Zero to Dangerous - Workbooks
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The End of Procrastination and Buttery Execution

Since procrastination is a message from our natural willpower via low motivation, the cure is changing the environment, or one’s profession, by selecting one in which one does not have to fight one’s impulses. Few can grasp the logical consequence that, instead, one should lead a life in which procrastination is good, as a naturalistic-risk-based form of decision making. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Table of Contents

 

Key Takeaways

  1. Becoming a Reverse Engineer
  1. Mastering the FRC Goal Setting Stack
  1. Getting Clear Around Where to Fly
  1. Annihilating Procrastination & Micro-Confusion
 

Exercises

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Exercise 1: The Sleep to Flow Morning Strategy

  1. A variant of this is beginning work the second you wake up. Have everything fully aligned so you can immediately start. Aim to be typing within 60 seconds of waking.
  1. You’ll literally wake up in flow and you won’t have had time to procrastinate.
  1. Also transitioning from a sleep state to a flow state is faster and easier as these states are less different. Delta/Theta to Alpha/Theta (flow). What time do you wake up in the morning?

Exercise 2: Short Term Annihilation of Paralysis

Get a physical pen and paper ready and then complete the following exercise.
  1. What specifically am I trying to achieve RIGHT NOW?
  1. What are all the steps involved in achieving this thing? Be specific, the more the better.
  1. What order should I execute these steps? Put the steps in the right order.
  1. What is the first step?
  1. What are the steps to achieving that first step? Be specific, the more the better.
  1. List all of these steps out in order.
  1. Complete the first of these steps! Then the second, then the third. Watch as you drop into flow.
 

Glossary

The Neurobiology of Procrastination: Procrastination is a natural, biological phenomenon, it is, at the bottom, a loss of self-control, when performing actions that have emotional significance. At the level of the brain, it is the gap between areas involved in intention, emotion, and action, namely, the amygdala (involved in emotions and motivation), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (involved in deciding which actions the body needs to take) and prefrontal cortex (involved in executive action and control.
Pre-Crastination: Pre-crastination clearly adds to the challenge of coping with procrastination. Not only must procrastinators start sooner to begin tasks they’d rather defer, but they must also inhibit the urge to complete small, trivial tasks that bring immediate rewards just for being completed. The discovery of precrastination may suggest a way to counter the ills of procrastination. Break large tasks into smaller ones. Such smaller tasks, when completed, will promote a sense of accomplishment, will bring one closer to the final goal, and, via trial-and-error learning, may support the discovery of even more adaptive or innovative ways of behaving
 
 

Lesson Resources

  1. Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination
  1. Academic procrastination in college students: The role of self-reported executive function, By Rabin, L., et al., 2011
  1. Neurobiology of Procrastination, Caroline Schluter, Ruhr University in Germany
  1. The Relationship of Motivation and Flow Experience to Academic Procrastination in University Students, By Lee, E., 2005
  1. Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment, By Joseph Ferrari, Judith L. Johnson, and William G. McCown
  1. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change, By Timothy Pychyl
  1. Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling, By Tice, D., Baumeister, R., 1997
  1. The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure, By Steel, P., 2007
  1. Tune the Challenge Skills Balance to Unlock Buttery Execution:
    1. Regulating Time Allotments to Increase and Decrease Challenge:
      1. Adding Artificial Deadline
      2. Expanding Time Allotment
    2. Narrow the Task to Decrease Challenge:
      1. One Minute of Meditation, One Set of Squats, Five Minutes of Writing.
    3. Reduce Friction.
      1. Ensure Starting the Task Is Like a Greased Chute. Why Is It Important To Separate Strategy From Execution?
      If You’re ever stuck go to : FlowResearchCollective.com/help
  1. Use Mental Contrasting to Reinforce Feedback Loops:
    1. It is a massive flow hack — leverages clear goals, heightens convergent/divergent, jacks up complete concentration.
    2. Automatizes the Habit of Ferocity Lean-In Instinct.
    3. Eliminates reactivity entirely and allows you to live in Quadrant 2.
    4. Heightens mindfulness, focus & flow.
 
© THE FLOW RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
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