This anti-procrastination method could help you fight laziness

Whether it’s going to work, taking a shower, getting dressed, doing cards, playing sports or just doing that thing you’ve always dreamed of doing … Procrastination or laziness in general is sometimes difficult to combat. To energize everyday life, personal development coach Mel Robbins implemented a very simple solution: give yourself exactly 5 seconds (not one more or less) to take action and carry out a task that does not inspire us At first sight.

Inspired by space rocket launches, the latter implements this method to do so defusing the lazy process before the brain even starts thinking and become unmotivated. A method that he explains in his book “The 5th second rule”.

“We’ve all been fooled at some point by the fact that you have to feel ready to introduce change,” explains Mel Robbins in his book.

“You think what you lack is motivation … But that’s not true! To change, to start a business, to be a better parent, a better partner, and to do all the things you want to achieve in life, you will need to go through complicated, scary and uncertain things. You will never “feel” it, so do it anyway! “

The method in brief

The principle is very simple: we must act quickly ! When we think we are doing something, the brain very quickly puts in place processes to dissuade us. The purpose of Mel Robbins’ method is therefore to give yourself 5 seconds (counting down 5-4-3-2-1-0) before starting this task. 5 seconds is not enough, yet it is the time it takes to act before doubt begins to take control and make us lazy.

A concrete action on the brain

If we can be skeptical of this method which seems too simple to be honest, we must also know that it carries out a concrete action at the level of the brain because it is based on a principle of metacognition. Put simply, metacognition is the act of carrying out mental activity on one’s mental and thought processes. By counteracting the work of the prefrontal cortex, a region inherent in decision-making or reasoning, this method allows you to act before asking too many questions and ending up giving up.

We just have to try it to find out if it is as effective as its creator seems to claim. If this is the case, it could be that this technique is a real way to avoid procrastination, without getting us into guilty and, in fact, counterproductive reflections.

Featured Image Credits: @Klara Kulikova via Unsplash.