How Can I Save Myself From This... "I Will Start Tomorrow"?

The first step to saving yourself from this type of thinking is with radical honesty. Admit to yourself what you’re really doing when you tell yourself this. You are, for whatever reason, procrastinating. There are a number of reasons why we procrastinate. However, the first step to breaking this bad habit is to acknowledge it. Once you acknowledge that you are procrastinating you can take action in order to break this bad habit.

One of my favorite tricks to staying productive is the pomodoro technique. This is where you set a timer for about 25 minutes and devote all of that time to focused work on the task at hand. This is also a great strategy for overcoming distractions while working as well as procrastination. I personally have a difficult time peeling myself away from my phone once I start checking my notifications.

I find this technique to be effective because it's a low-stakes commitment. One reason I think we tend to procrastinate is because we feel overwhelmed by the task at hand. For example, it’s easy to tell ourselves, “I will start tomorrow” when the task at hand is a ten-page paper due in three weeks. The idea of starting that task feels very overwhelming because we’re fixated on starting the entire process from the beginning. Plus, the date feels far enough away in the future that we don’t feel too uncomfortable putting it off. It’s only as the due date inches closer that we start to feel the stress of completing the task. Oftentimes that uncomfortable feeling discourages us from wanting to begin the work even more because now the task feels even more overwhelming than it did earlier.

However, if we make the effort to break down this overwhelming task into smaller and smaller chunks it will feel less stressful and easier to manage. Instead of telling ourselves, “I’ll start working on that paper tomorrow”, we can tell ourselves, “I will set a timer for 25 minutes, work on nothing but this paper and once the time is up I will stop”. We have now framed the task in a way that feels easier, less agitating and has a definite end point.

Another reason why this technique is effective is because oftentimes the most difficult part of completing a task is just getting started. When we tackle this initial hurdle we make it easier on ourselves to work on this task for a longer period of time. When we engage in focused work for only 25 minutes we tend to feel a sense of accomplishment once the task is complete. This is true even if we struggled to do the work in that period of time. The feeling of relief we get when we begin a daunting task can motivate us to push ourselves again and again. We then tell ourselves, “if I start now I’ll be finished in 25 minutes”, which eases the anxiety of just getting started.

Oftentimes once we get started we usually end up realizing that the work we were struggling to start is not as difficult as we imagined it would be. Soon the 25 minutes we set aside to work on that task easier turns into an hour or more. We also give ourselves permission to get up, take a break and let our mind roam when we compartmentalize the task at hand into small increments. This is helpful if you struggle with staying focused or have a hard time ignoring your phone while you work.

If we commit to 25 minutes of devoted work it helps us avoid distractions. When we are tempted to let our mind wander we can get back on track by reminding ourselves that we only need to focus for a short period of time. We’re less likely to stop working and check incoming text messages if we know we will be able to answer them guilt-free in a few minutes. As opposed to us justifying checking our notifications instantly because we’ll be stuck working on the same task for hours anyway.

In conclusion, the best way you can save yourself from, “I will start tomorrow”. Is to start now, with no distractions, for a short period of time. The key to cultivating any skill is consistency and consistency is nothing more than the practice of building daily habits. It’s also easier to build upon your good habits once they become routine which is why it’s best to start small and cultivate the habit as soon as possible. Bad habits can become routine as well, which is why cultivating good habits early and often is so important. Consciously cultivating a good habit oftentimes means breaking a bad one. The sooner you start to break bad habits the easier they will be to overcome. Hope this helps!