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Procrastination and Productivity — Get Things Done!

It’s all too common to hear people say something like “I can’t find the motivation to start this”, or “I need motivation to start”. Here’s the thing — that’s not how motivation works. You don’t start with motivation, rather motivation is something that comes along after you’ve already taken action. Motivation is something you feel after achieving small successes.

So forget motivation, what you really need is momentum.

Let’s break down the two most common reasons for procrastination:

  • The task is too large and starting seems scary
  • The task is small but annoying.

Using some simple techniques both of these types of challenges are easy to overcome. Let’s take a look at the Two-Minute Rule, and the 10-Minute Rules:

The Two-Minute Rule

This one is simple. If there’s something you need to do (no matter how annoying it may seem) and you could reasonably complete the task in under two minutes, then you should be doing it straight away. That means no waiting! If you have a task that will take longer than two minutes feel free to put it on a to-do list for later.

The 10-Minute Rule

There are some things you’ll need to take care of that simply take longer than two minutes. If you have a large project like a presentation to complete at work, you’d be hard pressed to get it done in two minutes. That’s why we have the 10-minute rule!

It’s easy – if you find yourself procrastinating and avoiding something you should be doing, start the task right away and tell yourself you’ll only spend 10 minutes on it. That’s right! 10 minutes, no more or less.

Once you’ve started working through your 10-minute goal, you’ll likely find that you don’t want to stop. Suddenly you’ve been hit with a wave of momentum and you may find yourself spending 20 or 30 minutes working on that task you’d otherwise be putting off.

For larger and more daunting tasks, use the 10-minute rule, and for smaller annoying tasks, try the two-minute rule: let’s get the momentum going!

Looking for large scale ways to motivate your staff? Consider our MyReward platform or an incentive travel program, both uniquely created with the needs and goals of your organization in mind.