My Procrastination Rut

It’s been ages since my last post, but finally got some motivation to write. Enjoy!

YouTube has been the source of my procrastination for the longest time. I always get stuck with the ideology that I’ll just watch a video then be productive and get some work done. I mean, each video is only 10–20 minutes long right? Not like an episode of a show where it lasts 40 minutes right? Wrong! I get sucked into the YouTube Algorithm, and before long one 10-minute video becomes 3, then an hour passes, and soon, 3 hours pass. Then, I finally gather the power to stop myself, before scolding myself on what an utter idiot I have been for wasting the last 3 hours of my life watching YouTube, when I could have gotten something productive done. The next day, I come back with the same school of thought and the vicious cycle repeats.

Then, I started to use Opal. If you don’t know what it is, it is an IOS app, that allows you to stop procrastinating on your phone. I leave in on, and ban YouTube. Now, I am finally off the cycle, I am more intentional with my usage, and watch 1 or 2 videos each time, before I am put offline again. Problem solved…

Yet, I find that I still procrastinate. Looking at my todo list, I just dismiss it, and do nothing. Procrastination in its raw form. Even now, as I type this, there is just a stinging feeling that I am just doing this for the sake of feeling good that I published something, and did not waste time. So, as of now, I am in a rut, the lack of motivation to do anything on my todo list, but the lack of access to anything to take my mind off it. Just me with my thoughts.

However, I think I may have a remedy for this, that my brain came up with in one of my stoning sessions. Hopefully, it can get me out of a rut.

Intentional productive procrastination

I feel that I at least get productive for a while after long bouts of YouTube binging. However, when I don’t binge, I just don’t and spend that longer span of time, doing a task that I could have done way faster if I had procrastinated. So, I hope that this will be a way that I can reap the benefits of increased adrenaline after procrastinating in a way shorter span of time. Therefore, in theory, I would have more time to be productive and use that time to actually be productive.

This article then stands to be an accountability in a way. I’ll try it, and in a week, report back on my findings, and explain how it really works.

Hopefully, it will also help me post more!