The Sneaky Productivity Killer You Pretend Not To Notice

Do you use this phrase to put off important work?

It’s the single most deadly word to wannabe writers, entrepreneurs, salespeople and anyone else who dreams of achieving anything.

It’s part of an insidious phrase we tell ourselves. It sounds rational and logical, but it’s nothing more than a tool for procrastination, triggered by fear.

Fifteen years ago, I launched a new business selling mortgages. To succeed, I had to sell.

But the act of selling terrified me. I thought the answer to my problems was a sales coach. He became a trusted mentor who taught me much about the profession.

No matter how much I learned, I couldn’t overcome the mental block

For the first month of my business, I sold nothing. I did not even attempt to sell anything. I invented one excuse after another. I later realized it was always the same excuse dressed in different clothing.

My excuses were completely reasonable.

First, I had to wait until I secured a full complement of lenders to work with. I couldn’t start without a full suite of products to sell. Sounds reasonable, right?

I had finally lined up my product suite, but I needed an office with privacy. Sure, I had a home office but that didn’t count. I couldn’t start until I rented an office. Yes, I shelled out a small fortune for an office I didn’t need, but I was finally ready to start selling.

But wait…

Was I knowledgeable enough about the business? No, I wasn’t. It was obvious. I couldn’t start until I solidified my knowledge. I signed up for a course which bought me a few weeks of downtime to learn before I earn.

Have you noticed the keyword in all these excuses?

Until.

It’s one of the ugliest words in the quest for human achievement. It sneaks itself into a variety of phrases.

I need to wait until I [fill in the blank] before I [fill in the blank].

Before I do [fill in the blank], I must wait until [fill in the blank] happens.

I can’t do it until [fill in the blank].

I can’t start until [fill in the blank].

I’m not a violent person, but if the word until were a concrete, physical entity, I would drag out back in the middle of the night and beat the shit out of it.

Yes, I know there are legitimate uses of the word, but when we use it in self-talk, it rarely serves our best interest.

Are there legitimate reasons why you can’t begin important work or take on a new task until you fulfill a prerequisite? Of course. You can’t start practicing medicine until you’re a doctor. You can’t practice certain professions until you earn a proper license.

Those are legitimate reasons, but that’s not where you sabotage yourself with destructive self-talk.

Most of these excuses exist only in our imagination

I can’t start blogging until I do other things first (taking courses, getting approval from others, practicing on my private drive).

I can’t start selling until I take three courses on selling, get my website in pristine condition, and get a note from my mother.

I can’t share my story until I come to terms with it and figure out its meaning.

It’s hard to go through life and not pull out the until excuse when you fear the outcome of the unknown.

It’s tempting to use because it makes sense to when you tell it to yourself. You decide to do something easy instead of something hard. The anxiety disappears.

You might realize on a subconscious level that you’re merely making an excuse by putting off something that causes you discomfort. You blow off that realization and pretend not to notice.

And here’s the worst part

When you put off your real work, the work you set out to do, you replace it with unnecessary activities.

Take the wannabe blogger who insists on taking a bunch of writing courses first. He thinks he’s productive by taking those courses. He keeps himself busy by watching videos and printing out pdf documents.

He hides behind non-essential activities to distract himself from doing work that matters. He’s busy, so he feels good about himself.

The newly minted consultant puts off that moment of reckoning where she makes that cold call to notch a sale and opts for a safe email blast. She feels good about herself because she’s busy doing something productive.

It’s a clever trick you play on your mind. You keep yourself busy without the risk of rejection, failure or ridicule, and you still believe you’re doing meaningful work. How could any human being resist a temptation like that?

We’re all guilty of falling for this insidious mind trick, so don’t beat yourself up.

What do you do about it?

You may not have been aware of your procrastination ploy until now. Maybe you had a subtle awareness of this destructive self-talk but pretended not to notice. You can’t ignore it any longer. Now that it’s front and center in your mind, what do you do about it?

Keep a constant reminder

I have a whiteboard above the desk in my home office. On top of the board, I wrote the phrase, I can’t until…

It’s easy to forget that you use this excuse to put off uncomfortable actions. By leaving this phrase in a prominent location where you make decisions to delay or move forward, it forces awareness on you.

Validate

Let’s suppose you’re at one of those moments. Move forward or delay until you fulfill some other requirement. Ask yourself these questions to determine if your delay is legitimate or a stealthy procrastination tactic.

Is the activity you’re putting off something scary, uncomfortable or uncertain? Are you risking failure, rejection or loss?
Is the until requirement essential or required to do the activity you’re delaying?
If the until requirement is non-essential or not required, then why do you insist on doing it first?

Why this works.

It forces you to come to terms with the real reason for your procrastination. The pain of acknowledging that your delay stems from fear can be more painful than the outcome you fear.

Just this once

Sometimes you need a little extra juice to motivate you past that invisible obstacle. Don’t berate or scold yourself into taking action. That approach damages your psyche, and it doesn’t work. There’s a simpler way.

Commit to doing it just once.

You’ll make one call.
You’ll post one story.
You’ll solicit one investor.

Whatever it is you’re putting off, commit to doing it only once. I’ve had to fight through this mental obstacle in sales, writing, and even hustling for a job. Once you do that difficult action once, it gets a tiny bit easier the next time. Keep committing to do it once until you do it with ease.