple practice has helped me focus on the truly important tasks, and as a result, I have been able to get more done in less time.

#4. Invest in Building an Awareness Habit

One main reason you procrastinate is that you’re not aware of how much time you’re wasting.

You tell yourself that you’ll work on a project for “just a few minutes,” but those few minutes quickly turn into hours.

And before we know it, half the day has gone by, and you’ve accomplished nothing.

That’s why procrastination hates awareness.

This means that if you track how you spend your time, you can see how much time you’re wasting.

And no other realization is as powerful as time drainage.

There are several ways to do this, but my favorite is an hourly pause.

At the 59th minute of every hour, you pause all your activity. Review and rewind your past hour to check and change.

I call it SOS:

S — Switch to pause

O — Observe

S — Shift (your actions)

I use an hourly chime as a reminder to do this exercise.

I love this method because it forces you to be aware of how much time you’re wasting.

This awareness habit has helped me be much more productive with my time and drastically reduced my procrastination.

#5. Create Mini Steps Leading to a Bigger Goal

I had been meaning to start working out for months, but every time I tried, I would give up after a few days.

I would tell myself that I didn’t have time, was too tired, or would start tomorrow.

But the truth was, I was making excuses. I was afraid of failure and didn’t think I could stick to a workout routine.

But then I came across the concept of mini habits.

A mini habit is a small, achievable goal you can commit to daily.

For example, my mini habit was to do ten pushups every day.

That may not sound like much, but it was enough to get me started. And once I started, I found it was easier to keep going.

Now, I’m proud to say that owing to those mini steps, I could exercise 30 minutes every day for over a year:

You can read about it here:

https://betterhumans.pub/what-happens-if-you-exercise-30-minutes-every-day-for-a-year-18071b80d2f9

---

If you’ve gained anything from this letter, I have some requests:

1. Follow me on Twitter and Linkedin for more updates: (Clickable Links)

2. Consider sharing this letter with your friends and family.

3. “PLEASE” share what you think about today’s letter.

---

Thanks once again!

See ya next time!

Stay happy…healthy…procrastination-free!

Lots of love,

Darshak