Give Me 12 Mins, I Will End Your Procrastination.
Summary
TLDRJiel Khan, a former serial procrastinator turned successful software engineer, shares his personal transformation journey and practical advice to overcome procrastination. He emphasizes the importance of breaking down tasks into manageable subtasks to lower 'activation energy' and the power of integrating new behaviors into one's identity to achieve consistency. Khan's insights aim to help others build momentum, gain confidence, and ultimately fulfill their potential without relying solely on motivation.
Takeaways
- π« Procrastination Problem: The speaker used to procrastinate on tasks and felt guilty and anxious about it.
- π Transformation: The speaker has transformed from a serial procrastinator to a disciplined individual, achieving significant success in personal and professional life.
- π‘ Lower Activation Energy: The key to overcoming procrastination is to lower the activation energy required to start tasks.
- π Break Down Tasks: Breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks makes them less overwhelming and easier to start.
- π Snowball Effect: Starting with small subtasks can build momentum, making it easier to tackle larger parts of a task over time.
- π Consistency Over Intensity: For new activities, focus on consistency rather than intensity to build habits and make them part of your identity.
- π§ Identity Principle: Activities that are part of your identity require less activation energy and are easier to perform consistently.
- π Identity Building: To make a behavior part of your identity, start with small, consistent actions and gradually increase complexity as the behavior becomes habitual.
- π Avoid Vicious Cycles: Avoid cycles of high motivation followed by burnout by focusing on building sustainable habits.
- π Practical Superpower: Lowering activation energy and making positive behaviors part of your identity can lead to significant productivity improvements and reduce procrastination.
Q & A
Who is the speaker in the video and what is their background?
-The speaker is Jiel Khan, a software engineer who has worked at Fortune 500 companies like Dell, AMD, and Synopsys. He also lifts weights and trains martial arts four to six times a week while doing 5 to 6 hours of deep focused work daily.
What was Jiel Khan's experience with procrastination?
-Jiel Khan was a serial procrastinator who avoided tasks, leading to feelings of guilt and anxiety. He delayed working on assignments and exams until the last minute and relied on his family to get around because he delayed getting his driver's license for years.
What does Jiel Khan aim to achieve with his video?
-Jiel Khan aims to help men quit procrastination and fulfill their potential by sharing tips and tools that had a significant positive impact on his life.
Why does Jiel Khan believe traditional methods like the Pomodoro Technique and raw motivation do not work in the long run?
-Jiel Khan believes these methods do not work long-term because, as a former serial procrastinator, he found that such techniques did not address the core issue of high activation energy associated with tasks.
What is 'activation energy' according to Jiel Khan, and why is it important?
-Activation energy is the amount of energy required to begin a task. The higher the activation energy, the more difficult it is to start the task. Lowering the activation energy makes it easier to begin and complete tasks.
How does Jiel Khan suggest lowering the activation energy of tasks?
-Jiel Khan suggests breaking down tasks into smaller subtasks until they are manageable and less intimidating. This approach reduces the activation energy, making it easier to start and build momentum.
What is the principle of identity and how does it relate to overcoming procrastination?
-The principle of identity involves making positive behaviors part of one's identity by consistently performing them. Activities that are part of one's identity require less activation energy and are easier to maintain, thereby reducing procrastination.
How did Jiel Khan use the principle of identity to establish new habits like working out and reading?
-Jiel Khan focused on consistency over intensity when starting new habits. For example, he started by working out for just 20 minutes a day and reading a few pages a day. This approach helped him cast votes in favor of these activities becoming part of his identity.
What advice does Jiel Khan give for those struggling to establish new habits?
-Jiel Khan advises to start small and focus on consistency. Even minimal actions, like just showing up at the gym, can help build the habit and eventually make the activity part of one's identity, leading to reduced procrastination.
What should someone do if they want to make a positive behavior part of their identity?
-Someone should consistently perform the behavior, even in small amounts, to cast votes in favor of that identity. Over time, the behavior will become easier and more automatic, reducing the need for motivation and willpower.
How does Jiel Khan suggest dealing with days when motivation is low?
-On days with low motivation, Jiel Khan suggests doing the smallest possible subtask related to the desired behavior. This helps maintain consistency and can lead to building momentum, even on challenging days.
Outlines
π Overcoming Procrastination Through Task Breakdown
The speaker, Jiel Khan, introduces himself as a reformed serial procrastinator who has transformed his life and now works as a software engineer at Fortune 500 companies. He shares his journey and the strategies that helped him overcome procrastination. The key concept introduced is 'activation energy,' which is the energy required to start a task. Jiel explains that high activation energy can deter one from starting tasks, leading to anxiety and avoidance. He suggests breaking tasks into smaller subtasks to lower this energy barrier, making it easier to begin and eventually build momentum. This approach helps in creating a habit of starting tasks and gradually tackling larger portions as confidence grows.
ποΈββοΈ Building Consistency Through Identity Formation
Jiel discusses the principle of identity and its role in establishing consistent behaviors. He explains that activities which are part of one's identity require less activation energy and are performed with ease due to their integration into one's routine. He contrasts this with new activities, which can initially feel challenging and unnatural. To build new habits, Jiel advises starting with small, consistent actions to 'cast votes' for a new identity. By doing so, one can gradually make the new behavior feel automatic and part of their identity, thus reducing the reliance on motivation and preventing the cycle of intense starts followed by drops in activity.
π Embracing Identity to Eliminate Procrastination
In the final paragraph, Jiel emphasizes the importance of making positive behaviors part of one's identity to naturally eliminate procrastination. He shares his personal approach to integrating new activities into his life by focusing on consistency rather than intensity. Jiel suggests starting with minimal requirements to build the identity associated with the activity, such as reading a few pages or going to the gym for a short session. Once the activity becomes part of one's identity, it is easier to increase the intensity and duration without feeling overwhelmed. He offers a solution for those struggling with procrastination and bad habits by inviting them to book a one-on-one call for personalized assistance.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Procrastination
π‘Activation energy
π‘Subtasks
π‘Identity
π‘Consistency
π‘Motivation
π‘Lifestyle changes
π‘Deep focused work
π‘Momentum
π‘Votes in identity box
Highlights
The speaker, Jiel Khan, was a serial procrastinator but has since transformed his life and now helps others overcome procrastination.
Jiel Khan has worked as a software engineer at Fortune 500 companies and maintains a balanced lifestyle of work, exercise, and martial arts.
The Pomodoro Technique and raw motivation are not effective for long-term procrastination solutions, according to Jiel's experience.
Procrastination stems from high activation energy, which is the energy required to start a task.
Breaking tasks into smaller subtasks can significantly reduce activation energy and make them less daunting.
Jiel suggests starting with small, manageable subtasks to build momentum and confidence.
The 'Snowball Effect' metaphor illustrates how small consistent actions can lead to significant progress over time.
Lifestyle changes are necessary to combat procrastination, as it's not a problem that can be solved by thought alone.
Consistency is key to overcoming the cycle of high motivation followed by inaction.
The principle of identity suggests that behaviors which are part of one's identity have lower activation energy and are easier to perform.
To integrate new activities into one's identity, Jiel advises starting with consistency rather than intensity.
Once an activity becomes part of one's identity, it can be naturally incorporated into daily routines without effort.
Jiel emphasizes the importance of casting votes in the 'identity box' to solidify new behaviors as part of one's identity.
Making positive behaviors part of one's identity can lead to the elimination of procrastination and the gravitation towards beneficial activities.
Jiel offers one-on-one calls for those who are ambitious and want to overcome procrastination and bad habits.
Transcripts
if I was this person who just never had
a school notes complete who only started
working on an assignment or started
preparing for an exam just a couple of
days before the deadline hell I even
delayed getting my license for years and
years like I used to ask my sister my
parents to drop me here and there and I
used to be a real real pain in the ass
in short I Was a Serial procrastinator
but this was not a very fun existence
because at each moment of time I just
knew that there was something to be done
and I was just avoiding it this led to
me feeling guilty and anxious but that
is not who I am anymore my name is jiel
Khan and I've been a software engineer
at Fortune 500 companies like Dell AMD
synopsis additionally I'm someone who
lifts weights and trains martial arts
four to six times a week all while doing
5 to six hours of deep focused work in a
day I have been able to flip my life 180
in just a few short years my goal is to
help men quit procrastination and
fulfill their potential so I hope my
personal transformation lends some
credibility to what I'm about to say
next look this isn't going to be some
cute clickbaity video where I talk to
you about the Pomodoro Technique or try
to Hype you up just with raw motivation
I personally think that these two things
do not work in the long run because I've
been a Serial procrastinator I know what
it's like I've been on the battlefield
I've tried and tested hundreds of these
suggestions on the internet and to be
honest 99% of them just simply do not
work in this video I'm going to share
with you the tips and tools that
genuinely had a really really good
impact on my life and I'm pretty
confident that if you were to adopt
these tools and techniques you would
feel the difference as well now granted
these tools and techniques will require
you to make some Lifestyle Changes
because procrastination is not something
you can just think away but these tools
and techniques are worth it so let's get
right into it you see in the past
whenever I had a certain task to do I
used to think of the task in its
entirety like fixing a bug in a program
that has hundreds and thousands of lines
of code that was like one task and the
other one could be something like
writing a one 20 Page Long thesis just
thinking about the magnitude of the task
or the amount of effort that I have to
put in the entire task it was enough to
deter me away from the task it made me
feel anxious it made me feel incompetent
and I was like you know what this is too
much of a mountain to climb I'm not even
going to attempt this thing that's
because every single task has something
called an activation energy associated
with it activation energy is the amount
of energy required to Simply begin the
task the higher the activation energy
the more difficult or the more unlikely
you are to ever start that task the
lower the activation energy the easier
it will be to actually start that task
so in short all you actually need to do
is lower the activation energy of tasks
rather than use raw motivation and try
to overcome tasks with a very very high
activation energy like this principle of
trying to lower the activation energy of
tasks is going to be extremely useful to
you one such way you can lower the
activation energy of a task is by
breaking it down into subtasks I know
this sounds simple but hear me out so
instead of viewing my task as writing a
120 page long thesis I viewed it as
writing one particular chapter of thesis
and if that even seemed overwhelming
that chapter gets reduced down to
writing one particular page of my thesis
and if that even seems overwhelming then
I will simply break it down to writing
one particular paragraph of that thesis
and trust me you can break this task
down into more and more subtasks until
you find something that you're
reasonably comfortable with something
that does not make you anxious something
that does not scare you something that
just has the right amount of activation
energy that you can actually overcome
and trust me you can break down every
single task into subtasks tasks as
simple as brushing your teeth can be
broken down into multiple subtasks tasks
as complicated as winning the Olympic
gold can be broken down into subtasks
like one training session at a time one
set at a time one rep at a time
you can break down anything into
subtasks and lower the activation energy
of the entire task so these days I'm
quite mindful like whenever I find
myself avoiding a task I instantly know
oh I'm getting overwhelmed by this
task I instantly break it down write the
steps the write the subtask that I need
to do and attempt with this most small
doable subtask in that list and
eventually once you start doing these
small subtasks you're going to realize
that you're going to build in confidence
you are going to get a hang of the task
and then eventually you are going to
attempt larger and larger subtasks it's
like The Snowball Effect it gives you
momentum so I would definitely recommend
that you start with those small baby
steps start with those small subtasks
and eventually the momentum will take
care of things you will build the
motivation you will build the momentum
and eventually you will start doing
those core chunks of that task and this
thing is like practically a superpower
you don't know the number of days I've
just woken up and felt like doing
absolutely nothing like those ways were
going to be completely wasted that's the
sort of mood that I woke up in but then
I just decided to do one particular
subtask and the momentum just carried on
carried on carried on and before you
know it I completed like four to five
hours a day of deep focused work if
you're someone who enjoys watching these
low doerman videos where I provide you
with information rather than
entertainment then consider subscribing
to the channel to watch more of such
videos initially whenever I picked up a
new activity like working out or reading
I used to go all out in that particular
AC ity like I used to start training
like one to two hours a day lifting a
lot of Weights going max out on the
intensity I used to start reading like
10 20 Pages a day a chapter a day even
in some cases but this sort of trend
this motivation it eventually depleted
like like after 3 to four days I stopped
doing these activities entirely I
realized that I was just relying on Raw
motivation maybe I watched the movie
maybe I watched some Instagram real that
pumped me up and I was like yes I'm
going to change my life but that
motivated just ran out and then I
stopped making any sort of progress in
these activities and this just didn't
happen once this was like a bloody
wishes cycle highly motivated did a lot
of that behavior with intensity and then
no motivation at all completely stopped
that behavior for weeks until my next
burst of motivation and I thought to
myself how do I escape this vicious
cycle I need some consistency in my life
that is when I learned about the
principle of identity you know even back
then when I Was a Serial procrastinator
there was still things that I could do
consistently and that came kind of easy
to me they were things like playing
football or watching documentaries or
even brushing like I didn't have to
think about these behaviors they were
just automated right they required very
little effort and energy from my side it
wasn't something like going to the gym
or reading they seemed to be far easier
to do the activities that just came
automatically to me and I wondered why
that was turns out that these activities
were easier for me to do was because
these activities were part of my
identity think of identities as voting
boxes like there could be a bunch of
voting boxes a bunch of different
identities an identity of a reader an
identity of an athlete an identity of a
rock climber an identity of a student an
identity of someone who's very studious
and intellectual there are all these
identities around us the more votes you
cast meaning the more times the more
number of times you do a particular
activity the stronger you make that
particular identity so so if you go to
the gym often your identity of a person
who goes to the gym becomes stronger and
stronger and stronger and stronger for
example like a person who's been going
to the gym for 10 plus years he has
casted thousands of votes in his
identity box for him doing another
workout session is kind of easy he
doesn't even have to think about it he
just has to wake up and the behavior is
practically automated but for someone
who has never worked out before who has
never done a single set of push-ups for
that person going to to the gym and
working out is is it's it's a mountain
of ausk that's not part of his identity
it's foreign Behavior to him it's
unnatural his body his body sends a
message that this is foreign this is
unnatural you've never done this before
and the reason why thks that are part of
your identity are just easier to perform
is because they have a much lower
activation energy when something becomes
part of your identity you can just do
them quite easily because the activation
energy is so damn low but if something
is not part of your identity like you
are not someone who's a rock climber
then these tasks become monumentally
difficult the activation energy is so
high you require just so much motivation
and raw willpower to overcome this
activation energy barrier so now that I
know about this principle of identity
and how it lowers activation energy
whenever I start a new task like things
that I've never done before like going
to the gym I completely forget about the
program I completely forget about the
intensity my goal is just to do that
activity consistently so instead of
working out for 60 minutes I reduce the
to I reduce the intensity and volume to
just 20 minutes a day like I just need
to show up for that thing I don't care
about the sets I don't care about the
Reps I don't care about the movement I
don't care about progress I don't care
about anything else I just need to cast
enough votes in that particular identity
box if you're someone who's just started
the gym there are going to be days where
you don't feel like doing a single set
just show up to the gym just go drive
sit there get the air conditioning
stretch a bit and come back because you
have still casted that W in that
identity box you have made that identity
part of yourself you have lowered the
activation energy for your next gym
session and I realized that once you get
that thing as part of your identity you
have done that thing enough times like
you've gone to the gym for 3 4 5 6 weeks
then it's time you can step up you can
make progress in that activity increase
the intensity learn more complicated
movements increase the duration of your
workouts it is only then when the thing
is part of your identity should you make
that behavior more challenging and
complicated if that behavior is not part
of your identity if it's foreign to you
it's actually stupid to make it harder
it's actually very very stupid to try to
progress in that behavior astronomically
and the same goes with any other
activity like reading instead of reading
like 10 20 Pages or 10 chapters a day I
started by reading like three or four
pages or even one in some cases I was
like you know what I got to be
consistent at this I don't care about
the intensity I don't care if I finish a
book A Week like I was trying to I just
need to be consistent I need to show up
for myself every day and I need to cost
a w in the box of a reader I am jel Khan
and I am a reader I was building my
identities any new activity my goal was
to make it part of my identity using
this identity mechanism you are never
going to procrastinate behaviors that
are part of your identity they simply
are you are naturally going to gravitate
towards them like if you are a person
who has been going to the gym for 10 20
years if you're a person who has been
reading books every single day for 10 20
years these activities will like pull
you towards them you don't have to make
effort to do them they are part of who
you are they are part of your day you
wouldn't know what else to do and that
is how you would actually eliminate
procrastination by making these things
part of your identity no longer have to
use raw motivation to push yourself
towards them the these activities will
call you like right now just identify
these activities in your life you have
you have identities already right there
are behaviors that call you towards them
now granted they might be shitty
behaviors they might be useless
behaviors like they were in my case all
you have to do is make these positive
behaviors make these helpful good
behaviors part of your identity and you
are set to goodbye procrastination if
you someone who's ambitious and really
wants to live up to his potential but
procrastination and bad habits these
things are are just really pinning you
down then make sure that you click the
link in the description and book a
one-on-one call with me perhaps I can
help you out
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