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How To Finally Stop

Procrastinating (For
Real This Time)
Your brain has a neocortex and a limbic system, and
sometimes they fight. Here's how to get them to play
nice.

[Photo: Flickr user James Dowse]


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BO B N E A S E 0 1 . 2 8 . 1 6 5 : 0 0 AM

Think about all the stuff you've been putting offreally, go ahead. Chances
are you've been putting off thinking about the stuff you've been putting off,
right? It's not that you don't think those things are important, or even that you
believe theyll go away if you ignore them. So why are you procrastinating,
and how can you stop that?

IT ISN'T AS BAD AS YOU THINK


For starters, you probably procrastinate far less than you think. If we stop to
think about it, there are lots of things that need to get done that almost
always do get done, some way or another: eating when were hungry, drinking
when were thirsty, going to sleep when were tiredyou get the idea.
No one has to nag us to eat, drink, or nap. These are all things that are good
for us in the long run. But so are turning that report in on time and changing
the oil in the car. In other words, not every beneficial behavior causes us to
procrastinate.
You probably procrastinate far less than you think . . . not every beneficial behavior causes us to procrastinate.

Theres only one factor that seems to separate the good behaviors that we do
easily from those we routinely put off doing: how good they feel. In other
words, we seem to have no problem doing things that are in our our long-term
interest as long as they feel good in the here and now. It's only once those
behaviors impose upfront effort or unpleasantness that the jig is up. Its as if
all our brains care about is whether something feels good right this moment
than whether it will turn out to be good for us later.

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN PROCRASTINATING


And indeed, that's pretty close to the truth, cognitively speaking, and it matters
when we get down to figuring out a lasting solution to procrastination. To
simplify things slightly (but only slightly), theres a part of the brain that
accurately weighs the benefits of a behavior against its costs. This is your
neocortex, and its one of the newest and shiniest parts of our brains. Very

often, the neocortex comes to quite reasonable conclusionsthat, for


instance, the benefits of exercising outweigh the costs.

Related:

How The Most Productive People Procrastinate


How Harnessing Temptations Can Cure Procrastination
Why This Microsoft Exec Uses Laziness As A Productivity
Strategy
8 Myths You Probably Believe About Procrastination
The Five Hidden Benefits Of Procrastination

But theres another part of your brain thats been around for millions of years
the limbic systemand it only seems to care about whats happening right
now. So if a behavior incurs more upfront hassles than upfront benefits, the
limbic system isnt interested in participating.
It's usually only when something thats good in the long run is also good in the
present that these two systems agree with each other. Hungry? Eating seems
right to both systemsno problem. When they disagree, the neocortex plays
the role of the angel on one shoulder ("Exercise, its good for you!") while the
limbic system plays the tempting devil ("Relax pal, that exercise sounds like a
lot of work").
If a behavior incurs more upfront hassles than upfront benefits, the limbic system isnt interested in participating.

Things get even more interesting when you look into how the brain works
when it's planning on good behavior later. For example, when youre making a
decision about whether to exercise in the future, the limbic system couldnt
care less, and leaves that issue up to the neocortex. But when it actually
comes time to make good on that choice, the limbic system is suddenly very
interestedand usually not too happy.
The interplay and occasional competition between these two systems explains
why we earnestly plan to behave better and just as earnestly put off doing so
when the time comes. When it comes to planning, the neocortex calmly notes
that the benefits outweigh the costs, while the limbic system takes a nap. And

when it comes to doing, the limbic system screams so loudly about the
present costs that the neocortex has little chance of pulling through.

HOW TO HELP YOUR NEOCORTEX HELP YOU


So how can you give your neocortex a leg up over a recalcitrant limbic system
in order to break the cycle of procrastination? Try these three strategies.
1. Outsource the upfront hassles of a beneficial behavior. Sometimes
it's easy: If you're always late paying your utility bill because it just never
makes it to the top of your to-do list, sign up for automatic billing. Ditto when it
comes to saving for retirement. The more routines and processes
you don't look forward to that you can automate, do it.
Reduce the upfront cost of doing the right thing by scaling back the immediate goal a little bit at first.

2. Change the present-day stakes. Remember: As far as one really


powerful part of your brain is concerned, its all about the present. Make the
right behavior more attractive in the here and now, and the tempting but
undesirable choice less so. For example, to boost your chances of exercising,
listen to music while you work out, join a group that exercises together, or play
a sport where your team relies on you. That way the beneficial behavior
exercisebecomes a side effect of something inherently fun. You can also try
to make a contract with a friend that will force you to pay a penalty each time
you fail to engage in the behavior you desire. Don't want to enlist a friend?
Just download an app like stikK, Pact, or Beeminder.
3. Aim low, then ramp up. Reduce the upfront cost of doing the right thing
by scaling back the immediate goal a little bit at first. For example, if your plan
is to run four miles, and youre having a tough time rolling out of bed and
hitting the pavement, focus instead on running just two. That can increase the
likelihood that youll get started and decrease the amount of pain you'll
experience that might make you fall short. Youll also find that once youve
started down the path, re-upping the goal (a couple extra miles after the two
you committed to) will be a lot easier.

7 WAYS TO STOP YOUR OVERWHELMING


NEED TO PROCRASTINATE:
Bob Nease, PhD, is the former chief scientist of Express Scripts, and the
author of The Power of Fifty Bits: The New Science of Turning Good
Intentions into Positive Results (HarperCollins) as well as over 70 peerreviewed papers.

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