A clip full of silver bullets

Against my undead procrastination monster

Jul 01, 2024

Transcript

This is The Nooner, a (very short) daily newsletter slash podcast that has its very own section within Dispatches from Inner Space.

To see the first post, which doubles as an explainer, click here.

Also a quick reminder that you can listen to the podcast version of each post wherever you listen to podcasts.

I’m really good at procrastinating

I’ve got a whole toolbox full of techniques. One of my favorites? Extensive research into the topic of productivity.

I know this is not unique. It’s practically a meme by now. Which is why I’m sure you’ve noticed something I’ve noticed, and maybe you’ve been bothered by it the way I’ve been bothered by it.

Many self-styled productivity gurus seem to have one killer tip, trick, or secret method to defeat procrastination. A magic technique that Solves the Problem. A silver bullet that punctures the heart of the beast and kills it dead for good.

Here’s a partial list:

Pomodoros
Time Blocking
Eat That Frog
Energy Cycles
MITs (Most Important Tasks)
Bullet Journaling
Reverse Scheduling
Task Batching
The Kanban System
The GTD System
The Five-Second Rule
The Notebook Rule ;)

I’ve tried practically all of them, even invented one myself (wink wink), and guess what. They all work!

For about two weeks. Maybe three.

But then my personal procrastination monster always comes back to life, no matter how many silver bullets I’ve plugged into its dark heart.

I used to be dismayed by this. Why can’t I just kill the beast dead for good?

Maybe this has something to do with polyfocalism versus monofocalism. After all, I do know people who seem to be able to stick with one great tactic for years and years. Good for them!

I don’t think I’m that kind of person.

Instead, I’m the kind that needs a few extra silver bullets in the clip, so that when the beast inevitably twitches back to life, lets out a long, low growl, and comes lumbering after me, I can put it back on the ground for a while with another well-aimed productivity hack.

Thank goodness there are so many to choose from.