Turning incognito procrastination into productive procrastination

Sometimes I procrastinate without knowing that I'm procrastinating. Like, I'm knocking out tasks that are ostensibly productive… but in truth, I'm just avoiding something that is way more urgent (and probably boring, hard, or scary).

I did some digging around IH and found that I'm not alone. I think we all do it in one way or another. And since it's incognito, it can be hard to spot.

But if you can spot it, then this incognito procrastination can actually be productive. And I think that's worth exploring.

Incognito procrastination

It's more dangerous than normal procrastination. Twitter, reddit, Netflix, daydreaming… Those are blatant ways to procrastinate. Difficult to quit, sure, but there's nothing confusing about them.

Incognito procrastination, though… it sneaks up on ya. And it's harder to quit too because, well, you often don't know you're doing it.

I first started thinking about this when I posted about whether incorporating a company is really necessary when you first start a company and @rjyoungling commented with a great point:

A lot of the time it's just playing business... procrastinating by doing everything except the one thing that actually matters... making money.

Filing for an LLC seems productive. But it is so often just administrative procrastination. Where else does it happen? Here are some examples I've either done myself, or read about here on IH:

• Incorporating before it's necessary: It's not necessary until you're making a good amount of money.
• Building new products: Shiny object syndrome is an S.O.B. Don't let it distract you.
• Building new features: This is particularly problematic for developers because they love to build and often loathe marketing, admins, etc.
• Over-optimizing: Your product doesn't need to be perfect!

@lumberjackpero: We delayed our launch for almost 4 months as well. Got caught up in the process of making the App perfect and ready to scale before even validating the idea first. Build fast, fail fast is the only right mentality

• A/B testing: Yep, this one too. I know a fair number of entrepreneurs who love to get lost in the data and make small tweaks forever instead of doing what matters.
• Design: Your design is (probably) fine. Make it look decent, them move on. I posted about that here.

@just_karthik: ​​Since we wanted to create the best user experience for our visitors, We took too much care in designing the website's UX design. We designed it multiple times and spent days trying to make it better.

• Planning and organizing: I'm super guilty of this one. I love my todo lists and project management processes. Given the chance I'd spend wayyy too long planning and never actually build anything.
• Learning: Some folks just love to learn. But if you're always learning, you're never doing.

@remidi: I tend to postpone my schedule toxically forward. I don't waste time either. I read articles and learn about "better ways to code" or sometimes code to make my app better but [never] that one thing that needs to be done.

• R&D: Market research, stack research, etc. Some research is good. Too much is not.

@just_karthik: We wanted to build a stunning website for LaunchPedia that attracts visitors and is ready for the future. But, we also had a budget constraint as this is not a paid product. So, we spent way too much time finding a tool stack that fell within our budget and also let us create a feature-rich website.

• And let's be honest, we can probably include just about any work that is easier (or more fun) than the work you should be doing.

@bensim: I mainly procrastinate via anything other than the task at hand. It could be doing some less productive or "busy work". I could be writing the easier essay compared to the one I am supposed to write.

@joeworkman: My biggest distraction is actually hanging out and helping my customers on my own hosted community. I should visit it just a few times throughout the day and answer everything at once. But I tend to constantly lurk and answer things as they come up. While this is a good thing sometimes... I definitely feel that it hampers my productivity.

@nafetswirth: I catch myself working on things that are nr.2 or nr.3 priority sometimes if I just can't get a grip on the nr.1 priority.

So yes, these types of procrastination are more dangerous because they're hard to spot. You could do it all day and feel good about yourself, but never push the needle for your business. But conversely, they're less dangerous too. After all, it's generally a heck of a lot better to waste time doing a lower priority task than it is to waste time scrolling on Facebook.

Which brings me to my next point: Harnessing it.

Leveraging incognito procrastination

Step 1: Notice it

To me, turning incognito procrastination into productive procrastination is all about awareness. If you're aware that you're procrastinating, you can make decisions about how you do it. And you can do it mindfully.

The best way to do this IMO is to identify it now. When you're in the middle of tweaking colors on your landing page, you probably won't realize that you're procrastinating. So write a list now of all the ways that you incognito procrastinate. Keep adding to it. Once you've identified the ways that you do it, it'll be much easier to notice when you're doing those things.

And if you think to yourself, "But it's not like I'm on reddit or something, this is productive, ask yourself two things:

1. What is the level of priority — is there something else that is higher priority?
2. How long have you spent on it? Too much of anything will become procrastination at some point.

Step 2: Harness it

So you're wasting time while pretending to be productive, and you notice it. You've got three options:

1. Stop doing that thing. Start doing something higher-priority tasks.
2. Stop doing that thing. Start doing something that will give you a break, while being productive in a non-work kind of way. Like exercising, meditating, etc.
3. Keep doing that thing, but be mindful about it.

When I say "be mindful" about it, I mean that you should admit that you're procrastinating, timebox it so that you're only going to do it for a short period of time, and consider doing something related but more productive (e.g. stop tweaking landing page colors and instead, tweak the landing page sales copy).

It's also worth noting that if you feel that familiar pull to check reddit or do some normal (non-incognito) procrastinating, consider doing some productive procrastination instead. You could even have a list of fun but productive tasks that need to get done at some point, even if they're lower priority. And then go do those things. Use them as a break.

Step 3: Get back to work

Nothing special to say here. Just stop being a slacker and get back to it. Hah! Easier said than done, I know. 😅

More on procrastination

So that's how you can leverage that sly, often-problematic, incognito procrastination. But while I was digging into it, I found a lot of useful quotes from indie hackers about why they procrastinate in general, and what they do about it. I thought it might be helpful to share it here.

Why do you procrastinate?

I think it's helpful to look at procrastination a little more critically, because there's more to it than being bored and distracted. I think these indie hackers hit the nail on the head:

@tylerchurch: Some reasons I've noticed why I'm procrastinating:

• I don't actually know what the next step is.
• I don't believe in what I'm currently doing.
• What I feel I "should" do, what I "need" to do, and what I "want" to do are misaligned or at odds.
• I've been neglecting my sleep or fitness and I just don't have the brainpower to be productive.

The brain can be impulsive and distractible, and I think that's what people focus on around procrastination. But, I think there can often be a lot more to it.

@kylegawley: These are probably effects, not causes. To solve your problem, you need to uncover the underlying thought patterns that drive your procrastination (most likely some form of fear) and address those directly.

@startupsales: ​​One of the biggest issues I have is that there can be so many things to do that it makes it hard to get started and moving on anything. Another issue is not having a clear goal which is probably my biggest cause of procrastination in the short term.

@hieunc: The feeling of not making progress makes you think your work isn't being rewarded. To overcome, create "small wins" to provide the incentive to move toward the finish line.

So truly moving through your tendency to procrastinate often requires deep inner work to process your fears, your "shoulds", your avoidance, and the mental patterns that hold you back. And it certainly helps to know why your do it so that you can set yourself up for success.

Tips to avoid procrastination

I posted a while back about how to be productive and how to get into flow state (a state where you'll basically do the opposite of procrastinating) so check those out for more tips if you'd like to learn more. But I always find it helpful to learn straight from the indie horse's mouth. Here's what has helped your fellow indie hackers.

• Know your goals and mission

@kylegawley: Having a crystal clear end goal and mission can also help, especially when you extrapolate this backwards into a step by step plan.

• List and prioritize your tasks. Here are some tools that can help with that.

@seanfarrell: What I find helps when I have trouble getting started, or moving forward, is putting together a To-Do list, with the very first item of that To-Do list being "Create To-Do List". Fill it with a bunch of small tasks that lead to big tasks. Things that can take 5-10 mins. Simple things. Once you're done with this to-do list, cross off that first item "Create To-Do List" and start working on the little 5 minute tasks. You'll get a rush of adrenaline every time you cross off one of these items, and you'll start to feel more productive and motivated once you get to the bigger items. You get addicted to crossing things off this list. It may sound silly, but it honestly helps me every single time.

@sergey_shvets: I was procrastinating in the face of big tasks and opting in to do things that are "near". Coding instead of sales. Landing page instead of talking to customers. Planning ahead helps escape that as you can consciously decide what's important and then show up and do your best.

• Break your tasks into itsy-bitsy pieces

@nafetswirth: I think what helps the most is trying to break down the "big" thing you want to accomplish into baby steps that you can take one at a time.

• Track your progress

@scotalia: Actually seeing that needle move (no matter how slightly) is a big motivator. So track your progress and share it with the world and those closest to you.

• Hold yourself accountable

@scotalia: You are not alone, and having someone (even this community) to hold you accountable will go a long way to helping you buckle down and push forward. I find that:

1. Having someone ask me daily how I have progressed.
2. Giving myself a 'penalty' if I don't progress, is helping me move the needle forward slowly.

• Give yourself some positive reinforcement

@improvementcoach: Do you want to change your behavior? If so, see if you can change the consequence of your behavior. Use positive reinforcement which has more effect than punishment.

• Build in public

@frizky: Working in public also creates a sense of urgency and responsibility. Joining a community such as WIP and Makerlog is motivating since you lose your streak if you don't do anything. And the environment is very productive.

• Team up

@avtomatk: I think the best thing is to look for a partner, loneliness keeps you eternally unmotivated.

• Create new habits

@sachertorte: I think you have to make it a habit. For instance, I reduced my Youtube watching time drastically by only watching videos when I'm eating or right before going to bed. And you have to stick to it of course, no exceptions ;-)

@leo_m: Let's put it this way... the only thing I don't procrastinate is procrastination. I mainly try to create small and incremental habits.

• Turn off social media notifications

@joeworkman: I think that everyone can list social media down on their what I call my "Squirrel List". The best way for me to stop getting distracted is to turn off notifications for all social media and email. By doing that, I tend to forget that it's there (at least for a little while).

• If you've gotta be on social media for business purposes, define what actually counts as work

@sachertorte: You have to define what you are doing on reddit. If you are on it for watching cute kitten videos, your time would be better served elsewhere. But if you are reading up material on sending cold emails to customers, what I've been doing lately, you may do so. Reddit isn't as bad, just remove the subreddits which don't help you immediately (even /r/programming - it doesn't matter if you hear about the latest release of X or Y 10 hours later, it won't disappear).

• Schedule your time

@sachertorte: Scheduling also works for me. In a weird sense, I feel more obligated to myself to get things done once it's written somewhere or has a dedicated time frame.

• Get up early

@nikoisonfire: Start as early as possible. It's scientifically proven that willpower is at its highest right after you wake up. That's why many entrepreneurs wake up so early, so they can get the most important stuff out of the way first. If you start working at 10pm, then not even Pomodoro will help your cause.

• Give yourself a fighting chance

@improvementcoach: Look at your environment, does your environment support the desired behavior?

• Temptation bundling (when you pair something you love with something you need to do — like listening to your favorite podcast only when you work out)

@nafetswirth: Have you heard of temptation bundling? Works pretty well.

• 2-minute rule (if a task takes 2 minutes or less, do it now)

@maevaeverywhere: The 2-minute rule is something I already use for answering emails. I can highly recommend it. I even use a specific subfolder for 2 minute email tasks.

• And I'll wrap this part up with a bundle of tips from @just_karthik:

1. Your first version need not be the best.
2. Don't waste too much time finding the tools. Start with what you know.
3. Do build weekends to build and launch your product faster.
4. Always set a deadline for the launch.

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How do you procrastinate?

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