Diary of a Recovering Procrastinator (S01E03) Hack The System

After days and weeks of sole searching, my productivity had not improved after admitting to myself that I had serious problem with getting things done on time or before the due date. I was no closer to breaking this procrastination loop than before I realized I was perennially stuck in it.

With the beauty of the age we live in now, solutions and/or suggestions were not very far away and I happened to come across one when I actively decided to reduce the amount of time I spent on social networks I viewed as adding little value to my productivity. Out went religiously tweeting between waking up in the morning and lunch time and in came LinkedIn. It was there that was found a link to an article on 5 bad habits that are holding you back in the office. I went to the resulting website without hesitation because I hungered for tips to get me out of my continuous rut. That day, themuse.com become one of my favorite websites.

Since then the number of articles I have tried assimilate is astounding but I did manage to keep my focus on which advise to focus on. Here I was introduced to productivity ‘hacks’. Tricks to help keep the mind focused, sharp and those to keep at bay the distractions that often characterize your typical working day. I have been guilty of trying out almost every hack suggested, some yielding positive results while others don’t make it passed 48 hours of trials.

I have come to realize that embedding a hack has a habit takes work and dedication, and it is very easy to slip back into what seems natural (procrastination) and rationalize not using your newly learned trick. If being doodle, and I don’t mean this in any harsh way, has been with you for the best part of your life you should expect it to be a miracle cure. It is a process whose duration is wholly a function of your dedication.

My is Nigel and I’m a recovering procrastinator!

Diary of a Recovering Procrastinator (S01E02) Case of The Snooze Button

It's 4:55am, the alarm is gently chiming to its climax telling you its time to get your pursuit of happiness on the road but guess what? The inventor of the alarm also included a snooze button. Before you realize it the time is 5:45 and the time allocated to your morning meditation and yoga is all but gone. You're upset with yourself that you missed a critical part of your new me programme. If left unchecked, this single sequence of events could derail your day, sending your to-do list to the scrap pile with only 2 out of 10 items crossed out.

Discipline is difficult to instill if you're a serial procrastinator like I was. To develop the habit of ignoring the snooze option requires patience and practise, telling yourself what needs to be done to achieve excellence.

Simply performing an action for 21 days straight embeds it in you subconcsious and you can break free of hitting the snooze button repeatedly.