Overcoming Procrastination

Want to stay motivated every single day? Borrow a strategy from Harvard. Then borrow another from stand up comedy. Together, they’re a powerhouse for momentum, motivation, and mastery. Here’s how it works: Let’s start with Harvard. Researcher Teresa Amabile studied 12,000 daily work diaries across 8 companies. She wanted to know: What truly motivates people on a day to day basis? What she found changed how we understand drive. The #1 driver of daily motivation wasn’t: Money Praise Perks It was progress. The days people made progress on meaningful work were the days they felt the best. Progress isn’t a luxury. It’s a psychological necessity. So how do we make progress feel visible especially on days when it’s not? Use a “Progress Ritual.” → At the end of the day, pause. → Write down 3 small ways you moved forward. → That’s it. No fanfare. Just ritual. This works because we rarely notice our progress in real time. It gets buried under busyness, meetings, and mental noise. The act of looking back gives your brain the reward it needs to keep going. Momentum builds from meaning. Now let’s add some comedy. Young Jerry Seinfeld had one goal: write new material every day. To stay on track, he created a brilliant system. Each day he wrote, he put a big red X on his calendar. Soon, a chain of Xs formed. And here’s the key: Don’t break the chain. One red X becomes two. Two becomes ten. Ten becomes identity. Whether you’re writing, coding, or training Daily action + visual chain = long-term motivation. Summary: The Two-Part Motivation System From Harvard: Record 3 ways you made progress each day. From Seinfeld: Mark an X for each day you show up then don’t break the chain. Progress fuels purpose. Consistency fuels confidence. Apply both and you’ll stay on track especially on the tough days. Because when your days get better, your weeks get better. When your weeks get better, your months get better. When your months get better, your life gets better. It starts with one small win today.

Not everything important is urgent. To cut the noise and focus better, I use the Eisenhower Matrix: - Do what’s urgent AND important. This drives results. - Delegate what’s urgent, but NOT important. Pass them on. Your time is better spent elsewhere. Extremely accessible now thanks to AI. - Schedule what’s important, but NOT urgent. No matter how busy you are, protect time for this. It moves you forward long-term. - Eliminate what’s NEITHER urgent NOR important. This wastes your energy. Constant responsiveness creates the illusion of progress while stealing time from the work that actually moves us forward. If everything feels urgent, it’s usually because priorities aren’t clear. And when priorities aren’t clear, urgency fills the gap. The goal isn’t to do everything faster. It’s to decide what deserves your attention before the day begins. Image via Colby Kultgen.

We all have days like this. The child in this photo was not up for cricket practice. They kitted up, lay on the grass, and stayed there. For a long time. In one of my better coaching moments, I let them be. And then I said: "If you can hit this spot on the net, I’ll buy you a slurpee." Now, I know some of you are thinking — isn’t that bribery? Shouldn’t we be building intrinsic motivation? But I know the ADHD brain. I have one. And when you have ADHD, motivation doesn’t always show up on cue. The leap from inertia to action can feel impossibly far — until something small, tangible, and meaningful builds a bridge. (And yes, once the challenge was set, they had to complete it. No way we were leaving until that target was hit.) So what does this mean for managing ADHD in the workplace? You’re probably not handing out slurpees (though maybe you should). But if a neurodivergent team member is struggling with task initiation or follow-through, don’t leave them to figure it out alone. That’s not a level playing field. ADHD affects how motivation works, not because of a lack of willpower, but because of how the brain processes urgency, reward, and dopamine. So instead of frustration leading to performance management, try curiosity. Ask: When do you feel most focused or engaged? What helps you start? Can we build more of that into your week? Motivation isn’t just internal. It’s relational, contextual, and sometimes experimental, especially for ADHDers. Let’s stop expecting everyone to self-motivate perfectly, and start building environments that support different brains, different needs, and different ways of working. #neurodivergence #management #DEI

7 science-backed strategies for showing up and doing the work, even when you don't feel like it: 1. Start with a tiny step. Even if you only commit to two minutes, you lower the resistance to getting started and often keep going once momentum kicks in. 2. Use the “implementation intention.” Decide in advance the exact time and place you’ll begin working, which reduces the chance of procrastination and creates a clear mental trigger. 3. Change your environment. Shifting locations or tidying up your workspace sends a signal to your brain that it’s time to focus, making it easier to slip into work mode. 4. Break tasks into smaller chunks. Large projects feel overwhelming, but breaking them into clear, simple steps makes progress visible and keeps you motivated. 5. Set a timer. Working in short bursts, like 25 minutes, helps you stay focused, prevents burnout, and makes the effort feel more manageable. 6. Reward yourself after finishing. Small rewards like a break, a snack, or even checking your phone can make it easier to push through tasks you’re avoiding. 7. Remind yourself of the bigger goal. Connecting your daily effort to a larger purpose or future benefit helps you overcome resistance and stick with it. I've built a few great businesses in my life. Showing up when I didn't feel like it was essnetial. The same goes for: - Building a career - Getting healthy - Learning a skill - Everything else Show up no matter what. That's when the magic starts.

#100RulesofThumb — Rule 24 A lot of experience and competence boils down to having exhaustive checklists. —— "Checklists? What? Aditya, if you're using checklist-type work, you're engaging in tedious labour." If your instinctual thought when you read 'checklists' was along the same lines, I'd ask you to reserve your judgment. Consider the medical field. Surgeons use checklists to ensure that every step, from pre-op to post-op, is followed meticulously. Atul Gawande's book "The Checklist Manifesto" delves into this. An exhaustive checklist ensures that the surgeon, no matter how experienced, doesn't overlook a step that could be the difference between life and death. The checklist is not just a reminder; it's a safeguard against your limited memory and attention. Even pilots have pre-flight checklists that are non-negotiable. These checklists distill lessons learnt from countless flight hours, accidents, and near-misses. They're not just lists; they're codified experience and rules you need to follow, whether or not you understand why you're supposed to follow them. Same goes for military ops. Or editors with their editorial checklists. Before publishing, there are checks for structure, coherence, grammar, and even legal issues. Again, this simple checklist codifies years of writing experience. In investigative journalism, especially, journalists go through a series of checks — verifying sources, cross-referencing facts to make sure nothing takes away from the veracity of their findings. ⭐ 5 reasons why checklists are so effective ⭐ 1. They externalize knowledge. You don't need to keep everything in your head. This frees up cognitive resources for creative thinking. 2. They democratize expertise. A well-crafted checklist can enable a novice to perform tasks at a level approaching that of an expert. 3. They're dynamic. As you gain more experience, your checklists evolve to include new insights or discard outdated practices. 4. They introduce accountability. When you have to physically mark off a task, you're more likely to give it the attention it deserves. 5. They instill discipline. The act of following a checklist is a ritual that conditions you to be thorough. In fact, attention to detail is primarily a result of having exhaustive checklists. In many domains, errors are expensive and irreversible. In the culinary arts, chefs use 'mise en place', a French term that essentially means "everything in its place." Before they start cooking, chefs prepare and measure all their ingredients, and have them at hand, often in the order they'll be used. This is a checklist. It ensures that in the heat of the moment — pun intended — they don't forget the salt or overlook a step in a complex recipe. The checklist enforces attention to detail by its very nature. And if you think about it, it's an elegant list of many rules of thumb, delivered in a format anyone can follow!

The AI workflow produced great results, yet people did not feel safe relying on the output. ⛔ That was the situation I encountered in a client workshop in Brussels last week, and it is far more common than most organisations like to admit. The team had invested time and effort into designing an AI-supported workflow. The use case was clear, the technical setup was sound, the data quality was acceptable, and the people involved had already received training on how to use AI. Despite all of this, the workflow was barely used in practice. People ran the AI step, reviewed the output, and then quietly redid the work themselves. During the workshop, we mapped the real workflow together, step by step, focusing not on how the process was documented but on how the work actually happened on a normal working day. At one point, a participant looked at the whiteboard and said: “I only trust the result after I have checked it myself anyway.” That sentence shifted the entire conversation. As we continued mapping the process, a pattern became visible: Everyone validated AI outputs differently.  Some checked everything, even low-risk drafts.  Others barely checked high-risk decisions. Accountability was assumed but never explicitly defined. Human validation was happening constantly, but it was invisible, inconsistent, and highly personal. We redesigned the workflow and introduced a simple checklist for built-in human validation. 💡 This checklist replaced individual safety habits with a shared, explicit process. ✅ Define the risk level of the output. Clarify whether the AI output is a draft, a recommendation, or a decision with external impact. ✅ Decide if validation is required. Make it explicit which outputs require human review and which can flow through without intervention. ✅ Specify the validation moment. Define when validation happens in the workflow and before which downstream step. ✅ Assign clear responsibility. Name the role that validates the output and the role that makes the final decision. ✅ Separate generation from judgment. Ensure the AI prepares content or options, while humans remain accountable for approval and outcomes. ✅ Remove unnecessary checks. Regularly review the workflow to eliminate validation steps that add friction without reducing risk. Once this checklist was applied, people felt much more confident about the AI output because they knew when human judgment was required. 👉 Is human validation in your AI workflows clearly designed, or is it still improvised? Let’s discuss.

Nothing kills motivation faster than a leader who behaves like an employee’s effort doesn’t matter. Teams receiving regular, genuine recognition are significantly more likely to stay engaged and productive than those left unacknowledged. Giving meaningful feedback rather than only criticism consistently improves performance over time. Empowerment, autonomy, and opportunity for growth strongly correlate with higher job satisfaction and better retention. 6 Leadership Moves That Actually Motivate a Team 1. Listen & Encourage Feedback Encourage open feedback and ideas, then act on them. When voices are heard and valued, people feel respected and included. This builds trust and welcomes fresh thinking. 2. Recognise Good Work Publicly Make it a habit to call out achievements. Recognition boosts morale and tells people their effort matters. Teams receiving frequent praise show far higher motivation levels. 3. Challenge for Growth With Support Give meaningful tasks and stretch goals. Push the team to learn, grow and step out of comfort zones. But stay there to support them when they need it. Growth paired with guidance fuels confidence and drive. 4. Show You See the Human, Not Just the Work Caring about the person behind the role matters. Recognise that each team member has ambitions, fears, and strengths. When leaders show empathy and humanity, loyalty and trust deepen. 5. Help Build Their Career Path Learn what they aspire to. Offer opportunities to grow, learn, or lead. Make their ambitions part of the bigger vision. When work links with personal growth, engagement and long-term commitment rise. 6. Trust, Empower and Stand Behind Them Give autonomy. Let them take ownership. Trust in their abilities. Empowerment and not micromanagement build responsibility, creativity, and ownership. Employees grow stronger when they’re heard, valued, supported, trusted and empowered. Agree?

Overwhelmed? 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝. It Means You’re Growing. Every entrepreneur I’ve met, myself included, has faced moments when feel they are drowning in things to do. This is especially true in the early years when the business consists primarily of just you. A ever growing task list, Emails, WhatsApp, Slack, Linkedin Messages, voice mails all demand your attention but the calendar is full for the day ahead and you have staff and clients who all demand your attention. And somewhere in the mix you’re expected to actually build the business. But where to start? First, let me put your mind at ease, this is normal. Actually it's a sign of success, your in demand. But where you focus your time is important. Feeling overwhelmed isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a signal. It tells you something isn’t aligned. The skill lies not in avoiding the situation (that's impossible), but in how you respond when the situation arises. Here’s what I’ve learned and what I coach others to do: 1. 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. When you’re spinning, the instinct is to do more, faster. Instead I ask you to pause. Take ten minutes. Step away from the screen. Breathe. Clarity comes from stillness, not speed. 2. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. The feeling of being overwhelmed thrives in a cluttered mind. Write everything down, every task, every worry, every commitment. Seeing it on paper instantly makes it more manageable. 3. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞. Not all tasks or meetings are created equal. Ask yourself: Which two or three things will truly move me forward today. Focus there. Ask yourself which meetings can I be excused from, what tasks can I delegate - this is how you regain control. 4. 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. A task that feels impossible becomes manageable once it’s split into steps. And focus today on completing just that first step. 5. 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩. Entrepreneurs often think they must carry the load alone. You don’t. Reach out to a peer, a mentor, and your supporters. Remember delegation is not abdication, it’s leadership. 6. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬! Learn to accept that to get things done you won't be able to do them perfectly, that's ok. Provided you complete the task to an acceptable level, within the agreed timescale that's good enough. 7. And most importantly 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. When overwhelmed our perspective can become cloudy, indistinct. Reconnect with your purpose. When you remind yourself of the “why,” the “how” becomes easier. Here’s the truth: every founder you admire has faced the same mountain of tasks, the same late-night doubts, the same moments of paralysis. What sets them apart is their ability to re-centre, re-prioritise, and keep going. And remember, your not alone!

I’ve shared these 6 research-backed strategies with several friends wanting to avoid procrastination (at work and home), and they work every time: 1. Create a "Not-To-Do" List Most people focus entirely on what they need to accomplish. But research shows they should be equally focused on what they shouldn't be doing. Write down three things not to do alongside three things to do. If someone needs to clean their garage, their not-to-do list might include: • No Netflix  • Not putzing around in the kitchen  • Don’t check email/social before 10 a.m. Clarity on what to avoid creates mental space to focus on what actually matters. — 2. Make Public Commitments Studies show that public accountability increases follow-through. You can announce your goals on social media or to friends. For example: "I'm cleaning my garage this weekend and posting before/after photos on Monday. If anyone sees me scrolling Facebook, tell me to get back to work!" Public accountability creates just enough social pressure/accountability to push through resistance moments. — 3. Set Up Smart Barriers Shape your environment to make procrastination harder and progress easier. Digital barriers: • Create separate computer users (one for work, one for play) • Uninstall distracting apps from the work profile • Remove social media bookmarks • Install parental controls on their own devices Helpful shortcuts: • Set important apps to open automatically when they start their computer • Remove distracting apps from their phone's home screen • Keep only essential tools easily accessible — 4. Use the 5-Minute Starter Research shows that the hardest part of any task is simply starting. So I trick myself into it. I open the doc and write one sentence. I pull one box out of the garage. Once I start, momentum does the rest. That initial 5 minutes eliminates the mental barrier of "where do I even start?" — 5. Stop at the Peak (Never Finish Sections) Never end work at a natural stopping point. For example, I’m currently writing my next book and I never stop at the end of a section. I stop mid-sentence. The next day, I pick up exactly where I left off. There’s no inertia, no overthinking. (BTW my next book will ALSO start with a “C” can you guess what it will be?!?) — 6. Dream Big (Think Abstract) When bills pile up or clutter builds, it’s easy to stay overwhelmed. So I pause and visualize how I’ll feel after. A clean closet. An empty inbox. That emotional payoff actually helps push me through. These 6 simple shifts make it easier to follow through without relying on willpower.

This statement won't make you happy but: Your team will not always feel motivated at work. But here's how you can boost that. 1. Understanding Individual Motivators Each team member is unique, with their own set of motivators. Invest time in understanding these personal drivers. Personalized encouragement goes a long way in boosting morale. 2. Creating a Culture of Recognition and Feedback Regularly acknowledge and celebrate achievements, no matter how small. Foster a feedback culture that is not just top-down, but also peer-to-peer, to enhance this environment. 3. Encouraging Professional Growth Provide opportunities for skill development and career advancement. Promote risk-taking, experimentation, and creativity to enhance engagement with their work and commitment to the organization’s goals. Build psychological safety in the workplace to encourage team members to express themselves without fear. 4. Ensuring Work-Life Balance Respect your team's need for a healthy work-life balance. Encourage taking breaks and unplugging after work hours to recharge. 5. Offering Meaningful Work Ensure that the work your team does feels meaningful and aligns with their values and interests. Encourage open communication to share ideas, voice concerns, and provide honest feedback, making the work more impactful and aligned with individual and organizational goals. How do you boost motivation in your team when the going gets tough? Share your strategies and experiences. #teammotivation #leadership #workplacewellness #employeeengagement