“A person not occupied with business can never enjoy complete happiness. On the face of an idler you will always find the imprint of discontent and apathy” Heinrich Heine
How do you enter a state of high productivity when you absolutely don’t feel like working? How do you cast laziness aside and turn self-sabotage into workaholic fuel?
In this article, you will get a simple and incredibly powerful technique for creating an inner magnet that rapidly pulls you into the work process, freeing you from unpleasant emotions and the confusion of how to act and where to start. Very soon you will see that it really is simple!
This text is a continuation of the article “A Reliable Way to Move from Idleness to Diligent Work.” If you haven’t read it, be sure to do so. It contains all the necessary theory for understanding the following information. For now, make yourself comfortable, eliminate all distractions, and prepare to read.
“Becoming Aware of the Behavior Program”
“In very many cases, people’s behavior only seems ridiculous because its reasons, which are quite reasonable and well-founded, are hidden from those around them” François de La Rochefoucauld
So, we have work that demands our close attention. The work needs to be done, but something inside us resists it. As a result, we prefer idle pastimes to focused activity. At the same time, we perfectly understand that we are acting terribly wrong. If we examine the behavioral program throughout the entire time of procrastination, we get something like this picture:
- Thought: “I should work and do task X”;
- We try this idea on for size, imagining what will happen when we start acting. What will the emotional state be? What will the overall mood be?
- We don’t like what we imagined;
- Thought: “I need to work in a positive state and with good well-being, but in the state I’m imagining, working will be uncomfortable”;
- Decision: do something more pleasant for a while to get into a positive state, and then I can work;
- Actions: check email, look at website traffic statistics, play a game, visit a favorite forum, chat on ICQ, have a smoke, drink some tea;
- Return to step #1;
It turns into a vicious circle. At the same time, all the processes described in steps 1-5 happen in just a few moments. So from the outside, it might seem like the person is continuously chatting on ICQ or browsing news sites. But in reality, they are constantly returning their thoughts to work, but pushing those thoughts aside. If the problem of procrastination is relevant to you, try analyzing your own behavior algorithm. Is it similar to the one described above? What are the differences and similarities? Answers in the comments are welcome. Now let’s simplify the algorithm to three steps to make it more universal and convenient:
- Think about the upcoming work;
- Be horrified;
- Do something more pleasant;
For example: think about preparing a thesis — be horrified — play an online game. Or like this: think about replying to a client’s email — be horrified — write a message to a friend in a chat.
“An Absolutely Real Illusion”
“It is enough to succumb to an illusion to feel real consequences” Jerzy Lec
As I mentioned in the previous article, the solution to the problem is to conquer yourself through effort: consciously stop the inertia of idleness and spin the wheel toward productive activity. Unfortunately, understanding this simple formula doesn’t always bear fruit. The thought of the upcoming work can be so unpleasant that any desire to stop and take action is nipped in the bud. This doesn’t mean you need to look for a different type of activity. It doesn’t mean the work isn’t for you at all.
You might actually enjoy the work, but procrastination still happens. The whole problem lies in step two, which is called “to be horrified.” The problem is the Illusion of Unpleasant Work, which doesn’t seem like an illusion to us at all. On the contrary. It can be just as convincing as the keyboard lying right in front of you.
The illusion blocks our productivity. It is always accompanied by the certainty that everything will be as bad as we imagine. Our subconscious takes the negative pictures, obligingly painted by our imagination, seriously and tries to do everything possible to prevent an unpleasant experience.
“How to overcome the illusion of unpleasant work?”
“Work wards off from us three great evils: boredom, vice, and need” Voltaire
The solution formula is simple: the illusion of unpleasant work can be replaced by the illusion of pleasant work! But before doing that, let’s understand the mechanism of the negative illusion. To do this, let’s imagine that in one of the dark rooms of our subconscious, there is a slide projector on a table. A white screen hangs on the wall. The projector’s bright beam is aimed at the screen and is ready at any moment to show a slideshow made up of a series of small photo cards (slides).
On either side of the projector are two chairs. One is for the mechanic who inserts the photo cards and switches the slides, and the other is for the viewer. Seated in the first is a representative from the planning department. He has brought an impressive stack of slides provided by the visualization department staff. He is nervous because the project’s life directly depends on the success of the presentation.
Lounging in the second chair is the head of the subconscious resource management. It is he who will make the final decision: whether it’s worth allocating internal resources to the project or not. The boss exhales cigar smoke and says: “Start the presentation, don’t drag your feet!” And the presentation begins…
The first slide appears on the screen: “A person is confused and doesn’t know what to do.” It is followed by the second: “A person finds doing the work unpleasant.” Then the third: “A person is disappointed in their own failure.” The fourth: “A person concludes they are unprofessional.” And the fifth: “Self-esteem is low, hands drop.” At this point, the head of resource management can’t take it anymore and shouts: “Have you completely lost your minds? I’m not going to fund this ridiculous project! Who do you take me for? Get out of here! You won’t get a penny from me, you devils. Get out!”.
The representative from the planning department turns green and sinks into their chair, unable to move. The boss stubs out their cigar and leaves the room. Is everything truly lost? Will this presentation finally ruin the project that is so important to the entire company? And how can you convince the boss to allocate resources? To an outside observer, the answers are obvious.
“Negative Slides Are the Root of the Problem”
This amusing little scene with a presentation for the boss of subconscious resources clearly illustrates the heart of the issue. The representative from the planning department brought a stack of negative slides and got a refusal. It couldn’t have gone any other way. Where did these slides come from? From various sources. Some snapshots are fragments of past experiences. Others were created in moments of procrastination — when a person painted unpleasant pictures for themselves. One way or another, the slides were created haphazardly and accumulated chaotically.
Unfortunately, the planning department has no other slides. The boss is shown the same presentation every time, and they are already sick of these images. One day, they will simply refuse to look at the projects, and they will be right. The solution to the problem is simple. We will help the planning department with the presentation and save the project. To do this, we will write a new version of the future experience — a story of successful and productive work. A story that will delight the management and make them immediately allocate the necessary resources for the work: mental and energetic.
“A Story of Successful and Productive Work”
“Working is not as boring as having fun” Charles Baudelaire
Writing down on paper or typing in a text editor a story about how wonderfully and successfully you handle your work is truly a cool way to enter a state of high productivity and deep concentration. My friend Lyuba once tried this technique.
I will never forget the delight with which she told me about the results! For her job, she needed to put together a whole package of legal documents for a client: write a voluminous and complex contract, as well as a stack of accompanying documentation. At the same time, she was still a complete beginner in law. For several hours straight, Lyuba couldn’t get started on the work — she didn’t know where to begin, couldn’t concentrate, and kept putting it off. Then she made a decision, took a blank sheet of paper, and wrote a positive story about how she does the work: where she starts, how she continues, and how she finishes.
As soon as Lyuba reread her story, it was as if she was a different person! From lunchtime until eleven at night, she worked focused and wholeheartedly, without stopping. When all the documentation was ready, she looked at the clock, assessed the volume of work done, and felt very pleased with herself. In her words, the result was unexpected, and the process was unforgettable.
“Programming the Subconscious”
When we compose a story about how productively and successfully we work, our subconscious takes this illusion at face value. The slides created by the story of successful work turn out to be much more detailed and powerful than the slides of the illusion of unpleasant work (IUP). Therefore, new positive slides always push out the old negative ones. But that’s not all.
The subconscious mind will preserve the invented positive experience in memory. When we actually begin the work, a feeling will arise as if we are experiencing the experience again. And what has been done once is much easier to repeat again. Are there any rules for writing a story of successful and productive work?
There are rules, and they are quite simple. First, we always write the story of successful work in the present tense, from the first person.
Second, we use the affirmative form instead of the negative. That is, instead of “not difficult” we write “easy”, and instead of “I don’t feel tired” we write “I feel energetic”.
Third, to write the story we will use simple verbs: I see, I read, I do, I take, I think, I write, I draw, I create. Please note, the verbs are used in the present tense. So instead of “I read” (past tense) write “I read” (present tense), instead of “I did” write “I do”.
Before writing the story, we write down the final goal of the work. Then we make a short list of answers to the question: “What needs to be done to achieve this goal?” This is a good way to clarify your thoughts.
“A Living Example of Use”
To reinforce the theory, I want to give an example of a successful work story that I came up with for writing this article: Goal of the work: Write a blog article that gives the reader a proven and effective method of self-motivation. What needs to be done for this:
- Decide on the title of the article. (Here I ask myself again: What needs to be done for this?) To do this, I need to describe the reader’s needs. Come up with possible title options from which the reader will understand exactly what they will get from reading. Then choose the best option;
- Write down all the key ideas of the article;
- Come up with a clear and visual metaphor;
- Arrange the key ideas in a logical sequence to create a plan;
- Write the text according to the plan;
Story of successful work: I comfortably settle into an armchair with a cup of hot tea, pick up my laptop, close all unnecessary programs, turn off the internet, and launch the text editor. I feel a positive attitude and anticipate that the work will bring pleasure. In the editor, I write a brief description of the reader’s problem that the article is meant to solve. I also write down the reader’s expectations from the text. Immediately after this, I see several options for the title, which I immediately write down in a column.
Then I continue thinking, writing down more and more new options. Suddenly, I come up with an option that most accurately conveys the essence and I choose it. Great! The title is ready.
After that, I write down in a column a list of all the key ideas I want to convey to the reader. I write everything that comes to mind. When the list is finished, I review it. I add something to the list and remove something. Then I choose the main key idea for which I need to use a metaphor and write down all the more or less suitable visual images. When nothing more comes to mind, I choose the most successful metaphor and describe how it works.
Once the metaphor is ready, I review the key ideas again and arrange them in a logical sequence. As I do this, new ideas come to mind and I write them down. Finally, the article outline is ready and I congratulate myself on successfully completing the preparation. Then I take a short break and return to work. I re-read the article outline and start writing the text. The text flows easily and effortlessly, all the right words come to me “on the fly.” I am deeply immersed in the work and enjoying it…
This is where the story of successful work can end. The story’s text shouldn’t be too long or too detailed. Its main task is to describe the first steps in order to shatter the INR, give a powerful impulse to the subconscious, and clarify the action plan for yourself. Once the story is ready, it’s worth carefully re-reading it, and then getting down to action.
Try this method and you will definitely feel how easily you can slip into a state of productive activity. Experience the full power of this approach for yourself!
“Conclusion”
So, we have figured out that putting work off “for later” is facilitated by negative slides inserted into the inner slide projector of the subconscious. The manager of subconscious resources doesn’t trust negative presentations and refuses to allocate internal reserves for productive activity.
If we fall into the mental trap of the illusion of unpleasant work, it can be easily destroyed by replacing it with the illusion of pleasant work, which is no less plausible for the subconscious. Writing a story of successful work gives a powerful impulse to our subconscious. The subconscious perceives the fabricated experience as real and remembers it.
When we perform the actions, it creates a feeling as if this experience is being relived. And that means the work becomes easier to do. So, why not give our manager of subconscious resources pleasant slides instead of negative ones?
Let him enjoy the viewing, and we will enjoy the work. That’s all. Thank you for reading.
This has been Ivan Pirog. Until next time!