Every human being certainly has the habit of procrastinating, such as delaying doing tasks, delaying sleeping at night, delaying eating, delaying washing clothes, or postponing other work. Procrastination is a bad habit that is hard to break.
At first you might think "Ah, it's okay if you do it tomorrow" or "One more episode just to sleep". But in reality, without you realizing it, this kind of procrastination habit will continue. As a result, your time that should be filled with positive or productive things is actually wasted.
To get rid of the habit of procrastination, you can try the 5 second rule, which is a rule that can change a person's mentality in managing procrastination.
This rule was created by Mel Robbins, an American lawyer who switched careers to become the bestselling author of self-help books. So, what are the rules of the 5 second rule like? Here are the 5 second rules that can help you get rid of the habit of procrastination!
Why Does the Habit of Procrastination Appear Unknowingly?
According to Robbins, procrastination is not laziness or a matter of avoiding work. As reported by Standout Books, it is a coping mechanism or a way to deal with stress.
When you do something fun instead of stressed, you feel relieved. Relief comes through the physiologically addictive release of dopamine. The more you give up on pleasurable activities, the more likely you are to repeat the behavior and fall into a pattern of procrastination.
Trying to motivate yourself out of habit circles like this rarely works because the habit has been strengthened time and time again through repetition and fun. Every time you procrastinate with something pleasurable, you get a bit of dopamine that makes you more tempted to procrastinate again and again.
How Can the 5 Second Rule Get Rid of Procrastination?
When the thought of procrastinating comes to your mind then you can count down 5 seconds without a second's hesitation to let go of the things that make you want to keep procrastinating.
Launching from Glamor, Robbins said, "If you have the instinct to act to achieve a goal then you have to move fast in five seconds, otherwise your brain will stop your goal," said Robbins.
"When you have doubts before doing something then all you have to do is make a decision, then count down 5-4-3-2-1 moving towards action. One small doubt can trigger a mental system designed to stop your goal and it happens in time less than five seconds," he explained.
A neurologist and researcher at the NeuroLeadership Institute, Dr Emma Sarro, explains what actually happens in the brain when a person makes this decision. "Humans make thousands of decisions every day and as a way to make these decisions more efficiently, the brain has developed a series of cognitive biases, which are often thought of as mental shortcuts", explains Dr Emma.
So, as reported by Glamor, the 5 second rule is the optimal period of time to think about making a decision or decide to act on impulse. It is quite a short time before that fateful doubt arises in your brain.
So that the 5 second rule that you run can be more optimal, you can do positive habits such as making a list of activities and their completion deadlines. For example, if the day after tomorrow is the deadline for submitting assignments, starting from today you have to pay in installments. Instead of procrastinating, you can choose to finish your work first before relaxing.
So, how are you? Have you tried the 5 second rule to break the habit of procrastination? If not, good luck, yes!