Flow Over Force: Transforming Procrastination into Productivity
why your ‘bad’ habit might actually be your secret weapon
I am a procrastinator. Big time. And I have been my whole life. For the longest time, I used to feel so bad about the fact that I was procrastinating. To avoid the one task I actually needed to do, I would find myself doing the other random things I avoided all month instead. You name it, I'd finally clean my room, put that two week old stack of laundry away, or even the unthinkable — the dishes. As great as it was that I was able to magically do the laundry after weeks of avoiding it, I was frustrated that I did it just to avoid doing something else. What a dumb cycle to be stuck in. Always avoiding and never being able to complete the task I needed to do in the first place.
Personally, I used to beat myself up for being like this. Frustrated for not being able to focus on the task in front of me and then avoid it by doing a million other little things. It fueled this guilt and shame I constantly felt. What seemed to be so easy for others, required so much time and effort for me to complete. Others were able to stay on task and finish within a decent amount of time— while I would spend the same amount of time fighting my brain to do the same thing. Trying so hard to will my mind to work in the way I wanted it to at that moment.
I grew up being taught that you don’t start the next task until the last one is finished. That you do the task that you don’t want to do first and just get it done. School reinforced this concept too. As a result, I ended up moving through tasks so slowly because I wasn’t only fighting against the task, I was fighting against myself.
I would spend hours fighting my own brain, expending a lot of valuable energy, just to not get anywhere. To only then be hours or minutes before the deadline, knock that task out so quickly and turn it in right before it was due. It was like a switch flipped and I was able to finally focus at the last minute. This was the story of my life for every school assignment. I can’t tell you how many all nighters I pulled completing essays before they were due. It was unconventional and definitely not ideal, but in the end, I got ‘em done.
I spent so many years trying to change that about myself, with no success. I really hated that quality in me. I hated that I couldn’t just do myself the favor of being disciplined and focused enough to get things done. Then I wouldn't have to put myself through so much stress and could accomplish more tasks. After years of procrastination , I concluded that I would just have to wait for motivation to strike, and hope it does at the right time, for me to get my tasks done. And until that moment happens, I would just have to be “a lazy procrastinator” for the rest of my life.
It wasn't until this year when I finally got introspective. I asked myself, " Is forcing myself to do this task—even when I feel so much resistance that I'm not moving through my task at all —the only option?" I started to wonder, what would happen if I let my brain lead me to what it was willing to do at that moment? I stopped trying to fight against the natural way I operate, but instead started to work with it. When I got honest with how I personally move through tasks and my day, I was able to accurately assess what strategies I needed to put in place to help me do my tasks better.
And from learning about myself, I found out that motivation is not something I can depend on. It’s incredibly fleeting and it doesn't happen for me very often. And when it does, it doesn't get me very far. But I did recognize operating in flow came to me more often than motivation did.
When I say flow, I describe it as a mental state of complete immersion and focus in an activity. It’s effortless, it comes naturally, there’s little resistance in whatever you're doing. Time seems to pass by and you’re in the zone. When in flow state, you're fully present and engaged, making the work feel less like a chore and more like a natural expression of your capabilities. It's different from forced productivity because it comes from a place of alignment rather than obligation.
For me, flow typically emerges when certain tasks suddenly become effortless because I'm using them to avoid something else I perceive as "painful." Pain could look like having to use more energy or brain power than I have capacity for or simply avoiding something I deemed as boring. That motivator of trying to avoid “pain” is where I notice flow gets activated in me the most often. And guess what, capitalizing on that avoidance technique helped me be so much more productive than trying to stifle it and force myself to do the “right” thing. It turned what caused procrastination in one area, into progression in another. Why did I spend so long believing that forcing myself to do the "right" task, without making any progress, was somehow better than completing other valuable tasks that weren't scheduled for that day?
While this might seem obvious to some, I know I'm not alone in having interrupted that sweet resource of flow simply because it was guiding me toward tasks that weren't originally on my schedule for that day. Stopping the flow, kept me from moving through other tasks that also have value, even if there wasn’t an impending deadline. If I feel any form of inspiration or motivation to do something, I want to capitalize on it as much as possible.
The goal with everything should always be progress, not perfection. Consistent progress will take you so much further than perfectionism ever will. Prioritizing movement, any amount of movement, will always serve you better than not moving at all. If you aren't moving at all, you're stagnant, and being stagnant is not serving you. We often assume that failure is the worst outcome, but I would argue that being stagnant is worse than failure. If you're failing, you're ultimately learning and growing. But when you're stagnant, you remain stuck—unable to progress toward your goals and dreams. With failure, you are simply acquiring more data for how you should approach that step again in the future. Your ability to move may range depending on your capacity for that day and that is ok! Any movement at all will serve you so much more than allowing yourself to stay stuck. Sometimes all we can do is imperfectly fall forward — and that is enough.
Through this reframing, I transformed my perceived weaknesses into strengths and motivators. Prioritizing movement and allowing myself to be flexible in pursuing tasks that I could move through well, absolutely revolutionized my productivity. When I was willing to assess and shift what wasn’t working, I was able to explore a new and more efficient way to move through my tasks — even if the order ends up being a little unconventional. I found that once I got moving and completed those other unplanned tasks, I was able to move through the task I originally started with much more speed and ease. It’s just like Newton says, an object in motion stays in motion — even if it’s right before the deadline… oops. But sometimes that’s just how it goes, as long as the task gets completed right? With this method, I was able to complete more tasks working with my brain instead of against it. I was able to get more value with less effort by simply being in flow.
So how can we become introspective and incorporate more flow into our lives? I think some good questions we can ask ourselves are:
“When do I feel flow, motivation, or inspiration the most?”
“ How can I steward that towards progress?”
“What could I do right now that would help me move through this task?
“Is there another productive task that my brain is more willing to do right now?”
“Where am I stifling flow in my life?”
The reason I’m writing about this is because I’m in flow RIGHT NOW. I was supposed to be writing another blog post (an easy one too), but I felt the resistance. To avoid doing it, I kept myself busy with doing the dishes. Then while I was doing the dishes I was thinking about this subject and figured “hey, maybe I should write about this.” And for the last hour and a half, I’ve been writing this blog post in flow. The words are coming easily and I’ve been focused the entire time. I know that if I had chosen to force myself to write what I had planned to, I would’ve spent the same amount of time not getting very far.
Instead I chose to follow the flow— and I was able to do more with less effort. I know I would have spent 80% of my energy just trying to force myself to write the other post, rather than using that energy to actually write it. Ultimately, wasting both my energy and time. But here at the Lazy Girl Way, we get to be lazy by conserving our energy and time, while still accomplishing our goals and dreams. We get to do this by learning to become masters of energy efficiency. But to become a master at energy efficiency, you have to look inward, be curious, increase your self awareness, and develop a deep relationship with oneself.
The best way to do this is to learn how you function and be fully known by asking yourself the right questions. It might feel daunting, not knowing what questions to ask or where to start. Believe me I’ve been there, but it is so valuable! If you're looking for more questions to ask so you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself, check out my post Unlock Your Authentic Self: 23+ Questions For Self Discovery.
If you have struggled with procrastination, trust me when I say that I GET IT! It’s challenging and it's discouraging, but it doesn’t have to be something you are a slave to. With time and intentional introspection, you can use your procrastination tendencies and turn them into real progress!
I believe in you and you’ve got this!
With love,
Natalie
