Procrastination is the #1 enemy of progress. Procrastination kills dreams. Procrastination can ruin your life.
Everyone gets the procrastination bug once in a while, some more often than most.
If you’re one of those people who is a consistent procrastinator, to the point where procrastination is ruining your life, then you’re in luck. I’m going to share with you my secret weapon that has helped me beat procrastination, and I’m sure it will help you too.
The Secret Weapon to Beat Procrastination is the Carrot and Stick Method
It may be my secret weapon, but it’s really quite simple. I beat procrastination using a carrot and a stick. The stick comes in the form of a deadline with a painful consequence, the carrot comes in the form of feeling better about life.
The stick works best when an outside party looms over me waiting to inflict the pain of the stick. The carrot works best when it’s something related to a need or very strong desire that makes me happier.
What To Do When Missing The Motivation To Beat Procrastination
The problem is that we face so many situations when the carrot and stick is not big enough to motivate us to beat procrastination. In these situations you have to learn how to simulate the motivation.
One way to simulate a stick is to find an accountability partner who is willing to kick you hard in the but. Many successful people join mastermind groups for this.
On the other hand, to simulate the carrot, it takes an internal stimulant. You must become a master of cause and effect and map out the indirect connection between your procrastination and some need or strong desire that will make you happier. This requires practice, meditation, and tenacity.
Flowcharts to Beat Procrastination
Another method that I’ve used and I am sure will help you comprehend the impact of both the carrot and stick is creating a flowchart. A flowchart that shows a series of steps you could take, decision boxes, and the carrot and stick outcomes based on different decision options.
The key for me is that I must put it on paper to motivate me. By putting it on paper I can look at it often and it’s easier to visualize the connections between my decisions and the potential carrot and stick outcomes. These visualizations then turn into mental simulations that evoke the feelings that will result if I get one of the carrots or sticks.
This flowchart method will work even better if you use pictures and photos to represent the carrots and sticks on your flowchart. Doing this extra step will create the ultimate vision board.
What do you think?
Have you tried using the carrot and stick method to cure procrastination? Do you have another method that works for you? Drop me a tweet to let me know @chrismance