Breaking the Wall of Procrastination in 5 Minutes

Procrastination:  raise your hand if you’ve ever done it.  Yes…me too!

Studies tell us that almost everyone has procrastinated at some point.  And by “procrastination,” we mean the intentional delaying of an important task, often until the very last minute.  It’s weird isn’t it?  You know you’ll be more stressed if you push that important job up to the deadline, but you still do it.   Your mind says, “hey, you really should get started on that presentation you’ve got in three days,” but your body chooses instead to de-clutter the closet, put air in your car tires, watch the latest episode of your favorite Netflix show, or, of course…doom scroll on your phone.  Why?  Because in that moment the task feels too big.  So you kick the can down the road until you’re up against a wall and have no other option but to grind it out.

There are two groups of people who tend to procrastinate more than others:  students and those with ADHD.  And if you check both of those boxes, you likely deal with the negative effects of procrastination on a regular basis:

·      You wrestle with knowing what you should do but not actually doing it. 

·      Your body gets exhausted from pulling all-nighters.

·      You feel stress when you miss a deadline. 

·      When your task is finished you regret not having spent more time on it. 

But there is good news:  there is a way to break down the wall of procrastination that blocks your productivity, and it’s called The 5 Minute Rule.  Instead of thinking about the entire task you have to do – which in your head feels like climbing Mt. Everest – you just work on it for 5 minutes.  By engaging in the task for even a short time, you shift your brain into focus mode.  Shifting focus is something that people with ADHD often have an extra tough time doing – the ADHD brain doesn’t naturally like to switch its focus if it means looking at a task that feels daunting. 

So here’s how you do it: you block out just 5 minutes on your calendar, or you set the timer for it, or you make that cup of coffee to have with it…whatever works best to help you get going.  But you only commit to the task for 5 minutes.  When those 5 minutes are up, you decide what to do next:  give yourself permission to stop, and congratulate yourself on a job well done; or – if you’ve gotten into the zone – keep going.  It’s up to you.  Either way, your outcome will be a positive and productive one.

The key to using The 5 Minute Rule as an effective tool against procrastination is to use it regularly.  By repeating the process of focusing on a task for just 5 minutes at a time, your brain will begin to recognize that you don’t have to climb Mt. Everest, and that the result will be the good feelings of accomplishment and productivity. 

Get started to day busting down that procrastination wall!

-- Ellen