How to Use Visual Cues to Relieve Lockdown Procrastination

Build momentum to boost your performance

Photo by Pedro da Silva on Unsplash

Lockdown and stress can cause significant disruption to your health, routine and productivity. Work from home has become an unescapable factor in life. Using visualisation techniques can be of great help to fight procrastination. Below you will find my approach. I have called it “Summit”.

We all know that when you feel stuck and not motivated, it does not help matters. Whether it is the job, relationships or life, many of us can experience a lack of motivation. As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeps the globe, and lockdown measures shut our lives, staying productive at home has become more challenging.
I suffer as much as you. I am a man of passion and love to lead my research group to fill knowledge gaps that affect us all. Despite my curiosity, I find it hard to motivate myself and do the things I usually love! It is a strange sensation, not feeling the urge to write that new manuscript, not push that project forward or suffer indecision. Guilt wipes out the enthusiasm and passion for what I do well — Frontier research in molecular biology.

Being stuck at home does not help your cause

It is already pretty clear where you can find yourself. In a negative spiral. A situation where motivational issues cause distress and distress reduced my drive to succeed and move forward. It took me a while to realise, but now that I do, I can try to reverse the trajectory towards the positive. The question, however, is how?

One way of turning the tide is to take small steps first and try to build momentum. Taking this action is easier said than done but with a little help, and the tool described below, possible.

Here is how I try to go about fighting my procrastination. It is not perfect and mostly based on my experience. If it helps me, it could benefit you too.

Visual cues

I respond to prompts and realise that visual signals are essential. I love seeing a piece of work taking shape (for example, a story I write that comes together). Visible evidence of progress lifts my mood; it gives me energy and motivates me to continue. That energy helps me push on and…