Doing.

On productivity

I must say, there’s definitely an unexplainable pleasure that comes from crossing something off of your to-do list. It is even much more pleasurable than procrastination, I’ve begun to realize that.

For the past 2 weeks now, I decided to put something to test. The Nike tag line:

JUST DO IT

and I just did. I curbed my endless meaningless scrolling and just did what I needed to do.

Well, I had to begin by creating structure first. I asked myself a number of questions. What do I need to do right now and how important is it(the importance in this context was in relation to the goals I had previously set for myself at the beginning of the week).

The rule I set was simple: if it is on the list, do it.

I used the reminder on my phone to reinforce this. I would work through my to-do list like it is some kind of rewarding system. I’ve also been very strict with my time, since I work from home, there’s a big tendency to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or in the bathroom or on my bed, scrolling. But this time, I push myself especially when I want that extra 5 minutes on Love and Pies (merging games are lowkey addictive, because why?)

I read a research on how our brains crave closure for completion. It’s probably why I dreamt of myself on a horse rushing to a meeting with an incomplete presentation. This thing, principle, effect as you may like to call it happens because our brains tend to remember, vividly infact, incomplete tasks than the ones we have finished, why? Because it needs closure from that finality.

It’s the Zeigerneik Effect. Our brain obsessing over unfinished tasks like an alarm that never snoozes.

Turns out the dread of doing the work is heavier than the work itself. My brain wasn’t afraid of the task (small work fr), it was afraid of deciding which task to begin with. That tiny mental sorting is the real drag.

I’ve noticed how fleeting the pleasure of procrastination is. On TikTok I’m laughing, but low-key anxiety is humming because the things to do are still there and tomorrow will come and there will be more things to do *deep-heavy-sigh*. Yet when I’m in that zone, crossing things off as I listen to Cowboy Carter, the rush is different- I feel a sense of fulfillment that comes from deep inside my chest and floods my whole body. Tiktok could never.

So here’s a few things to ponder on: If procrastination is self-soothing, is it also self-respectful? If checking a box feels this good, what else in my life is waiting for me to just start?

I can name a few hobbies, passion projects, even tiny experiments I’ve overthought into paralysis but maybe it’s high time I JUST DO IT!

Maybe the genius of Nike’s tagline isn’t marketing after all.