Procrastination Zombies - the inner enemy

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Procrastination is the single-biggest issue when trying to study. Your inner monkey brain fights with your rational brain and finds all kind of excuses to delay or completely forget about the necessary study to master a topic.

These inner zombies will try to distract you and move your attention to more enjoyable activities such as watching youtube or playing games.

One of the most efficient ways learned so far is the Pomodoro technique where we study in 25 minute intervals followed by 5-15 minute breaks for rewarding the inner zombie/monkey.

I have been employing this technique for the past couple of weeks and it helped me a lot to get through content more efficiently. The only thing I need to master now are the mornings since I do a lot of pondering rather than getting results.

Good OR bad habits consist of 4 steps

1. The cue or trigger that gets you into the state of mind to remember habit

Location, specific thought or sound

2. The routine triggering the zombie mode

Use an explicit plan for a new more productive habit such as the Pomodoro

3. The rewards

Use a mini-reward system for your efforts to accelerate learning such as lunch break, exercise, Netflix or purchases for monthly milestones such as new courses or stuff for Stephanie

4. the belief in the habit

Positive beliefs in your study technique will skyrocket your learning process

Focus on process not product

Rather than shifting the focus on the outcome of a study session or what you should learn or creating too many unrealistic expectations for the session, you need the focus on the process-side of the equation. E.g. using the 25 minute Pomodoro simply focus on 25 minutes of learning without thinking about the product you want to achieve. This will skyrocket your productivity and you will learn with a lot more ease and fun.

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Balance of life and learning

Use your new planner journal for weekly task accomplishments planning the night before

e.g. physical training

read 50 pages of fiction or non fiction book

Study 3 out of 5 modules

Trade effectively with least amount of manual time (execute and put your screens off)

Delay all rewards until the task/Pomodoro or 3 Pomodors are finished

Create backup circuit for heavy procrastination

Schedule break times

Schedule your quitting time such as 5 or 6 pm to schedule fun activity

----> Complete the most difficult tasks first thing in the morning, even it's just 1 pomodoro

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Summary of Procrastination

In order to break the habit of procrastination you need to focus on the process not the product.

4- step process of positive habit creation:

Find cue's such as setting the 20-40 minute Pomodoro timer or sitting at your study desk

Establish a routine when going through the Pomodoro time

Delay rewards until the entire task/topic from your list is finished even when there are 3-5 pomodoros

Belief in your system

To stop procrastination effectively, there are several methods that can be employed days in advance:

Fill out schedule for the next day at night time to have a plan to look forward to in your rocketbook

Eat the frog first thing in the morning > use the 6-8 am time slot to tackle the hardest topic via Pomodoro

Use a backup routine such as meditation when you get lost in thought/procrastination

Develop a reward system for finishing a task/an entire course or module or even bigger milestones such as finishing a degree

When in doubt, think about your 7-year goals and realize this is the only way to get there

TRUST IN YOUR POMODORO SYSTEM