Combat Procrastination with the “No Zero Days” Method
Procrastination is a problem that just about everyone struggles with. Unfortunately, it is something that causes people a lot of stress and anxiety. In smaller doses, it can be a good thing, but once it gets out of control, it can be incredibly devastating.
If you often struggle with procrastination, you need to try out the “No More Zero Days,” which is a philosophy, method, and an idea that started with a comment on Reddit that has now gone viral and also has been an inspiration for the creation of a smartphone app.
Some people even view it as a lifestyle.
What’s behind the “No Zero Days” method?
A No Zero Day is a day when you have to ensure that you do at least one thing, no matter how small, that can help you in the pursuit of a particular goal. Motivation to pursue your goals is easy to find but hard to maintain. Discipline is what sustains you in the quest of your goals.
“No Zero Days” Guidelines and Rules
No More Zero Days has 4 rules or guidelines, which include:
1) There Are No More Zero Days
The days when you did nothing towards achieving your goals are gone.
It does not mean that you have to write a full essay or report, but rather the point is that you must make a promise to yourself, that you have started a new chapter in your life where you embrace the non-zero mindset.
If you want to get fit, start with one push-up. If you want to read at least one book every week/month, start with the first page of the first chapter. The one step you take towards achieving your goals is good since it is still better than zero.
If procrastination has taken over our life, change is the hardest thing for you to do. The mind wants to continue procrastinating since it does not require any effort to do so. Transforming into a productivity master-mind won’t happen overnight. It occurs from a consistent number of non-zero days.
2) Be Grateful to the 3 “You’s”
The 3 “You’s” are the past you, the future you, and the present you. The secret to loving somebody and getting as much love back is first to love yourself. Be grateful for all the positive things that you have done in the past. It is also important to treat the future you by doing positive things in the present that will help your tomorrow.
It can be a small thing, such as choosing to prepare a healthy dinner rather than ordering take-out or putting the 20 dollars you found in your wallet into your savings account instead of spending it on junk food.
The cycle of doing something for the future you and thanking the past you is an excellent way to build productivity and gratitude.
3) Forgive Thyself
One crucial aspectс of changing the future you are to be able to forgive the past you. If you are always blaming yourself for the things you never did, but you should have done, you are slowly killing your productivity and filling your mind with frustration and negativity.
Did you try your best not to have a zero day but still failed? It is no big deal since setbacks are to be expected regardless of what you do.
Forgive the past you and start focusing on doing better in the present for a better future you. Forgiveness is critical to helping others around you and improving yourself.
4) Books and Exercise
Reading and working out are two things that you will find in just about every self-improvement article out there. However, this advice is a critical part of improving oneself, which is the reason why you regularly see it.
Exercising every day (even if it’s just a 5-minute walk) has been shown to help you feel better. It helps clear your mind thus helping you focus better on your tasks for the day and your goals too. Exercising is also investing in your future self. Think about how much you will be thanking your past self in the future once you start seeing your abs taking shape or when you can run for miles.
Reading is another important investment that you can make in your future self. To get started with this, find books that you find interesting, educate yourself, and then strive for more knowledge. Within a short period, you will discover that you have increased your level of productivity.
In Summary: Combat Procrastination with “No Zero Days”
It is hard to get motivated in life some days. However, even a small step is exactly what you need to achieve your goals whether they are physical, financial, or any other area where you might require a bit of a push forward. The “No Zero Days” method is a way to stay motivated.
The “No Zero Days” method is a mean for serial procrastinators to find discipline even when they don’t have any. It is an incredibly simple concept that can go a long way towards improving your life. It is an incredibly simple and no-frills approach to living your life.
The “No Zero Days” productivity method will help you combat procrastination while helping you overcome feelings of restlessness usually present in serial procrastinators. It achieves this in small day-by-day increments and focusing on reality without promising miracles out of the box.
If you are a procrastinator, it is the agile mindset that you will enjoy, and you are the only person responsible for your actions in the end. Act now and start implementing the “No Zero Days” approach in your life today.
Further Steps to Take
You can take further steps to organize and prioritize your daily tasks. What I ‘ve found to be motivational is to keep track of my to-do list. The past references of the things I’ve marked as done keep me awake and up-to-date with my capabilities.
This, also, allows me to track productivity and progress. Using one to-do and email tool is the way to advance your organizational skills.