Use the Unschedule to Overcome Procrastination
November 11, 2008 · Print This Article
“Keep starting. Finishing will take care of itself.” - Neil Fiore
Procrastination is a problem for many of us. There is a lot of work on our plate, but something is keeping us from starting. Maybe it’s the fear of failure, of being judged by others, maybe it’s perfectionism and criticizing ourselves too much. The work we have to do seems so overwhelming we rather look for something else to do to forget about it. The feeling we “have to” do things doesn’t make it easier.
The Now Habit, a book by Neil Fiore, provides helpful tools to overcome procrastination, and enjoying leisure time without feeling guilty about not doing anything. One of those tools is the “unschedule”. What is the unschedule and how can we use it to overcome procrastination?
The Challenge
While working, most of the time I’m easily distracted. Even though I enjoy writing this article, it takes me some time and effort to get it into the shape I want, and it’s very tempting to me to stop and check my email, call a friend, read an article, and before I know it’s late and I don’t feel like writing anymore so I try to find a reason to stop, and I’m too tired and I promise myself I’ll do it tomorrow. Not all of us are procrastinators by nature, but most of you know what I’m talking about, am I right?
Procrastination can make you feel fairly unhappy. If I allow myself to sit on the couch and read a magazine while I know I should be finishing my article, it won’t make me feel good. It feels like a bunch of work is waiting for me, and in my imagination it’s growing from a fun little piece of text to an immense amount of research and writing. And unconsciously I’m already looking for an excuse to postpone it. Can somebody please help me?
What is the Unschedule?
Using the unschedule doesn’t mean you don’t have to schedule anything at all any more. Rather, it asks you to look at the most important moments of your day first. Those moments are the moments of doing whatever you like. Recreation, leisure, quality time with friends.
So put things upside down, as you normally schedule your meetings, projects and deadlines, now you schedule the rest of your time, and make sure you get enough recreation time.
As you’re trying to overcome procrastination, why would you want to do this? Wouldn’t it be better to skip that lunch with your friend and work harder? Well, wouldn’t it be better to do one hour of quality work in stead of four hours of knowing what to do but letting yourself get distracted and not producing anything? Free time can’t be endless, there’s work to be done, but knowing what moment you’ll put your work aside will give you a clear goal to work towards.
How to start?
To make sure you will get some work done while resisting the temptation to get off track and start doing something else it’s important to start small. Don’t be too hard on yourself as that’s exactly what’s one of the causes of the procrastination you’re trying to get rid of. The Now Habit proposes to start by committing only thirty minutes a day to work. While thirty minutes doesn’t seem like enough time to accomplish something, it might be just enough to get rid of that one annoying task on your to-do list that’s been sitting there for way too long. After marking that check box you’ll feel content. Just stay focused on your task for those thirty minutes.
Gradually you can start adjusting your schedule, but never make it too difficult. The moments of free time in between will work as rewards, and you will be eager to get the work finished before the break. Those breaks are guaranteed, and you will not let anything interfere with them. Your starting point is fun and freedom!
Setting up your own unschedule isn’t hard. You can take a weekly planner and start by scheduling everything but your work. Free time, recreation, reading, socializing, sports activities, even meals and sleep are part of the unschedule. By doing this you will get a clear image of the actual time available for work, and it might be less than you expected.
Have you ever used the unschedule or a similar technique to overcome procrastination? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Photo by: Zach Klein
Hugo, you’ve outdone yourself! This post has a lot great insight that’s going to really help as I always try to ‘get more done’.
“…wouldn’t it be better to do one hour of quality work in stead of four hours of knowing what to do but letting yourself get distracted and not producing anything?”
Absolutely! Eric.
Thank you very much Eric! Getting motivated to start is the most important, you probably know about that
Fabulous! Thanks for the tips. I try to do this with my schedule a lot. I give myself a certain amount of time for work and try to get it all done then knowing I have more fun things planned for later. It’s all about warming up..once you’re rolling the juices start flowing.
Amber, you’re right. The only thing I find challenging sometimes is that you have to take some time to set it up before you get to work. It’s much easier to just get into it right away. Once you set up your (un)schedule though, it’s not hard to follow and you can feel the warming up was worth it. Thanks for your comment!
Good post. Have you heard of another book on this subject called Never Be Late Again? It’s by Diane DeLonzor and takes a psychological approach to putting things off. She says the first thing you have to do is understand your personality and adapt your work habits to fit your “type.” It’s very helpful.
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