Psychology Articles- Tales of self help
The Psychology of Delay| Sundaraman Iyer
The more you delay it the tougher it gets.
The Psychology of Delay is an effect that everyone faces when they have accomplished one or more of their goals. Yes, that time when you have completed your long-term goal and now you are moving to the next goal, however, you cannot move or do more. As soon as you start on the next goal your mind starts to wonder what else it can do to get FUN.
Yes, this is not new, however, I am writing this since I experience it every time I complete my tough and challenging goal such as creating an app, website, or whatever the case may be.
So what are you experiencing here?
The experience is a paradox of whether to work or not to work. When you start to work your brain craves for Fun and when you are having FUN your brain tells- WHY are you not working?
Why does this breakdown happen?
This happens due to fact that you have worked and achieved your goal. Before achieving the goal you have promised yourself a set of rewards such as going out with your friends or something, now your brain is anticipating the rewards, and since you are delaying the reward the chances of you working to full potential go down.
What are the effects of delay on productivity?
Your productivity takes a big hit. You know you have to work and when you start, you cannot do it. Some example, when I completed coding my website and app back to back in under a month, I felt I achieved something, however, it didn't last I was onto the next big goal. This was my mistake, I did not celebrate, I did not reward my brain by keeping the promise I made. And then the mental detox- Dopamine: the hormone that keeps you the guns; crashed and heavy detox happened.
How can you avoid this mental trap of delay?
- This advice came from AKHILESH BHAGWAT, — Take intermediate short-term breaks. What it means, when you are working big project, break it down into pieces and take breaks(1 day or half a day) in between so you can function at an optimal level. This maintains your productivity and you won't feel drained out. Easy to get used to and maintains balance.
- 40 % rule- When you are on the mental break down remember, you are only 40% on your capacity. This is coined by Navy Seal David Goggins. This is tough to follow yet will push you to very edge everytime.
- 6-day gap- Do it under your own desire. Taking complete 6 days to 1-week gap from your work to recover, is an attainable thing; however, this depends on individuals. Why? You go into the paradox of
Why am I not resting? to Why am I not working?
( I personally suffered, since, for me, recovery days are from 2 to 3 days max. After that I have to get back into my work.)
This goes without saying that you must rest and recover, to get realigned and energized. The second method is for those who are way ahead of themselves and know that if they stop now, they take a rest and will take a long time before coming to back the exact edge and then functioning at full potential.
Simple Action- Do it! Just Do it! Take a small piece of action even if that means sending a message to your friends regarding the project or doing 1 pushup; Just Do It! or recover, come back and do more than before.
