Do you find it difficult to stop collecting ideas and sit down to publish?

You keep working on tasks after tasks.
It looks like you are getting a lot done.
But you end up delaying the most important project.

You, my friend, are caught in productive procrastination.

Creating something out of thin air is hard.

Nobody starts from scratch. You have some ideas about what you want to create. You start and slog over it.

Yet, the day to publish never arrives.

You tell yourself that you are being productive.

After all, you are researching and interviewing people for your piece. You have to collect data points before the piece can take form.

You will do anything to delay the ultimate act of sitting down and publishing it.

When Karl Ove Knausgaard’s novel was rejected, he lost faith in himself. He says -

“I started to polish the car instead of driving it—and, obviously, when you polish your car, you don’t get anywhere, no matter how nice the car looks.”

What you are indulging in - is a vice - that looks like a virtue.

Note taking is easier and fun than figuring out what the piece is going to be about. Figuring out the puzzle is harder than merely collecting more puzzle pieces to add to the pile.

Stop adding to the pile.

Here’s how to overcome productive procrastination-

1. Spot it early.

When you are merely avoiding something, you realize it instantly. But with productive procrastination, you are keeping yourself busy with work.

The dopamine from completing tasks makes it harder to spot.

2. Goals without schedule are just dreams.

Write down your most important goals.
Figure out what you want to achieve from those.
Include deadlines for each of those tasks.

Clearly defined goals with end dates make it easier to focus on what matters.

3. Eat that frog.

Tackle the most important tasks first thing in the morning. Block time to do deep-work. Once you start, keep working on it everyday.

When the deadline comes, stop polishing. Take the car for a ride.