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12 Guerrilla Tactics for Procrastination

Battling procrastination

Time to Read: 2:43 minutes

The resistance to starting can be powerful

We try conventional methods (fear tactics + willpower), but they have no effect.

At times like these we must resort to unconventional methods.

Here are 12 guerrilla tactics to neutralize procrastination:

  1. 1,2,3 Counts

    Count “1,2,3…1,2,3…1,2,3…” in your head, continuously.  Each time you find yourself restarting the count at “1”, take one small action and acknowledge the tiny progress you’re making.  See how many action sequences you can string together.

  2. Zombie Mode

    Activate a short countdown timer and give yourself permission to enter ‘Zombie mode’ until the timer expires.  When you enter ‘Zombie mode’ you work without really thinking.  Your work might be sloppy but you don’t really care because you’re a zombie after all!  Try making the occasional Zombie noise to reinforce the fact you don’t care about quality (for the time being).  After the timer has elapsed you won’t have a pretty product but you will have stopped procrastinating!

  3. Challenge Timer

    If you have a little more energy, activate a short countdown timer and challenge yourself see how much you can complete before the timer is up.  Start with a 5-minute timer.  Then use the first 5-minute session as a benchmark to improve subsequent 5-minute sessions.  

  4. Musical-Tasks

    Play a song you enjoy and see how much progress you can make before the song finishes (musical chair style).

  5. Paper Dump

    Get out a blank piece of paper and write what out whatever thoughts you have for 5 minutes.  Write so fast that you can hardly make out your own writing.  Write about anything and explore interesting ideas that come up.  If nothing comes to mind just write about how great you are at procrastinating!

  6. Keyboard Dump

    Open up a blank document on your computer and write down whatever thoughts you have for 5 minutes.  Type so fast that the document fills up with typos.  Don’t be ashamed; don’t use the delete key.  When you write something stupid simply hit the ‘return’ key and type out the next thing that comes to mind.  

  7. Location Triggers

    Grab your stuff and move to a new location.  Use your arrival at the new location as a trigger to begin working…no matter what.  Learn to associate a specific location with a specific action.  For example: Starbucks = writing, Library = editing, Living room chair = reading, Office desk = designing)

  8. Drink Triggers

    Grab a drink and make a tiny action after each sip you take.  For example: sip of green tea = write one line, sip of coffee = list one idea, a sip of water = read one page, sip of herbal tea = edit one paragraph.

  9. Rant

    Start a voice memo on your phone and start recording thoughts until you arrive at a useful idea.  Rant until you feel productive!  Play back the voice recording the generate more ideas.

  10. Doodle-fest

    Get out a blank piece of paper and doodle like a 5-year-old.  Doodle words and objects related to the problem you’re struggling with.  Doodle until the entire page is full.  Eventually you will stumble upon a good idea to help you get started.  Did you know that JFK was an avid doodler?

  11. 30 Second Push-ups

    Get on the ground and do push-ups for 30 seconds.  This will get your blood pumping and release a little testosterone – a hormone that will make you feel confident enough to start!  If you still don’t feel motivated to start, do another round of 30-second ups.

  12. Repeat This Question…

    “Am I willing, at this time, to make a positive difference?”  Something strange happens when you repeat this phrase…you suddenly find the willpower to get started!  “Am I willing…” frames the task as a choice,  “…at this time…” reminds you that only need to focus for a short while and “…to make a positive difference” gets us thinking about the positive impacts of our results.

Congratulations you’ve started!  You’ve defeated procrastination and you now have unstoppable momentum!

Your 20X Factor

Unbeatable Mind

Insight from the book: Unbeatable Mind, by Mark Divine

Time to Read: 3:48

Do your goals suck?

If your goals aren’t constantly urging your forward, they suck.

I’ve come to realize that I need BIG audacious goals if I want to make significant progress.  If a goal isn’t big enough, then a goal isn’t useful.

“Big challenges inspire me. I think we are all made a little like that. I believe strongly in the powerful words: ‘I took the road less travelled and that has made all the difference'” – Bear Grylls

“The point of a goal is focus. And the point of focus is to tune out all the noise” – Scott Adams

“When you try to do something BIG, you never entirely fail” – Larry Page

Here are a few of my goal requirements:

  1. Provides a clear, concrete vision
  2. Inspires action and guides my decisions
  3. Keeps me hungry and curious to find out what’s possible

“It’s not about the goal, it’s about the growth” – Brendon Burchard

When a goal is rational and achievable it passes the first requirement but falls woefully short on the last two.  A small achievable goal may provide a sense of certainty, but it does little else. If you only do what you ‘think’ is within your current ability your doing very little to change the course of my life.

“If you get what you expected, it isn’t good enough” – Ron Carlson

“Don’t let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big.” – Unknown

Enter Mark Divine:

“You are capable of so much more than you think you are, but you have been kept in the dark about this potential your entire life. I call this potential your 20X Factor, in the that you are capable of at least twenty times what you current paradigm allows you to believe. It is not as though your family or our culture purposefully kept you in the dark about this important fact. No, they were ignorant about it as well and can’t be held to blame…Tap into the vast potential lying dormant inside of you – so that you can achieve your fullest expression of yourself, help those around you, and send positive ripples throughout the world.”

OK, that might come across a bit cheesy (motivational, self-help, infomercial-like), but consider this: Mark was a Navy Seal who later became a Navy Seal Commander. He now runs a collection multi-million dollar businesses.  Oh, one more thing: he recently wrote 3 best-selling books in one year!

Mark is the embodiment of the 20X Factor.

Mark seems superhuman.  How could us mere civilians hope to achieve 20X results, improve our daily experience by 20X and realize a life that 20X beyond what we currently think is possible?

Uncommon resolve

“It took me considerable resolve to write three books in one year in 2013 when I finished The Way of the SEAL, 8 Weeks to SEALFIT, and this one all in an eleven-month period. Some may call that uncommon resolve.” – Mark Divine

The recipe for 20X result is uncommon resolve, cultivated through mental toughness.

Mark started out as a CPA (certified public accountant) in corporate America.  He had a good life and a promising career.  But despite that he ditched the suit and become a Navy Seal…a rather uncommon resolve!

“Is a resolve a quality that can be developed?  Of course it can – it is a natural corollary to forging mental toughness. You develop uncommon resolve by deepening confidence and courage, fortified with five attributes that define character and resolve.” – Mark Divine

The 20X Recipe 

Here are the Five Attributes of Uncommon Resolve:

1. Desire

Cultivate desire and feel compelled to step outside of your comfort zone.

“Feed your unfettered mind with Superfood for success. This food is in the form of powerful, positive imagery as well as positive emotions directed towards your desired future states, skills, and victories.” – Mark Divine

2. Belief

Define your purpose and trust in your purpose.

“What ONE thing am I supposed to accomplish in my life, and what does that mean for me right now?” – Mark Divine

Your DNA is completely unique to you. There will never be anyone exactly like you (pending advancements in cloning…).  It’s important to ask yourself: what one thing was my DNA meant to accomplish in its lifetime?  Don’t wait for answers from others.  Instead, look for patterns. Try things out and see what sticks.  When you think you’ve found it, advance it for as long as your lifetime will allow you.

3. Attitude

Develop your ‘challenge response’.

“Witness negativity. Interdict, or stop, the negative thought with a power statement. Redirect your mind with self-talk and imagery to something positive and productive for your current goal. Maintain your new mental state with a jingle or mantra.” – Mark Divine

The Navy Seals use the word ‘Oorah!’. I like to think ‘Go Time!’ when faced with a challenge. What’s your challenge response?

4. Discipline

Commit to a daily practice.

“A virtue is a value that you have habituated until it becomes a character trait.” – Mark Divine.

As the great personal development coach Jim Rohn once said: “The most important question to ask is, what am I becoming?”

5. Determination

Seek constant and never-ending improvement.

“(Be) content with where you are while executing a simple strategy for getting to where you want to go.” – Mark Divine

This statement may seem counter-intuitive given that we are talking about finding your 20X Factor, but it actually makes perfect sense.  On the long journey towards 20X you need a sense of gratitude to sustain you.  Without gratitude you’ll allow fear and anxiety to take you off course, causing you to falter well before you reach your destination.

As Naval Ravikant, CEO and a co-founder of AngelList once said: “Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”

Balance that potential unhappiness with gratitude.

Have the determination to stay grateful AND hungry.  

Happiness is found in the present moment AND in the pursuit of something great.

The Take-Home Message:

“To live an uncommon life, one needs to learn uncommon disciplines.” – Mark Divine.

Your uncommon life is fueled by Desire and sustained with Belief, Attitude, Discipline and Determination.