A Procrastination Preview

Everybody has some issues with procrastination.

Because if you’re working on something, it means you’re not working, on a lot of other things.

But some people have more issues with procrastination than others.

In this video, we’re going to give you a little insight into procrastination.

Why it arises, and a powerful little tool to help you address it.

When you look at something that you really rather not do, it seems that you activate the areas of your brain associated with pain.

Your brain, naturally enough, looks for a way to stop that negative stimulation by switching your attention to something else.

But here’s the trick.

Researchers discovered that not long after people might start actually working out what they didn’t like, that neurodiscomfort disappeared.

So it seems what happens when you procrastinate, is something like this.

First, you observe, and get a cue about something that causes a tiny bit of unease.

You don’t like it, so to make the sensation go away you turn your attention from whatever caused that unease.

You turn toward something more pleasant.

The result, you feel happier, temporarily.

We’re going to talk more about procrastination later on.

But in the mean, time I’m going to let you in on a handy little mental tool.

This tool is called, the Pomodoro.

It was invented by Francesco Cirillo, in the early 1980’s.

Pomodoro is Italian for tomato.

The timer you use often looks like a tomato and really, a timer is all there is to this elegant little technique.

All you need to do, is set a timer to 25 minutes, turn off all interruptions, and then focus.

That’s it!

Most anybody can focus for 25 minutes.

The only last important thing is to give yourself a little reward when you’re done.

A few minutes of web surfing, a cup of coffee, or a bite of chocolate, even just stretching or chatting mindlessly, allowing your brain to enjoyably change its focus for a while.

You’ll find that using the Pomodoro technique is very effective.

It’s a little like doing an intense 25 minute workout at a mental gym.

Followed by some mental relaxation.

Give it a try.

Next, we’re going to see how one very shy ten year old, changed her brain.