How To Defuse Procrastination And Be Productive (Without Using Willpower)

Learn how to overcome procrastination by understanding working memory and using strategies beyond willpower to boost productivity.

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Key Takeaways

Willpower is not the main solution to procrastination; understanding working memory is key.
Procrastination involves multiple competing tasks and distractions held in working memory.
Personalized coaching can significantly aid in overcoming procrastination and maintaining progress.
Simple behavioral tricks like walking through a door can help reset working memory and improve focus.
Effective productivity requires focusing on meaningful progress rather than minimal or wasted effort.

What the video covers

Procrastination often stems from ineffective effort and misunderstanding how to start tasks properly.
Willpower alone is insufficient to overcome procrastination due to the brain's working memory limitations.
Procrastination involves a conflict between desired tasks and tempting distractions like video games or scrolling.
Working memory can only hold a limited number of cravings or conflicts, influencing procrastination behavior.
Distractions are varied and not limited to obvious ones; they include many avoidant behaviors.
Understanding the neuroscience behind working memory can help develop techniques to short-circuit procrastination.
Personalized coaching can provide support to set goals, manage setbacks, and improve follow-through.
The 'doorway effect' is a psychological trick that can help reset working memory and reduce procrastination.
Effective productivity requires aligning effort with meaningful outcomes rather than superficial task engagement.
Procrastination is a complex interplay of biological drives, cognitive limits, and emotional resistance.

Chapters

Why is willpower not enough to overcome procrastination?

Willpower alone is insufficient because procrastination is influenced by the brain’s working memory, which can only hold a limited number of conflicts and cravings at once, making it difficult to sustain effort through willpower alone.

What role does working memory play in procrastination?

Working memory holds the competing tasks and distractions in your mind, and its limited capacity means that cravings and resistance are highly specific to what is currently in working memory, influencing procrastination behavior.

How can coaching help with procrastination?

Coaching provides personalized support to help set appropriate goals, maintain progress, and work through setbacks, amplifying your efforts beyond what you might achieve alone through self-help methods.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Because there's no point in even wasting your time reading one line of a textbook unless we are going to study enough to actually do well on the final. It's like completely wasted effort. It's like, okay, I'm going to dig a well and the water is 100 ft deep, and if the water is 100 ft deep, there is no point in digging 5 ft down. It is literally a waste of effort. This is where a lot of people make a mistake. They think just get started, but if you really pay attention to yourself,

Speaker A

we've given this advice to everyone not everyone is getting started many people are not getting started procrastination is getting worse not better today we're going to talk about how to shortcircuit procrastination without really using willpower now this may sound kind of weird because when we think about procrastination we think like oh the way to overcome procrastination is discipline willpower maybe we need to work on our emotions but if you understand the science of how

Speaker A

we've given this advice to everyone. Not everyone is getting started. Many people are not getting started. Procrastination is getting worse, not better. Today we're going to talk about how to short-circuit procrastination without really using willpower. Now, this may sound kind of weird because when we think about procrastination, we think like, oh, the way to overcome procrastination is discipline, willpower, maybe we need to work on our emotions. But if you understand the science of how

Speaker A

here's what you want to do you want to play video games I don't know about y'all but right now I want to play video games I could play some no man's Sky I could play some DOTA I could do anything except for make this video okay and so here's what we normally find right we're in this situation where there's a tension between these two things things and what we try to do is we exert willpower to try to push things in this direction and we exert willpower to push

Speaker A

procrastination works in the brain and specifically, we're going to be talking about working memory today, if you understand how working memory works, then we'll actually figure out a really interesting technique that can help a lot with procrastination. So let's take a look at procrastination and what goes on in your mind when you procrastinate. So here's you and here's the task that you want to do or here's the task that you should do. You should study and then

Speaker A

yourself oh I shouldn't play video games because I need to study what do you actually end up doing you end up wasting some time on scrolling right and when we procrastinate it's not like we just don't want to study we also need to take out the trash and then we also really should um update our resume right and then it's not just video games and scrolling maybe it's a touch of the porn watch a little bit of porno so if we really look at the nature of procrastination what we tend to find is

Speaker A

here's what you want to do. You want to play video games. I don't know about y'all, but right now I want to play video games. I could play some No Man's Sky. I could play some DOTA. I could do anything except for make this video. Okay, and so here's what we normally find, right? We're in this situation where there's a tension between these two things, and what we try to do is we exert willpower to try to push things in this direction and we exert willpower to push

Speaker A

follow through or have some kind of setback and that's exactly where are working with a coach can help coaches provide personalized support to help you set appropriate goals make progress and even work through setbacks just let us know what your goals are what kind of support you're looking for and we'll match you with the best coach for your unique needs check out the link in the description below to see if coaching is right for you so if we look at the struggle of procrastination in our mind

Speaker A

things in this direction, or we'll use things like habits. We're kind of here in the middle, we're conflicted, and we'll do whatever we can to push things towards study, but then at some point maybe this stuff will run out and then we end up snapping back towards video games. So this is the first type of procrastination, right? But if we really look at our mind, what we find is it's not quite that simple because sometimes when you need to study and you end up playing, and you think to

Speaker A

to go to the gym just do 10 push-ups there's lots of options and there are lots also lots of things that you could avoid your tasks with like it's not just video game scrolling and porn you may be able to avoid by reading a book you may be able to avoid by going for a walk there's all kinds of options down here but in our experience of procrastination we don't think about those options and the reason for this is because of something called working memory so it

Speaker A

yourself, oh, I shouldn't play video games because I need to study, what do you actually end up doing? You end up wasting some time on scrolling, right? And when we procrastinate, it's not like we just don't want to study. We also need to take out the trash and then we also really should update our resume, right? And then it's not just video games and scrolling. Maybe it's a touch of the porn, watch a little bit of porno. So if we really look at the nature of procrastination, what we tend to find is

Speaker A

beings so craving and resistance in our mind are actually like highly specific and localized to what is in our working memory at the time so we discovered this principle in addiction Psychiatry and once we started working with this principle of working memory it turns out that we can teach someone who is like addicted to methampetamine or crack cocaine or opiates or marijuana we can use this principle to overcome the strong strong biological drive to engage in an addiction and we use this

Speaker A

that there tend to be a handful of things that we don't want to do that we're procrastinating towards and then a handful of things that we tend to end up procrastinating with. When people hear about our coaching program, their first response is usually, why would I work with another human being when I can watch YouTube videos all on my own? Working with a coach is about amplifying your time and effort. We're great at wanting things and even making some progress, but we usually struggle with

Speaker A

treatment we have Psychotherapy peer support I will tell you take this medication come to me and I will therapize you and go to Alcoholics Anonymous and talk about your problems if you do these three things you will be cured H and then patient is like okay Doc and then they proceed to do none of those things right so there is the ideal scenario which you are pushing them towards they resist that those particular things and they end up doing whatever the hell they want so what did

Speaker A

follow-through or have some kind of setback, and that's exactly where working with a coach can help. Coaches provide personalized support to help you set appropriate goals, make progress, and even work through setbacks. Just let us know what your goals are, what kind of support you're looking for, and we'll match you with the best coach for your unique needs. Check out the link in the description below to see if coaching is right for you. So if we look at the struggle of procrastination in our mind,

Speaker A

jumping between these two poles do I play video games or do I study there's nothing in between and now here's the problem is to not drink invites the highest form of resistance and increases our chances of failure the most right and drinking is the easiest thing to do so this requires zero willpower and so if we try to if we give in then we're kind of screwed it's very very easy to play video games right you know doesn't cost you anything so the cost here is

Speaker A

it is basically a 3v3. So when you actually pay attention to how you procrastinate, you aren't actually thinking about the million things that you actually need to do and you're not thinking about distracting yourself with all of the options, right? So if you really pause and think about it, there's a lot of stuff that you could do. You could go to the gym. You could order some stuff for a party. You could text people that you've lost touch with, right? You could even do 10 push-ups. You don't have

Speaker A

right the thought is unformed our working memory can only have so much R so it doesn't think about what all the steps of studying are we never say to ourselves I'm going to study for 15 minutes we never say to ourselves I'm going to study for 30 minutes we never say to ourselves oh I'm going to just finish this worksheet and then I play games but then you will say hold on Dr K you're wrong how so dear listener well sometimes I do say that oh very interesting and when you do say that

Speaker A

to go to the gym, just do 10 push-ups. There's lots of options and there are lots, also lots of things that you could avoid your tasks with. Like it's not just video games, scrolling, and porn. You may be able to avoid by reading a book. You may be able to avoid by going for a walk. There's all kinds of options down here, but in our experience of procrastination, we don't think about those options, and the reason for this is because of something called working memory. So it

Speaker A

we do in motivational interviewing we don't tell someone medication assisted treatment alcoholic annonymous and Psychotherapy once a week twice a week if you want if you want to get better faster what we ask people is what can you do and we when we procrastinate we never ask ourselves recognize this procrastination is not about what you can do it is about forcing yourself to do what you should do but I want you all to think about this for for a second because this is insane you are not

Speaker A

turns out that because of our working memory, we are only able to hold a certain number of conflicts in our mind, and our working memory is only able to resist a limited number of things. So this is really important. Our working memory is only able to crave a limited number of things, right? So you can't use the sentence "I crave" period. That's not a sentence. Does that make sense? Crave requires an object. So I crave a pizza. I crave a donut. I crave love. I crave, I don't know, appreciation from other human

Speaker A

figure out what can you do okay I can't take out the trash can you take all of the cups and glasses in your next to your computer and at least put those in the trash can you do this can what can you do this is the main question you need to ask yourself what can I get away with before I start scrolling I'm going to at least take five cups to the sink before I pull out my phone okay so if you engage in this what we know from evidence-based studies on overcoming

Speaker A

beings. So craving and resistance in our mind are actually like highly specific and localized to what is in our working memory at the time. So we discovered this principle in addiction psychiatry, and once we started working with this principle of working memory, it turns out that we can teach someone who is like addicted to methamphetamine or crack cocaine or opiates or marijuana. We can use this principle to overcome the strong, strong biological drive to engage in an addiction, and we use this

Speaker A

started there's this idea of getting started all I need to do is get started so it turns out that getting started is one of the worst things that you can do now you may Wonder to yourself hold on Dr K what does that mean getting started is the worst thing that I can do I thought everyone saying all you need to do is just get started there's some value to that but here's what we learned from motivational interviewing so remember that we're looking at state number one and state number two okay now

Speaker A

technique very interestingly in a phase of something called motivational interviewing, which is an evidence-based technique that we use in addiction psychiatry, and we use it in something called the planning phase. So here's what we figured out. If you take a patient who, let's say, is addicted to alcohol and they come into my office and I'm a psychiatrist and I'm like, you know what? I'm a psychiatrist trained at Harvard, man. Come on, listen to me. I have all the answers. We have medication-assisted

Speaker A

put it in the trash and then what does your mind say your mind says not enough right and now something really interesting is happening in your working memory your working memory anytime it tries to to give you a task right when it tries to get you to do something it thinks about the outcomes and I want y'all to answer a question for me what is the point of doing something if it doesn't solve the problem like so what is the point if I have a final on Friday

Speaker A

treatment. We have psychotherapy, peer support. I will tell you, take this medication, come to me, and I will therapize you and go to Alcoholics Anonymous and talk about your problems. If you do these three things, you will be cured. And then the patient is like, okay, Doc, and then they proceed to do none of those things, right? So there is the ideal scenario which you are pushing them towards. They resist those particular things and they end up doing whatever the hell they want. So what did

Speaker A

so this is where a lot of people make a mistake stake they think just get started but if you really pay attention to yourself we've given this advice to everyone not everyone is getting started many people are not getting started procrastination is getting worse not better there's a second problem with just getting started which is that you are actually capable of so much more right so if you can push yourself to get started it's not like putting one cup away and five cups away is actually that

Speaker A

we discover in motivational interviewing? We discovered that the best way to start is not by telling them what they should do. Okay, so here's two ends of a spectrum. Let's take a look at this. So here's two ends of a spectrum of behavior: to drink or not drink, right? These are the two ends of the spectrum, and basically what happens is they have a lot of trouble avoiding this and they have a lot of trouble doing this. So when we think about procrastination, right, we're

Speaker A

the difference is that your dopaminergic brain and your nucleus accumbens and your working memor say that one gains more benefit than the other so it actually increases motivation so this is why in motivational interviewing remember what what is the technique that we use we say do the next best thing don't do the first thing don't do the weakest thing we don't tell people let's start with the basics do the tiniest tiniest tiniest amount oh for your addiction treatment just do this just

Speaker A

jumping between these two poles: do I play video games or do I study? There's nothing in between. And now here's the problem: to not drink invites the highest form of resistance and increases our chances of failure the most, right? And drinking is the easiest thing to do, so this requires zero willpower. And so if we try to, if we give in, then we're kind of screwed. It's very, very easy to play video games, right? You know, doesn't cost you anything. So the cost here is

Speaker A

this can you do this so this is why we tell people what can you do well I can not drink during the week well holy crap it's a good thing as a therapist that I didn't tell you just to drink today because we would have lost so much ground and so it is very inefficient to focus on just getting started instead what we want to do if this is too hard no big deal how much can we get right this is the gap that we want to try to cover and we want to try to maximize that Gap as much as possible so if you

Speaker A

too high and the cost here is too low. So what do we do? We ask them, what can you do? We move somewhere over here, somewhere over here, somewhere over here, or somewhere over here. And most of the times when we procrastinate, we don't think to ourselves, oh, I need to st...

Speaker A

do is create option C option D option e and those things won't have the same amount of resistance and I don't know if you all have experienced that but that's just like true right so like if I have a 5-year-old who's like I don't want to eat broccoli and I'm like okay how about green beans they're like I don't want to eat green beans and I'm like okay how about radishes I don't want to eat radishes it's like well what do you want to eat I want to eat Gummy Bears I want

Speaker A

to eat cookies well it's like okay like well what about an apple Apple kid is like I don't want to but okay fine how about apples and peanut butter okay fine so if you've like worked with kids or you've negotiated with humans what you often times find is that there's a lot of stuff that we're willing to do in the middle between what we should do and what we want to do there's a big gap in there the problem is literally our brain our working memory does not consider

Speaker A

those possibilities there's one last trick that I'm going to teach youall to reset your working memory and help you with this and that is literally walking through a door so there's this really interesting uh neuroscientific or psychological principle called the doorway effect and the doorway effect is the reason I don't know if this ever happened to y'all but if you walk you know like if you're like in a room and I'm like oh like I need to go grab something and then you leave the room

Speaker A

and you walk over to the next room and you're like I don't remember why I'm here I forgot what I'm doing here we like forget things right we forget things all the time oh I have to go upstairs and I have to get a glass of water I have to grab my toothbrush I have to grab a change of clothing and then you go upstairs you knew the three things that you needed to grab but when you go upstairs you leave one room you walk upstairs you walk into another room and what you tend to find is that your

Speaker A

working memory literally resets and this can be useful for resolving an internal conflict so we can harness the doorway effect so anytime you know I'm I have patients who are struggling with addiction I strongly strongly strongly encourage them or people who are procrastinating take a walk and try to go through a couple of doorways if you can so if you walk out of your the door to your room and you walk out of the door to your house and you make one circuit around the block you'll notice

Speaker A

that you're thinking will automatically change if you are struggling to play a video game sitting in front of your computer and you literally go for one walk around the block the struggle will feel very different and that is literally because we are resetting your working memory it's stuck in this like conf conflicted process that is hogging up all of your system resources and the one simple way to turn it off and turn it on again is to go for a walk to walk

Speaker A

through as many doorways as possible I guess if you've got a list of arches that works too so if you're struggling with procrastination under understand the science of working memory understand the science of motivational interviewing and start to harness those principles and make things way easier on yourself while you get way more stuff done hey y'all hope you enjoyed today's video we talk about a bunch of topics like this on the channel so be sure to subscribe

Speaker A

for more if you're already subscribed GG and we'll see you in chat [Music] the [Music]

Topics:procrastinationproductivitywillpowerworking memoryHealthyGamerGGcoachingneurosciencebehavioral psychologymotivationfocus

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