Procrastination Hack: The Slow Switch

A traffic light depicting stop and slow.
Photo by Keiron Crasktellanos on Unsplash

At 8:45 am, I needed to get ready for my 9 am Burpee Workout and found myself on TikTok scrolling through my favorite creators.

As if TikTok was reading my mind, this video by Josh Terry came up.

He recommends a slow switch between an active rest (like scrolling social media) and the actual challenging task you need to do.

His recommendation was to put the phone down and take five deep breaths, holding the breath longer each time.

For those of us who have devoured personal development books in the last few years, this is very similar to Mel Robbins 5-Second Rule (affiliate link).

His reasoning was sound: it was better to put off an important task for 20 minutes of deep breathing than for three hours of mindless scrolling.

So, I put down my phone and took five deep breaths. Then five more.

I was ready to move on and work out within a few minutes.

So, the next time you feel the pull of procrastination, give this slow switch a try.

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Author, email coach, and creative mind behind Say It Simply Productions. Rebelliously positive, probably caffeinated. Central Jersey citizen.

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Stephanie Cansian

Author, email coach, and creative mind behind Say It Simply Productions. Rebelliously positive, probably caffeinated. Central Jersey citizen.