Procrastination: Tips and hacks.

Procrastination is one of the most common problems of our generation. And while there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there are certain activities that have helped me procrastinate less. Today, I want to briefly share some tips that have worked for me.

1. Do Less: Working on many projects at once can be one reason why, in the face of an overload of work, our bodies become overwhelmed and prefer not to start anything. It's paradoxical, but often the mind and body don't align. Having fewer activities makes it easier for me to decide what to start first and execute. It's like freeing up RAM in my system, and it works better.

2. Break Down Complex Tasks: When an activity or problem seems too big, we can usually break it down into smaller tasks. This helps simplify the pending task and allows progress in small steps instead of facing one giant and super complicated task.

3. Minimalist Environment: Surrounding yourself with too many objects can be sensory overload, making it harder to organize and execute a task. Having only the devices, objects, or tools necessary for the task at hand can help you focus better. This also applies to your laptop desk or smartphone screen; cluttering these spaces with unnecessary apps and files makes concentration more difficult.

I am very skeptical of certain practices, but testing them on myself first gives me enough confidence to recommend them here. So, the following three tips are activities that, however absurd they may seem, might work for you:

4. Meditate Before Starting Your Day: The first hours of the day are crucial. They often define our mood for the rest of the day. Therefore, I recommend starting the day by meditating for at least 20 minutes. This has helped me keep my mind clear and distinguish what is important from what is irrelevant to accomplish various tasks.

5. Cold Showers: This is one of the points that is most difficult for me to explain and recommend. There is much skepticism, and I have even seen cold showers mocked on some internet platforms. When your body undergoes a cold shower, you are forced to control it through breathing. It's as if the mind and body are not synchronized, and breathing acts as an intermediary that allows us to resynchronize them. Additionally, during a cold shower, we subject ourselves to stress that activates us to perform different actions. We become familiar with discomfort, making it easier to start unpleasant activities (such as doing our duties), as our body learns that we won't die, and there will be some reward after the discomfort.

6. Use Sounds to Hack Your Brain: It's not a joke. There are apps like Endel that generate sounds with the help of Artificial Intelligence to help you enter concentration states depending on the time of day. You can even synchronize them with a smartwatch to match your heart rate. If you're concerned about the privacy of your information or that these apps might collect data you're not willing to share, you can find specific melodies on YouTube for work or study. They might not be personalized, but they can still help.

Last but not least, it may seem contradictory, but often what you need is to rest. I mean really rest. Watching videos of puppies and kittens on Instagram is not resting; playing video games is not resting, going out with friends is not resting. In all these activities, your mind and body are making an effort to perform tasks that, while enjoyable for you, still demand effort. Truly resting involves doing nothing, putting aside your phone, computer, forgetting about everything, and sitting down to do nothing. If you have difficulty resting this way, meditation can help.

With this brief post, I hope to have helped you find a path that allows you to break free from the vicious circle of procrastination. You can try any of these or other activities in the order you prefer. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all formula; each of us is different, and our bodies and minds have different rhythms to produce results.

For now, that's all from me.

See you soon here on Nostr. Stay Humble, and stay free.