Podcasts > The School of Greatness > 7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

By Lewis Howes

On The School of Greatness podcast, Rory Vaden provides insight into the three types of procrastination and emphasizes discipline as the solution. He explains the paradox of sacrifice - how difficult short-term choices lead to easier long-term consequences - and the importance of commitment, asking "how" instead of "should."

Vaden also explores principles for focus, integrity, and time management. He stresses focus as power, aligning words and actions for desired outcomes, and intensive effort in one area for optimal results. The episode offers a comprehensive guide to overcoming procrastination and achieving goals through a disciplined mindset and strategies.

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7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

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7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

1-Page Summary

Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination

Rory Vaden discusses the three types of procrastination and posits discipline as the antidote.

The Three Types of Procrastination

  • Classic procrastination: Consciously delaying tasks we know we should do, like watching Netflix instead of paying bills.
  • Creative avoidance: Subconsciously creating tasks to avoid important ones, like sorting emails to avoid making sales calls.
  • Priority dilution: Allowing urgent but less important tasks to take precedence over significant priorities, a tendency of chronic overachievers.

Discipline: The Antidote

Vaden emphasizes discipline—doing what we should even when we don't want to—as the cure for procrastination, unlocking our ability to achieve goals.

Developing the Mindset for Success

Vaden uses striking analogies and principles to illustrate a disciplined approach to facing challenges head-on.

The Paradox Principle of Sacrifice

  • Easy short-term choices lead to difficult long-term consequences.
  • Difficult short-term choices lead to easy long-term consequences.
  • Problems procrastinated on are amplified, like avoiding a storm leads to prolonged hardship.

The Buy-In Principle of Commitment

  • Emotional energy for making a decision is often greater than physical energy to execute it.
  • Asking "how" instead of "should" helps maintain commitment when difficult.

Strategies for Focus, Integrity, and Time Management

The Focus Principle

  • Focus is power—diluted focus leads to diluted results, per Vaden.
  • Surrounding yourself with disciplined, growth-minded people is key.

The Integrity Principle

  • Aligning words, thoughts, and actions is essential for desired outcomes, says Vaden.
  • How we talk about ourselves shapes reality and future.

The Harvest Principle of Schedule

  • Great results require intensive, imbalanced effort, not constant balance.
  • Focused effort in one area produces better results than dividing time equally.

1-Page Summary

Additional Materials

Clarifications

  • The Paradox Principle of Sacrifice highlights how making difficult short-term choices can lead to easier long-term outcomes, while opting for easy short-term choices can result in harder long-term consequences. It emphasizes the importance of addressing challenges promptly rather than delaying them, as procrastination can magnify problems over time. This principle underscores the idea that facing difficulties head-on can ultimately lead to smoother paths forward, compared to avoiding or postponing necessary actions. It serves as a reminder that the discomfort of immediate sacrifices often pales in comparison to the potential hardships that may arise from avoiding necessary decisions or actions.
  • The Buy-In Principle of Commitment emphasizes that the emotional energy invested in making a decision often outweighs the physical energy needed to follow through. By focusing on the "how" of achieving a goal rather than questioning whether one should pursue it, individuals can maintain their commitment, even when faced with challenges. This principle highlights the importance of fully engaging emotionally with a decision to increase the likelihood of successful execution.
  • The Harvest Principle of Schedule emphasizes that achieving great results often requires focused and intensive effort in specific areas, rather than trying to maintain constant balance across all tasks. It suggests that concentrating efforts on one key area can lead to better outcomes than spreading time and energy equally across multiple tasks. This principle highlights the importance of prioritizing and dedicating substantial time and resources to activities that align with your goals for optimal results.

Counterarguments

  • While discipline is crucial, it's not the only antidote to procrastination; understanding underlying emotional or psychological issues can also be key.
  • Sometimes, what appears as procrastination may actually be a necessary period of incubation for creative or complex tasks.
  • The dichotomy between easy short-term choices and difficult long-term consequences may be oversimplified; some choices aren't easily categorized and have complex outcomes.
  • The idea that problems procrastinated on are amplified may not always hold true; some problems may resolve themselves or become irrelevant with time.
  • The principle that emotional energy for decision-making exceeds that for execution may not account for tasks that are emotionally draining over the long term.
  • The assertion that asking "how" instead of "should" maintains commitment might not address the importance of reassessing one's goals and commitments periodically.
  • The Focus Principle may overlook the benefits of a diversified approach to problem-solving and creativity that involves a broader focus.
  • The suggestion to surround oneself with disciplined, growth-minded people doesn't consider the value of diverse perspectives, including those from less disciplined individuals who may offer unique insights.
  • The Integrity Principle may not acknowledge the complexity of aligning words, thoughts, and actions, especially in situations with moral ambiguity or conflicting values.
  • The idea that how we talk about ourselves shapes our reality and future might not fully consider external factors that are beyond personal control.
  • The Harvest Principle of Schedule, advocating for intensive effort in one area, may not be applicable to all fields or situations where multitasking or balanced efforts are more effective.
  • The notion that focused effort in one area produces better results than dividing time equally may not take into account the benefits of cross-training and interdisciplinary approaches.

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7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination

Rory Vaden provides insights into the mechanisms of procrastination and discusses how discipline can serve as an antidote.

The three types of procrastination: classic, creative avoidance, and priority dilution

Classic procrastination is consciously delaying what we know we should be doing.

Rory Vaden explains classic procrastination as the behavior where one willingly puts off tasks despite knowing they ought to be done—an example being choosing to watch Netflix instead of paying bills that are due.

Creative avoidance is subconsciously creating tasks to avoid doing what we really need to do.

Next, Vaden introduces the idea of "creative avoidance," which involves subconsciously finding or creating tasks to avoid undertaking more critical actions. This could manifest in behaviors like sorting through emails as a form of displacement activity, forgoing essential tasks such as working on a book, developing business processes, making sales calls, or addressing customer service issues.

Priority dilution is the chronic overachiever's form of procrastination, where urgent but less important tasks take precedence over significant priorities.

While not covered directly in the provided content, Vaden likely defines "priority dilution" as a procrastination form that affects chronic overachievers when they allow less important, urgent tasks to overshadow their significant priorities.

Discipline is the antidote to procrastination

Discipline is doing the things we know we should be doing, even when we don't feel like doing them.

Rory Vaden emphasizes discipline as doing the things we know we should be doing, even when we don't feel like doing them. This principle is suggested to be the cure for procrastination.

Developing discipline unlocks the ability to achieve virtually anything we set our minds to.

By developin ...

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Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination

Additional Materials

Clarifications

  • [restricted term] release in relation to procrastination: [restricted term] is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward in the brain. When we complete tasks, even small ones, our brain releases [restricted term], reinforcing the behavior. In procrastination, the brain can trick us into feeling rewarded by engaging in less important tasks that still trigger [restricted term] release, leading to a cycle of avoidance. This can make procrastination a habit as the brain seeks the immediate gratification of [restricted term] over tackling more significant tasks.
  • Lewis Howes' perspective on task avoidance highlights that individuals often avoid tasks like going to the dentist because they can be unpleasant, frustra ...

Counterarguments

  • While discipline is important, it's not the only solution to procrastination; understanding the underlying emotional or psychological reasons for procrastination can also be crucial.
  • The concept of "creative avoidance" may not always be subconscious; sometimes individuals are quite aware that they are engaging in less important tasks to avoid more daunting ones.
  • The idea of priority dilution oversimplifies the complex decision-making process involved in prioritizing tasks; sometimes urgent tasks are also important, and the distinction isn't always clear-cut.
  • The assertion that developing discipline allows one to achieve virtually anything overlooks other factors that contribute to success, such as opportunity, resources, and support systems.
  • The brain's tendency to seek [restricted term] through trivial tasks is not always negative; sometimes, it can lead to productive breaks and necessary leisure that can enhance overall productivity.
  • Task avoidance due to pain, frustration, or time consumption doesn't always indicate procras ...

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7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

Developing the Discipline and Mindset for Success

Rory Vaden offers insights into the power of disciplined decision-making and the mental shift required to commit to success, utilizing striking analogies and principles that can change one's approach to facing life's storms.

The paradox principle of sacrifice

Vaden introduces the paradox principle of sacrifice through an analogy involving buffalo and cows in Colorado. He explains that when a storm arrives, cows run away, leading them to endure the storm for a longer time, whereas buffalo face the storm, shortening their experience of it. This behavior is paralleled in human tendencies to avoid challenges, which often results in amplified problems.

Easy short-term choices lead to difficult long-term consequences.

By avoiding immediate confrontation with challenges—like paying off minimum debt or sidestepping conversations in a troubled marriage—people can extend their hardships and frustrations. Vaden uses the buffalo metaphor to illustrate why running away from the storm, or problems, can lead to more prolonged difficulties.

Difficult short-term choices lead to easy long-term consequences.

Vaden asserts that embracing difficult short-term choices can actually result in an easier life in the long term. By confronting problems promptly, like buffalo facing the storm, one can avoid extended periods of hardship.

Problems that are procrastinated on are always amplified.

He emphasizes that procrastination invariably leads to more significant issues, much like avoiding a storm leads to extended exposure. Conversely, tackling problems head-on minimizes the duration and severity of these problems.

Vaden stresses that ultra-performers have learned to think differently about discipline—they choose short-term hardships to prevent more substantial difficulties in the future. He likens these choices to choosing to take the stairs over the elevator, emphasizing the payoff of this disciplined approach.

The buy-in principle of commitment

The buy-in principle of commitment explores the two types of energy that affect our decision-making: the emotional energy required to make the decision, and the physical energy needed to execute it.

Emotional energy expended in making a decision is often greater than the physical energy required to execute it.

Vaden points out that it's often the emoti ...

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Developing the Discipline and Mindset for Success

Additional Materials

Clarifications

  • The paradox principle of sacrifice, as explained by Rory Vaden, highlights the contrasting approaches of cows and buffalo in facing storms. Cows run away from storms, prolonging their exposure, while buffalo face the storm head-on, reducing their time in it. This principle emphasizes how avoiding challenges can lead to prolonged difficulties, while confronting them directly can result in easier long-term outcomes. Vaden uses this analogy to illustrate the importance of making difficult short-term choices to prevent more significant challenges in the future.
  • Ultra-performers are individuals who excel in their fields by making disciplined decisions and committing to success, often choosing short-term challenges to avoid long-term difficulties. They invest significant emotional energy in decision-making and focus on execution, maintaining commitment by asking "how" instead of questioning "should." Ultra-performers prioritize facing problems head-on to minimize their impact and achieve remarkable outcomes.
  • Emotional energy in decision-making relates to the mental effort, feelings, and psychological weight involved in making a choice. Physical energy, on the other hand, concerns the actual effort and action required to carry out the decision once it's made. The distinction highlights that the emotional aspect of decision-making can sometimes be more challenging or draining than the physical act of following through with the decision. Ultra-performers focus on managing their emotional energy effectively to make decisions with clarity and c ...

Counterarguments

  • The analogy of buffalo and cows may oversimplify complex human decision-making processes and the multitude of factors that influence how we face challenges.
  • Avoiding challenges immediately does not always lead to prolonged difficulties; in some cases, strategic retreat or delay can provide time for better preparation or avoidance of unnecessary confrontation.
  • Difficult short-term choices do not guarantee an easier life in the long term; unforeseen circumstances and external factors can still lead to hardship despite proactive measures.
  • Procrastination can sometimes be beneficial as a form of strategic delay, allowing for more information to be gathered or for circumstances to change in one's favor.
  • Tackling problems head-on is not always the most effective strategy; some problems may require a more nuanced approach or may resolve themselves over time without direct intervention.
  • The concept of ultra-performers choosing short-term hardships may not account for the diverse strategies and mindsets that contribute to high performance across different fields and personal circumstances.
  • The emotional energy required to make a decision can sometimes be less significant than the physical energy needed to execute it, especially in cases where execution involves sustained effort over a long period.
  • ...

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7 Step Guide To Overcome Procrastination & Achieve ANYTHING You Want In Your Life! | Rory Vaden

Strategies for Focus, Integrity, and Time Management

Rory Vaden and Lewis Howes offer valuable insights on how focus, integrity, and understanding the nature of time can lead to significant personal and professional growth.

The focus principle

Focus is power - diluted focus leads to diluted results.

Rory Vaden challenges that a lack of intelligence or capabilities is seldom the reason behind people's failure to achieve desired outcomes; rather, it is the result of distractions that fragment their time, attention, and resources. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining focus by being intentional every day. Focused attention, as Vaden explains, is critical for breaking through barriers and achieving success.

Surrounding yourself with people who share your disciplined mindset is key for maintaining focus.

Vaden underscores the significance of surrounding oneself with accountable and growth-minded individuals who contribute to maintaining focus. He compares this to being around those who 'take the stairs,' meaning they are willing to do what others are not. Lewis Howes shares his experience with disciplined focus, dedicating himself to mastering LinkedIn, which led to his breakthrough in that niche.

The integrity principle

Aligning our words, thoughts, and actions is essential for creating the life we desire.

Vaden speaks to the power of integrity, outlining it as aligning our spoken words with thoughts and actions. The intentional creation of the future begins with how we talk about ourselves, where negative self-talk can manifest in outcomes that reinforce those beliefs. Conversely, speaking positively and following through with actions cultivates integrity and trust in oneself.

The way we talk about ourselves shapes our reality and future.

Using the example of a student internalizing negative feedback, Vaden argues that we must rewrite the narratives we tell about ourselves as we tend to live into the stories we tell. He says that such alignment in our dialogue and behavior adds weight to our integrity, propelling us towards making our ideas a reality.

The harvest principle of schedule

Achieving great results often requires short, intensive seasons of imbalance, rather than constant balance ...

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Strategies for Focus, Integrity, and Time Management

Additional Materials

Counterarguments

  • While focus is indeed powerful, some argue that multitasking or a diversified focus can lead to innovation and cross-pollination of ideas.
  • Being around disciplined individuals can be beneficial, but it's also important to have a diverse network that can challenge and broaden one's perspective.
  • Integrity is key, but there can be a complex interplay between thoughts, words, and actions, and sometimes they may not align perfectly due to various external pressures or constraints.
  • Negative self-talk can be damaging, but it's also important to maintain a realistic self-view and be open to constructive criticism for personal growth.
  • The idea that we live into the stories we tell ourselves can be empowering, but it may oversimplify the influence of external factors and systemic issues on personal outcomes.
  • Inte ...

Actionables

  • You can create a 'distraction audit' by tracking interruptions for a week to identify what breaks your focus. Note down every time you get distracted and what caused it, whether it's a phone notification, an email alert, or an interruption from someone. At the end of the week, analyze the data to find patterns and develop a plan to eliminate or reduce these distractions. For example, if you find that social media notifications are a major culprit, you might decide to turn off notifications during work hours.
  • Develop a 'focus ritual' to start each day with clear intentions. Spend the first 10 minutes of your morning writing down the three most important tasks you want to accomplish that day. This helps to prioritize your day's activities and ensures that you're intentional about where you direct your attention. For instance, if one of your tasks is to finish a report, your focus ritual might include outlining the report's structure before diving into writing it.
  • Engage in 'narrative role-play' to rewrite the stories you tell yourself. Once a month, set aside an ...

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