Procrastination is a psychological trap that many people struggle to avoid. As such, those who experience it greatly appreciate any efforts to combat it. Laura Mae Martin, a productivity coach at Google, has provided guidance to some of the world’s brightest engineers and executives facing productivity challenges. Interestingly, one of her most valuable pieces of advice is “acting like your own assistant.”
Martin is also the author of Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing. She recently told CNBC, “Getting started is the hardest part of tackling a bigger task. Big, lofty goals, creative projects, and self-care can easily slip into those ‘meaning to do’ categories and fall to the wayside.”
Being Your Own Assistant in the Future
The most challenging part of completing tasks isn’t the act itself but rather finding what productivity communicator Mel Robbins refers to as “activation energy.” This is the small nudge that helps you get started on the task at hand.
Martin suggests that by acting as if you’re your own assistant and planning everything needed to complete a task in advance, you can reduce the friction associated with that initial moment of starting. This approach paves the way for achieving your goals.
The productivity expert also recommends asking yourself a key question whenever you put off a project: “If I were someone’s assistant, and I wanted my boss to get this done by tomorrow, what would I do to nudge them along and make it easier?” This mindset separates the preparation and execution phases of a task, making the process smoother.
For example, if you need to create a report or presentation for work, you can start by creating a new folder for the project on your computer. You can then create a new blank document and save it inside that folder. Also, you can collect any images, graphics, data, and documents you might need for the presentation. By doing this, you prepare everything in advance, making it easier to dive into the main task of creating the presentation the next day, using all the elements you’ve already gathered.
This Approach Is Also Beneficial on a Personal Level
Martin emphasizes that a pre-planning system can be beneficial in any area where a task seems complex and overwhelming, leading to procrastination.
For instance, if you’ve been meaning to hang pictures for weeks, a helpful approach is to channel your future self and prepare all the necessary materials in advance, including a drill, wall plugs, screws, and a tape measure.
The next day, with everything laid out, the task will feel less daunting. After all, it’s just a matter of drilling a couple of holes.
In fact, Martin strongly advocates this technique in her personal and professional life. She says, “It was an energy shift that helped me let go of that dread of doing something big and made the task feel manageable.”
Additionally, she suggests that this method can be combined with concepts like the “Ulysses Contract”, which is a sort of deal between your present and your future self. This is done to minimize distractions and ensure that your future self avoids procrastination.
Even when you’ve set the stage for productivity, Martin recommends taking short breaks while working on tasks. “If you’re sitting at your desk and your brain is fried, whatever you do in that state is probably not going to be your best work. If you can take a moment to recover and re-visit the task, whether it’s in 10 minutes or the morning, that’s going to energize you and make a big difference in your output,” she told CNBC.
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