Summary

The author of the article presents a personal strategy for overcoming procrastination by starting with the action of writing, regardless of initial motivation, to kickstart productivity and creativity.

Abstract

The article discusses the author's battle with procrastination, particularly in writing. The author introduces a simple yet effective method for overcoming this common issue: writing 100 words, regardless of their quality. This initial action often leads to increased motivation and the ability to enter a productive flow state. Drawing from personal experience and the wisdom of Mark Manson's "The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*CK," the author emphasizes that motivation and inspiration can be byproducts of action rather than prerequisites. The "Do Something" Principle suggests that the act of starting a task can generate the necessary motivation to continue and complete it, challenging the conventional belief that emotional inspiration must precede action. The author's biggest lesson learned is that by taking action first, motivation will follow, leading to increased productivity and the completion of tasks.

Opinions

The author believes that starting to write, even when not feeling motivated, is crucial for overcoming procrastination.
The first 100 words of writing, though often subpar, are considered the most important as they help the author get into the flow and generate motivation.
Motivation is not seen as a linear process starting with inspiration but rather as a cyclical loop that can be entered at the point of action.
The author endorses the "Do Something" Principle from Mark Manson's book, which posits that beginning a task is the most important step to building momentum.
The article suggests that the traditional sequence of emotional inspiration leading to motivation and then action is flawed; action can lead to inspiration and motivation.
The author shares a personal anecdote about learning from their math teacher, Mr. Packwood, that starting to work on a problem can lead to solving it, as the act of working on it stimulates the right ideas.
The author encourages readers to subscribe to their articles and consider writing on Medium as a way to potentially earn money, sharing their own success story.

I Used To Procrastinate For Hours. Here Is How I Managed To Solve This Problem.

This trick can also help you become more productive.

I just had trouble starting to work again. I wanted to write but somehow could not motivate myself. This way, two hours passed until I finally started.

Procrastination is a huge problem for many of us.

If only I had a method to solve this problem.

Wait, I have one. Unfortunately, I just didn’t use it today.

100 Shitty Words Are All It Takes

I usually don’t produce my best work right away when I start writing. I need a little time to get into the flow. The first 100 words are therefore usually the worst. But also the most important ones.

Simply because I write and have started an article, the motivation suddenly appears.

Motivation and inspiration are therefore not basic prerequisites that make action possible. Rather, it is part of a cycle and can also be generated by the action itself.

My recipe to get work done is therefore incredibly simple. Just do something!

Just Do It

There seems to be some truth to this well-known Nike advertising slogan. Mark Manson has also recognized this and describes this phenomenon in his book “The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*CK”.

His solution to the problem is what he calls the “Do Something” Principle. He describes how just getting started is probably the most important step of the whole process.

In doing so, he quotes his math teacher, Mr. Packwood:

“ If you’re stuck on a problem, don’t sit there and think about it; just start working on it. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the simple act of working on it will eventually cause the right ideas to show up in your head.

Manson writes that he learned a powerful lesson about motivation thanks to his teacher’s advice, which I can also confirm from my own experience. We think that we need to be motivated to get started. Without motivation or inspiration, we don’t start. However, writing itself can also be an inspiration and motivate us to keep writing.

We, therefore, believe that a kind of chain reaction must happen in the following order so that we can complete what we have set out to do:

Emotional inspiration -> Motivation -> Desirable action

However, motivation is not a chain reaction of the three steps mentioned above, but rather a loop, which Manson presents as follows.

Inspiration -> Motivation ->Action ->Inspiration->Motivation ->Action_> Etc.

When we are not motivated, we can simply enter the loop at another point and create our own motivation. For example, like this. That’s what I do when I write and it works very well:

Action -> Inspiration -> Motivation

My Biggest Lesson

What do we learn from this? My main takeaway from both my own experience and Manson’s reports is this:

Take action instead of waiting for motivation. That way the motivation will come faster and you will get things done sooner.

Thanks for reading!

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100 Shitty Words Are All It Takes

Just Do It

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