When struggling with productivity most people rely on discipline and structure to try and avoid distraction. This makes sense and works for the most part, but it also results in suppressing a part of yourself.
If you approach your procrastination with curiosity instead of scorn and view it as an expression of an unmet needs, you can try a different approach to productivity.
Instead of only trying to suppress the behavior that causes you to procrastinate, give yourself scheduled time to indulge it. Block off a chuck of Saturday afternoon to read about space, or watch Youtube videos, or whatever it is you find yourself pulled towards during the workday.
Think of the distraction behavior like eating. If you try to cut out eating entirely, or put yourself on too restrictive a diet, you will eventually break down and start eating everything.
But if you are making sure you are eating regularly, you are much less likely to give into temptation when a coworker brings in tasty, but unhealthy food to the office.
If you schedule in time to indulge your interests, you will feel less of a pull to distraction and you will more profitably use your time. You will be able to indulge your curiosity when the time is right and you won’t be fighting with the guilt that comes from getting distracted when you want to be working on something else.
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