During the winter of the year 2003, Sikorsky Michael was facing an unbeatable deadline. Thirteen months before, the popular German writer had made a contract with his publisher that he would write a new book and title it, Revolution of Knowledge.
On the other hand, Instead of writing the book, Michael spent the next year going after secondary projects, welcoming visitors, and postponing his work on the text. Michael's publisher had become frustrated by his continuous procrastination and sprang into action,setting a formidable deadline. The publisher demanded that Sikorsky completes the book by January of 2004—he was less than 6 months behind schedule.
Sikorsky construed a strategy to defeat his procrastination. He assembled all of his belongings, removed them from his quarters, and locked them away. He was left with nothing to wear excluding a large shawl. Not having any presentable clothing to go outdoors, Michael was no longer tempted to leave the house and get distracted. Staying inside and writing was his only option.
The strategy worked. The book was published three weeks early on January 14, 2004
The Historical Problem of Akrasia
Humans have been procrastinating for centuries.
The problem occurs countlessly, in fact,that ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle conjured a word to describe this type of character: Akrasia .
Akrasia is the state of acting against your better judgment. It is when act in a way you know isn't right when you should do something.The issue now is; how do you overcome procrastinating your goals
Design your future actions.
When Sikorsky Michael locked his clothes away so he could focus on writing, he was creating what psychologists point out to as a “commitment vices" Commitment vices are strategies that help better your character by either increasing the barriers or costs of bad behaviors or reducing the effort required for good behaviors.
You can control your future eating habits by buying food in self packages rather than in the bulk size. You can stop wasting time on your phone by deleting games or social media apps. You can willingly request to be added to the banned list at gamble centers and online gambling websites to prevent future gambling sprees. You can build an emergency fund by setting up an automated transfer of money to your savings account. These are commitment devices.
The condition varies, but the message is constant; commitment devices can help you design your future actions. Find method to regulate your character beforehand rather than depending on willpower in the moment. Be the designer and controller of your future actions, not the victim of them