You're not Lazy: How to End Procrastination For Life

Summary

In this insightful video, Dr. Justin, a learning coach, demystifies procrastination as a complex set of behaviors rather than a single trait. He introduces a three-part strategy to overcome procrastination: identifying specific behaviors, altering environmental triggers, and retraining the brain through mindfulness meditation. This approach aims to make productive behaviors effortless while making procrastination difficult, ultimately helping viewers to break free from the habit and improve focus and mental health.

Takeaways

• 📚 Procrastination is not a single behavior but a category of behaviors leading to an undesirable outcome, requiring different strategies for each type.
• 🔍 To overcome procrastination, it's crucial to identify and specify the exact behavior that needs to be changed, rather than treating it as a monolithic issue.
• 🎯 The environment and triggers play a significant role in shaping behavior, and by altering these factors, one can influence the likelihood of engaging in procrastinatory actions.
• 🛠️ Specific interventions, such as app blockers or rearranging one's environment, can make the desired behavior easier and the procrastinatory behavior more difficult.
• 🧘‍♂️ Mindfulness meditation is suggested as a method to slow down the brain and reduce the need for constant, short-term dopamine hits from distractions like social media.
• 🚀 Dr. Justin, a learning coach and researcher, emphasizes the importance of learning efficiently and offers a three-part process to combat procrastination.
• 🔑 The first part of the process involves identifying the specific procrastination behavior and understanding the environmental and emotional triggers that facilitate it.
• 🛑 The second part focuses on changing the environment and structures to make the desired behavior effortless and the procrastinatory behavior inconvenient.
• 💡 The third part addresses the possibility of procrastination becoming a habit, suggesting the use of mindfulness meditation to retrain the brain for better focus and attention.
• 🔄 It's acknowledged that overcoming procrastination is a process that may require trial and error with different environmental changes to discover what works best for an individual.
• 🌟 The script encourages viewers to think creatively about how to manipulate their environment to promote the desired behavior and resist the pull of distractions.

Q & A

What is the main issue the video aims to address?

The video aims to address the issue of procrastination and why traditional strategies to overcome it often fail.

Who is Dr. Justin and what is his role in the video?

Dr. Justin is a learning coach and researcher, head of learning at I Can Study, who has been teaching people how to learn more efficiently and stop procrastinating for over a decade.

Why is it important to specify the behavior when dealing with procrastination?

Specifying the behavior is important because procrastination is not one behavior but a category of behaviors, each requiring a different approach to be effectively addressed.

What is the significance of understanding the environment and triggers in relation to procrastination?

Understanding the environment and triggers is significant because it helps identify the conditions that lead to procrastination, allowing for targeted interventions to change those conditions and reduce the likelihood of procrastination.

How does the video suggest changing the environment to combat procrastination?

The video suggests making the desired behavior easy to do and the procrastination behavior difficult, such as logging out of distracting apps, changing physical surroundings, or altering routines.

What is the purpose of focusing on the drivers of behavior rather than the behavior itself?

Focusing on the drivers of behavior helps in identifying the underlying causes and motivations that lead to procrastination, enabling more effective and sustainable changes to be made.

What is the three-part process introduced in the video to end procrastination?

The three-part process includes: 1) Identifying and specifying the procrastination behavior, 2) Changing the environment and structures to make the desired behavior easy and the procrastination behavior hard, and 3) Slowing down the brain through mindfulness meditation if the procrastination has become a habit.

Why might someone still struggle with procrastination even after applying the first two parts of the process?

Someone might still struggle if procrastination has become a deeply ingrained habit, requiring the third part of the process, which involves retraining the brain to reduce the need for constant dopamine hits.

What role does mindfulness meditation play in the third part of the process?

Mindfulness meditation helps in slowing down the brain by training it to focus on the present moment, reducing the urge for immediate gratification and improving the ability to concentrate and resist distractions.

How does the video suggest dealing with the boredom associated with studying or the desired behavior?

The video suggests optimizing learning methods to make them more engaging, potentially through more efficient encoding of information or by changing the environment to make the task less tedious.

What is the final recommendation for viewers who find the video helpful?

The final recommendation is to subscribe to the channel to not miss future uploads and to explore other videos on learning efficiency and important principles for effective studying.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Understanding Procrastination

This paragraph introduces the video's focus on overcoming procrastination. The speaker, Dr. Justin, a learning coach and researcher, challenges the common misconception that procrastinators are simply lazy. Instead, he proposes that procrastination is a category of behaviors with different triggers and solutions. He emphasizes the importance of identifying specific behaviors that lead to procrastination, rather than treating it as a monolithic issue. The goal is to understand the environmental factors and triggers that cause these behaviors and to develop targeted interventions.

05:00

🔍 Analyzing Procrastination Behaviors

In this paragraph, the speaker delves into the specifics of identifying procrastination behaviors. He suggests using the 'intentions events' format to map out the sequence of events, feelings, and triggers that lead to procrastination. By examining the environment and the conditions that make procrastination more likely, viewers can pinpoint the exact behaviors they need to change. The speaker provides an example involving a student who intended to study but ended up binge-watching a TV series, illustrating how to apply this analysis to real-life scenarios.

10:02

🛠️ Modifying Environment and Habits

The speaker discusses the second part of the process to combat procrastination, which involves modifying the environment and habits. He suggests practical steps such as logging out of distracting apps, rearranging the study space, and planning study sessions when the individual is less likely to be tired. The idea is to make the desired behavior (e.g., studying) as easy as possible and the procrastination behavior more difficult. The speaker also introduces the concept of becoming an 'evil human behavior architect' to manipulate one's environment in a way that encourages productive behavior.

🧘 Slowing Down the Brain

The final paragraph addresses the third part of the process, which is about slowing down the brain to reduce the need for constant dopamine hits from short-term, low-effort activities like social media scrolling. The speaker recommends installing app lockers or uninstalling distracting apps and practicing mindfulness meditation to train the brain to focus on the present moment. This practice helps to increase attention span and reduce the urge for immediate gratification. The speaker acknowledges that this part of the process is challenging and time-consuming but emphasizes its importance for long-term success in overcoming procrastination.

Keywords

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions, often resulting in decreased productivity or missed deadlines. In the video's context, it is portrayed as a complex behavior rather than a single action, with various triggers and environmental factors contributing to its occurrence. The script discusses strategies to overcome procrastination by addressing its root causes and changing the environment to make the desired behavior easier to perform.

💡Behavior

Behavior in this script refers to the actions and habits that individuals exhibit, particularly those leading to procrastination. The video emphasizes the importance of identifying specific behaviors that contribute to procrastination, such as 'Doom scrolling on Instagram' or 'reorganizing and cleaning your room' instead of working out, and tailoring interventions to address these specific behaviors.

💡Environment

Environment, as discussed in the script, is the setting or context in which behaviors occur. It plays a crucial role in triggering or enabling procrastination. The video suggests that by altering the environment, such as removing distractions or making the desired task more accessible, one can effectively combat procrastination.

💡Triggers

Triggers are the stimuli or events that initiate a specific behavior or response. In the context of the video, triggers are the cues that lead to procrastinatory behaviors, like the Netflix logo prompting someone to watch a show instead of studying. Identifying and managing these triggers is key to breaking the cycle of procrastination.

💡Intervention

Intervention in the script refers to the strategies or actions taken to address and change the behavior of procrastination. It involves being specific about the behavior, understanding its causes, and making targeted changes to the environment or routine to make the undesired behavior more difficult and the desired behavior easier.

💡Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is a practice aimed at focusing the mind on the present moment and developing a non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings. The video suggests using mindfulness meditation to slow down the brain and train it to resist the urge for instant gratification, which is often a factor in procrastination.

💡Dopamine Hits

Dopamine hits refer to the quick, pleasurable rewards that the brain receives, often from short-term, low-effort activities like watching videos or scrolling through social media. The script mentions that the brain can become accustomed to seeking these instant rewards, which can contribute to procrastination by making focused work seem less appealing.

💡App Blockers

App blockers are tools or applications designed to restrict access to certain apps or websites, often used to prevent distractions. In the video, app blockers are recommended as part of the intervention strategy to remove the easy access to apps like Instagram or TikTok, which can trigger procrastination.

💡Learning Coach

A learning coach, as introduced in the script, is a professional who specializes in teaching effective learning strategies and techniques. Dr. Justin, the speaker in the video, identifies himself as a learning coach, indicating his expertise in helping people learn more efficiently and overcome procrastination.

💡Efficient Learning

Efficient learning refers to the process of acquiring knowledge or skills in a manner that maximizes productivity and minimizes wasted time or effort. The video implies that overcoming procrastination can lead to more efficient learning by allowing individuals to focus on their tasks without the interruptions and distractions that typically hinder progress.

💡Habit Formation

Habit formation is the process of developing regular patterns of behavior through repetition. In the context of the video, chronic procrastination is described as a habit that has been formed over time, and the video offers strategies to break this habit by changing environmental cues and practicing mindfulness.

Highlights

Procrastination is not a single behavior but a category of behaviors leading to an undesirable outcome.

Different behaviors require different interventions to overcome procrastination.

Being specific about the behavior helps in applying precise interventions.

Environmental factors and triggers play a significant role in the formation of procrastination habits.

Changing the environment can make desired behaviors easier and undesirable behaviors harder.

The I-E-A format (Intentions, Events, and Affect) can be used to analyze procrastination behaviors.

Identifying triggers can help in understanding and changing habitual procrastination behaviors.

Strategies such as app blockers and mindful meditation can be employed to combat procrastination.

Mindfulness meditation trains the brain to focus on the present moment and reduce distractions.

Procrastination can become a habit, and addressing it requires a systematic approach.

Dr. Justin suggests a three-part process to end procrastination: specificity, environmental changes, and brain training.

The process involves identifying the specific behavior, understanding the triggers, and making targeted changes.

Even if one is 'lazy,' the right strategies can be used to leverage this to one's advantage.

The importance of not giving up and continuing to try different strategies to overcome procrastination.

The video offers practical steps and examples to help viewers implement the suggested strategies.

The necessity of a long-term commitment to changing procrastination habits through consistent practice.

Dr. Justin's experience in teaching thousands of people to learn efficiently and stop procrastinating.

The video provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and overcoming procrastination effectively.

Transcripts

so you've been battling procrastination

for years you've tried everything but

despite all the motivation you've tried

to summon you just can't win or maybe

you win sometimes but on those days

where you're tired you don't have your

guard up procrastination is always

waiting for you and if after all of that

you still can't beat procrastination and

just do your damn work you must be

lazy or are you in this video I'm going

to unpack what procrastination really is

and why all of those strategies you try

before didn't work I'll then teach you a

threep part process that you can use to

end procrastination forever and even if

you are lazy how you can use that to

your advantage and it isn't some magic

solution that works instantly it will

take time but it does work and that's

what matters if you're new to this

channel welcome I'm Dr Justin I'm a

learning coach and researcher head of

learning at I can study and for the last

decade I've taught thousands of people

how to learn more efficiently and stop

procrastinating so the first part is

that we have to specify the behavior we

need to stop calling it procrastination

procrastination is not one Behavior it

is a whole category of behaviors that

lead to this particular undesirable

outcome and because it is not just one

Behavior the way that we deal with each

behavior is actually different for

example let's say that the way you

procrastinate is by Doom scrolling on

Instagram on your phone instead of

studying this is not the same behavior

behavior and therefore the way that we'd

fix it is not the same way as wanting to

do a workout but then ending up

reorganizing and cleaning your room yes

there are similarities and at the end of

the day there's something you wanted to

do and you weren't able to get it done

but in terms of the environment and the

triggers and the structures it's not the

same thing and this is important because

if we try to fix procrastination just by

trying our best to fix procrastination

well we've only got so much time and

motivation that we're willing to give if

we keep trying with a way that doesn't

work eventually we're just going to get

demotivated and give up but start

believing we're just too lazy but by

being specific about the behavior we can

be specific about the intervention we

can attack it with Precision like a

majestic Hunter hunting some mythical

Beast so when we think of a behavior we

always want to think about the

environment and the triggers as well

think of the behavior as a symptom a

side effect of something else for

example if you grow up around smokers

your friends smoke your parents smoke

your grandparents smoke your chimney

smokes everything around you smokes then

you too are likely to start picking up

smoking likewise if you're in a really

distracting environment you're much more

likely to get distracted or if you're in

an environment that makes it hard to do

focused work and instead it's much

easier to watch a 4-Hour video of

someone digging a swimming pool in the

forest using their bare hands

then you're much more likely to watch

that video the trick to changing uh

Behavior including procrastination is to

make it so that that behavior becomes

ridiculously easy to do and the

undesirable Behavior takes a ridiculous

amount of effort to do so once we've

done part one which is to identify and

specify the behavior of procrastination

that we're trying to change then part

two is that we can focus on the drivers

of Behavior rather than the behavior

itself for example ever since I moved to

using a Macbook instead of my old

Windows PC I basically stopped gaming on

my computer altogether I just couldn't

be bothered unplugging my MacBook and

then plugging my computer in and like

connecting up to the Monitor and

everything and then turning it on just

to play some games so I stopped I

effectively became too lazy to

procrastinate think about that so here's

what we can do to make some meaningful

changes to the environment write down

your procrastination Behavior using this

format

intentions events and we can split

events into before during the transition

and result feelings in terms of what

made it harder or what made

procrastinating easier and then

triggers for example let's say that

someone's trying to study but then they

ended up watching an entire season of

Castlevania because it was recommended

on their Netflix my intention was I mean

someone's intention was to study the

events that occurred might have been

before I was eating dinner and I had

planned to study once I finished eating

during the

transition this is about what you try to

do when you're attempting to do your

desired behavior in this example it

might be something like I thought about

going downstairs and opening up my books

to start studying but I decided to spend

20 minutes digesting after my dinner by

sitting on the couch and then the result

was I ended up turning the TV on and

watching a whole new season of

Castlevania that was suggested to me I

then hated myself and questioned all of

my Life Choices etc etc once we've got

the chronology of the events then we can

move on to the feelings and the trigger

so the feeling section might look

something like this I was initially

feeling motivated and focused I was a

little tired from the day then when I

started thinking about what to study and

where to start and everything I needed

to cover I got

overwhelmed this made it harder my couch

was right next to me and I'm logged into

Netflix all the time so that made it

easier to start watching my triggers

might have been seeing the couch my

sweet comfortable couch then seeing the

Netflix logo and then seeing the

recommended new series and so these are

all things that would have triggered

certain behavioral habits so I have a

habit of watching Netflix whenever I sit

on that couch triggers are the things

that activate habits for example there

could be an app icon when I used to play

a lot of games the game logo icon that

appeared on my desktop that used to be a

trigger to make me want to play games so

once we've mapped it out like this you

can see it for what it is not just this

big label that's abstract that we call

procrastination then

we can start doing something about it

there are some possible changes that we

might want to make when we look at this

like we could log out of Netflix we

could move the couch just don't plan on

studying after dinner in the first place

since you can see I was tired to begin

with get my books out in advance have a

clear study plan so I don't have to

think about everything and then get

overwhelmed these Solutions will all

help but you can see how specific they

are it's not just try not to get

distracted if we find that a big barrier

was that we were too sleepy and tired we

can try to change our sleep schedule and

get some more sleep or maybe change the

time of the day that we're studying if

it's social media that's distracting us

we can try to use app blockers or if

it's simply our burning urge to like

this video then you can just go ahead

and like it whatever the problem is the

first step is to identify the behavior

figure out why it happens and then play

around with a combination of changes

that we can make to our environment and

our structures so that that behavior

becomes really hard to do and the

desired Behavior becomes really easy to

do and when we do this we want to think

like we're some kind of evil human

behavior architect that's trapped this

group of people and we're trying to

manipulate and force them into doing

this very specific type of behavior we

want to think how do we nudge these

people indirectly to do exactly what we

want them to do because that's basically

what these social media companies are

doing and if you want to beat them you

have to know how they thinking beat them

at their own game and it might take

weeks of trial and error with different

combinations of changing your

environment to figure out the full map

of a particular behavior and learn how

to change it and then for another type

of behavior it might take you a little

bit more time to figure out how to

change that one and another one another

one like I said procrastination isn't

just one single Behavior but when you

figure it out which you will if you do

this it works you will start

procrastinating and doesn't take that

much willpower or motivation in fact

it's surprisingly easy but sometimes

this isn't enough and that's why we need

the third part if you go ahead with part

one and part two most of you will feel

like you're pretty much done with

procrastination you're on top of it but

some of you will still struggle and this

is because procrastination might have

become a habit you've become a chronic

procrastinator you've become a procras

holic you've become a procr addict

here's how you know if it's become a new

habit do part one and part two and just

completely Max it out go 100% remove

every distraction every possibility of

you to procrastinate some of my students

have put themselves and locked

themselves in a garage with nothing but

a disc and a textbook and some notes to

write on if you put yourself in that

environment where procrastination is

just not an option and you still find

that your brain is looking for something

to distract itself on and you feel feel

like it's wret it's looking for

something to procrastinate with then you

might be addicted to procrastinating if

that is the case you need this last part

part three is to slow our brain down

what's probably happened is that your

brain has become train to need these

really shortterm low effort dopamine

hits so things like reels and shorts and

you know Tik Tok these things train your

brain to receive this 30second to a

minute dopamine hit from doing nothing

there's no effort involved it's totally

passive but then you get rewarded for

that I think of it like my brain is

getting too jittery so in part three to

slow your brain down what I recommend is

number one install some app lockers get

rid of Instagram Tik Tok whatever

uninstall the app just try to remove it

from your life as much as possible it

doesn't have to be forever but for at

least this training part then what I'd

recommend that you do is practice

something like mindfulness meditation

you can use an app like calm for this

they've got these 30-day trials and

these beginner courses for you to start

getting into it if you've never tried it

before alternatively there are lots of

YouTube videos talking about this also

to search for mindfulness meditation

what you're doing with mindfulness

meditation is you're trying to get your

brain to focus on the present moment and

not hold on to and Chase every

distracting intrusive thought that comes

into your head a lot of people get put

off because every 2 or 3 seconds they're

getting some kind of distracting thought

coming in and they're not able to be

present in the moment but actually

that's the whole point we're

deliberately putting our brain in a

situation where it's going to be

restless so that we can train it every

time you get that thought coming in and

then you try to bring yourself back to

the present moment and you let go of

that thought that's training if you do

this for around 15 minutes a day for

around 2 to 3 weeks you'll start

noticing that your brain is slowing down

it's easier to focus your attention span

is a little bit longer and you're not

feeling that urge to have that 30C to a

minute dopamine hit over time as you

practice the skill of bringing your

brain back and settling it down it

starts operating on a slower more stable

wavelength which sounds incredibly

hippie you don't have to go and snort

some Himalayan salt crystals after this

or rub your eyeballs with essential oils

just meditation is fine now part three

is the hardest because it takes time

just like learning to encode efficiently

it involves retraining your brain but on

the other hand having a brain that

requires is a low effort 30 secondly

dopamine hit is just not compatible with

Life or good mental health or focusing

or really anything so you do have to

work on it it's an investment of time

that's well worth it now one note that I

will make though is that if you do have

some past trauma in your life sometimes

meditation can actually resurface some

memories so if you are aware that you've

got some trauma in your life I would

recommend doing this with the guidance

of a therapist or a psych ologist so

those are the three parts be specific

with your behavior figure out what the

behavior is that you're trying to change

identify why it happens and start

changing the environment and then if

that's still not enough start slowing

down your brain by training it with

something like mindfulness meditation

there are more things that you can do

and other people talk about lots of

other strategies personally I think that

without doing these three things those

other strategies probably aren't going

to work longterm and sustainably anyway

if you do do these three things then you

probably don't need those other

strategies in the first place you can

use other apps to help you with this

process I've mentioned app blockers

leave a comment Down Below in terms of

some of the ideas and the apps that you

use to help you with this and leave some

of the ideas that you have on how you've

changed your environment to help you do

or remove some kind of behavior I'm

always really impressed with how

creative people get when they start

changing their environments if you feel

like a big issue is that every time time

you sit down to start studying that it's

so damn boring that you can't bring

yourself to do it ever again then

there's probably some things that we can

optimize with your learning methods to

make them more engaging I'd recommend

checking out this video here where I

talk about how you can learn to encode

information more efficiently or check

out our playlist if you want a start to

end series of videos where I just talk

about the most important principles that

you should know if you like this video

make sure to subscribe so you don't miss

my future uploads thanks for watching

and I'll see you next

[Music]

time

[Music]