Start with two minutes
Pick the thing you keep putting off and do just the first two minutes. Stop after two if you want.
About this talk
Writer Tim Urban takes a funny look inside the procrastinator's brain, where an Instant Gratification Monkey grabs the wheel until the Panic Monster wakes up. Then he turns to the quieter kind of procrastination: the important things in life that have no deadline at all.
- 14 min
- Action
- by Tim Urban
Key notes
What to take away.
- 01Meet the Instant Gratification Monkey
It lives only in the present and cares about two things: easy and fun.
- 02The Dark Playground isn't fun
Leisure at the wrong time is unearned, and it comes with guilt, dread and anxiety.
- 03The Panic Monster gets things done
A close deadline or the risk of embarrassment finally scares the Monkey away.
- 04Some things have no deadline
Health, family, relationships and starting your own work never wake the Panic Monster, so they can slip away for years.
- 05Everyone procrastinates on something
The Monkey's sneakiest trick is when there's no deadline at all.
- 06Look at your Life Calendar
One box for every week of a 90-year life is not many boxes. Think about what you're really putting off.
Turn it into a habit
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Work on one important task for 60 minutes with notifications off and your phone out of reach.
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