Thoughts of a Mad Man

The winner's Snooze Bar--Managing procrastination

So as you go about your life you encounter situations which trigger an undesirable feeling and that means you make a decision. Up till now you have naturally just blocked the negative feeling, perhaps by saying stop or cancel and replacing it. This gives you time to deal with your current task while the unconscious stores the task and intensifies the feelings related to it.


Under this plan you make little to no progress and the offending problem is right in front of you, though you might keep your head down while you run yourself dry staying on the machine.


As you become aware of thetrap that the treadmill is, you may want to accelerate your progress so that you can get off the belt. And of course you also will like to find a more pleasant path than the one you have lined up.


Now the simplest course is to begin work immediately, to just jump ahead. In either case, you naturally wonder what the first step might be. By first, perhaps I should say the point first–the step that you can take in the next five seconds. It could just be a subtle change in where you are walking or the plan you make. In any case it is the change that you would make if you were jumping right into the problem. Now I'm not saying you will stop what you are doing every time, because as clever as that might be there are multiple priorities so sometimes you will be wise to put this task off.


When you inevitably find yourself not ready, then you go into the Winner's Snooze Bar.


This involves three questions: what is the first step, either of the job or the point first step, what is the most pleasant part of the plan, and what is the purpose of the activity–the most desirable result you expect. After having answered that, then you go to thought stopping. For example, if you want a routine job then you might simply say "Sorry, paychecks are great."


And then every time that you feel any pang about this task, either go into the first step immediately or block the thought.


As you become aware that there is a better option right now than the first step of your task, you then ask what step is the most pleasant task. Then you bring up the thought of what you want from this task, such as a paycheck, a fresh mowed lawn, or clean dishes. You might make a statement about that goal, such as "Cancel. I love having my taxes done."


The thought stopping causes you to feel better as you have let the offending task go. As you consciously go back to what you were doing, or perhaps something better, your unconscious begins to look for the positive aspects of the task and different ways to effect the final goal. This means that when you get back to it, it will be that much more attractive to get into.


Now what will happen is that you have made this net of thoughts and feelings much better by lighting up the positive aspects. You have asked yourself what is the best part of this and why am I interested in doing it. While you are consciously away the mind will work on these questions and bring you still better answers. Furthermore, thought stopping is designed to let you finish a task and come back stronger. If you add these extra steps, it will naturally and automatically come back stronger, more urgent, and also way more pleasant.