This could be you right now:

Or this:

Or maybe this one…

Whatever you’re doing right now, there’s a good chance you’d rather be doing something else. At a certain point in your life, you realize that this problem – doing things you don’t want to do – is going to be part of your daily life.

Life would be top-notch if we had the freedom to do only what we feel like to. But then, the other stuff like laundry, taxes, or tough conversations would never happen. The best art or books would never be written. All the biggest achievements of humans would have only be imagined.

I’ve always been a massive procrastinator. When I was younger, I used to think: “What is the point of doing non-fun stuff? That’s a waste of time!”. So what could we do when our motivation level is 0 and we don’t want to do things?

Well, of course you could ignore them and focus on other things. That works (for a while), until the problem gets bigger and bigger. Or we can find ways to just do it.

If you’re a procrastinator (or lack motivation), here’s how to get sh*t done:

(1) Behind every unpleasant task there is a visible result.

When approaching a non-fun task, your mind will start mud wrestling with itself. That’s when you must think about the benefits of doing that task: Will it help someone you love? Will it bring yourself closer to your dream goal? Every unpleasant task comes with positive bonuses: you need to identify the rewards.

To help you absorb this concept, here’s a formula I usually think about:

This formula may adapt like this in your day-to-day life:

• -I don’t want to do my college homework, but if I do it, I will have much less stress and free time the next days.
• -I don’t want to clean up home, but if I do it, my partner would be grateful for the effort and we’ll both benefit from an organized living space.
• -I don’t want to go to that event, but if I do it, my social interactions will improve with new connections and I’ll feel pleased with my choice.

Even if you never feel motivated by a task, you can find reasons to move forward by looking beyond the task itself. Be optimistic, be positive: it matters. Optimists actually do better in the long run.

(2) The journey of a 1000 miles begins with 1 step.

Starting is hard for everyone. The first step is tough, especially for something not fun. It literally takes 5 seconds to take the smallest step: write one sentence, draw a quick sketch, do 3 pushups. Do it, then pause.

Congratulate yourself for starting. Take another small step and pause. We can think about it over and over, but there’s no real secret: that’s how you get used to working and won’t want to stop untile you’re done. The greatest flow states of my life started after not feeling 100% motivated to do that specific task.

(3) Wanting to be everywhere means being nowhere.

The human mind doesn’t like limitations. It seeks distraction everywhere.
“I don’t want to do this! I want freedom!” you hear. Sadly, too much freedom means too many options, too many distractions: that’s how nothing gets finished.

Freedom is good, but sometimes not. You must simplify your life by putting some limitations here and there: always do only one task at a time.

Just focus on a task, and start. Cut out every distraction: TV, phone, the urge to finish that anime, everything! Within the first 5-10 minutes, your brain will stop mud wrestling with itself, and will calm down.

(4) What makes life cool interesting are its challenges, not its comforts.

Life is full of amazing things to do, but it includes more than just things we like. Like it or not, that’s how it works – and that’s okay! It’s those not-so-fun stuff that actually make our life varied. Doing something hard sucks, it’s not easy and we feel confused about how to do it.
But you know what? Life sucks sometimes, and that’s fine. Embrace all of it!

Really, life would be bland without the suck. This is one of those funny things that you’ll truly grasp after you’ve lived it yourself.

(5) There’s nothing like a deadline to get you motivated.

In 10 years, your future self will thank you for what you have done (or will send you death threats). I don’t want to put pressure on you, but sometimes urgency is what people need.

When I was in college, I used to procrastinate with my studies. A lot. But When exams were approaching… I was the most productive and efficient human in the world.
It’s human nature to behave differently when a deadline approaches: we procrastinate less, we reduce distraction a lot.

We lack a sense of urgency, not realizing that every week is important, every day is important, evry moment is important. You may delay, but time will not. You won’t have this same energy in 20-30 years from now, so better make the most of it!

At the end of the day, it’s either we executed on the task or not. Humans are motion creatures. Without action, there is no motion. And without motion, there is no life.

To recap the key points, here’s what helped me:

• 1) Find the benefit behind every unpleasant task
• 2) The first step is the most important one
• 3) Set defined limitations
• 4) Embrace challenges
• 5) Create a sense of slight urgency with a deadline