I’ve spent a lot of my time in my 19 years of living neglecting what’s important. I sit on my phone, doom-scrolling, pushing back every assignment to the very last minute. I’ll find any excuse to simply be lazy.
But what I’ve learned is the power of a simple three-letter word: yet. This can be both a blessing and a curse.
Originally, I used “yet” to relieve everyone around me. I say I haven’t done it yet, but yet means that it’ll get done eventually. That’s the curse, though. It allows me to procrastinate by tacking it to tasks I don’t want to do.
It left me as a liability, testing fate and precious time. It came to a point where my friends and I would always joke whenever someone said yet. We’d say, “Oh, but the power of yet!”
I never took this too seriously, as anyone who said it earned a laugh, but after a stressful first semester of college, I quickly realized I needed to flip my sorry excuse of yet around.
A blog from Medium by Jim Kwik explains what mindset is and how we can flip it. It reminded me that my frame of mind throughout life is so powerful that it can control not only how I grow, but also how I understand life around me.
Part of the blog explains how part of our mindset is biological. So this takes genuine effort within our neurological reward system to increase motivation and therefore mindset. With the help of Kwik’s list of ways to change mindset, there are ways to boost personal potential.
After having access to the key for my future, to aide my success and break down my habit of procrastination, that tiny, three-letter word was flipped.
Yet became a past tense. Whether I was drowning in assignments, stressed about something, or simply finding myself busy as ever, yet became a pulling point. It went from “I haven’t gotten to it yet” to “yet I made it through.”
So here are five ways that I flipped yet to be meaningful to me.
- Prioritize
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First, I make sure I have my priorities set, whether that’s my psychology reading or practicing the dance for the dance team I’m on.
Sometimes it helps to write a list out with due dates. Sometimes it helps to even plan my day by the hour. Either way, it has definitely increased my productivity.
- Not Won’t, But Will
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This one coincides more with the blog about mindset. Instead of saying “I haven’t done that yet” as means to push it off, I specify when I am doing something.
This simple addition in wording has almost rewired my brain to be constantly thinking of it. In my personal opinion, it has been way less likely to be pushed off.
- Grace is Key
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This is more unconventional, but giving yourself grace is so important. I know there are going to be time’s where I slip and end up sitting around doing nothing. Instead of wallowing over my minor setback, I recognize it and do better next time. Progression is not a linear line.
- Envision the Future
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It’s easy to get lost in the moment, frustrated by life, and simply want to do nothing. I’ve found that envisioning the future, and reminding myself what all of this is for, really helps me.
If I think about how finishing a writing assignment now will give me free time this weekend, I become way more likely to grind it out.
- Successive Rewarding
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I find it helpful to treat myself as a reward for checking one item off my list as done. Whether that’s watching an episode of a show, doing a face mask, getting a sweet treat or even a 20-minute bed-rot session, it seems to give me that much-needed break yet also reinforces my likelihood to stay productive.
While this might not work for everyone, it’s the reason I’ve stayed so productive. I hope these tricks can be even an ounce of help to anyone who comes across this in hopes of pulling you out of that rut. Turn procrastination into production.