don't watch this if you’re avoiding work

Why do we procrastinate work and studying? Exams, deadlines and essays - we all put them off until the last moment. In this video, Taha explores why we procrastinate, how we can actually stop procrastinating and most importantly how delicious frogs can be. Move over Matt D'Avella & Ali Abdaal. It's time for Taha D'Avella? Taha Abdaal?

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SOCIAL MEDIA
Sabrina
Melissa
Taha

CREDITS
Produced by Taha Khan
Video Editing by Joe Trickey
Motion Design by Olivér Varga & Krisztina Varga

MUSIC

RECOMMENDED READING

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate:

Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Effortless by Greg Mckeown

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - procrastination is ruining my life
1:12 - why procrastination is bad
1:49 - *checks notes* - it's worse than you think
2:00 - tangible consequences, uh oh
2:50 - intangible consequences (even MORE uh oh)
3:33 - why do we procrastinate?
4:28 - how to stop procrastinating, in 5 easy steps.
4:40 - TAHA'S FAVOURITE APP IS SPONSORING HIM !!!!!!
5:55 - i made an anti-procrastination notion template for u
6:08 - step 1: eat the frog
6:36 - failure and pain
7:12 - step 2: eat the tiny, delicious frog (the two minute rule)
8:14 - step 3: building a library (co-working)
8:44 - step 4: the walled garden (commitment devices)
9:17 - step 5: stop working (how doing less helps you do more)
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Welcome to the joke under the fold!

i'll put a joke here later!

Leave a comment with the word FROG to let me know you were here ;-)

[answerinprogress]

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:)

[javierquinterosurzua]

Im watching this while avoiding other tasks. Namely, getting out of bed

[rhondawest]

I learned from Rick Green to differentiate between a "task" and a "project". If there's only one step, it's a task. More than one task is a project. Understanding that something like doing the laundry is a project means all I have to do to get started is one task. Helped me to reduce my procrastinating.

[milemaken]

I added this video to my watchlist like 3 months ago and been avoiding it since 😭😭

[luckyk]

I actually tried to get over my procrastination once... But the problem is, my brain has never failed me at the last minute: assignments got high marks in school & now my projects at work get complimented. I just can't seem to be creative when there's no risk of failure involved.

[loghanwiththeh]

This video came right as I’m procrastinating…perfect!

[bunniebie]

i've always considered high-functioning procrastination to be a sort of "failing up." you're getting the thing done, but you aren't learning it as you should or reaping the full breadth of experience that comes with doing it paced over time. then you are less-equipped in future situations because you haven't learned properly, but because you successfully did the thing that one time, people now expect you to. it's not ideal.

2 year edit: it was adhd all along. like, so much adhd. i've gotten diagnosed and medicated since making this comment, and hoo boy. life is good, medication has been a godsend, especially for actually keeping up with university workloads. it has also basically nuked my anxiety and depression - turns out they were symptoms of a much larger issue. adhd coaching has also helped a lot with learning to manage stuff and is something people can look at without a diagnosis - if you relate a lot with both this video and this comment, look into it, it may help a heap. idk, life is good, and we all deserve that.

[GingerPale]

V useful video, made me clean my room right away :) happy 12th taha!

[bloodrenaline]

I.. procrastinated watching this video
Clicked on this, then went to get a snack, forgot to bring a drink, so I went to get a drink again. Took out all my subject notebooks in which I have homeworks in, then drew a picture on a post-it. Forgot about this video and searched for a playlist I might like. Took another 20 minutes search for songs because I kept changing the playlist. Found a text from a friend, then remembered to start on homework. Looked at the work, then realized I didn't text back my friend, so did it. Saw my phone on my desk, played games for around an hour. Rememebered about my homework again, then wanted to procrastinate, so went into my youtube tab to find this video again. I'm still half way through the video, and I'm writing all of this in the comment section :)

[thatiskat]

One of my fave anti-procrastination tips is to keep a post it note on my desk where I write down the distractions that pop into my head while I'm working. For example, if I'm working away and my brain suddenly thinks it would be a good idea to check Instagram, I can just quickly write that down and get back to what I'm doing. And then when I've completed the task, checking the distracting item list is like a reward 🏆

[itsdivyag]

Also the library thing is me but once you stop feeling self conscious it’s all over…

[megh]

This was actually useful. I got obsessed with "productivity" channels during my PhD and they all focused too much on your last point about resting and I always felt like their advice didn't apply to me because they came at it with the assumption that you're burnt out and already working hard. My problem is that I'm scrolling and anxious and then I feel bad at the end of the day for not doing any work at all. PhDs don't really have hard deadlines (and the work I do now is kind of similar with soft deadlines). No real tangible repercussions - it was a difficult transition coming from years of highschool/undergrad education where everything has hard deadlines and I always knew I was able to meet them.

[ahobbit]

You are the only person I’ve ever seen in a video like this who I feel actually understands the problem and struggles with it himself. The part about “eating the frog” and just putting off doing anything because you’re avoiding the hard task really hit home. Thank you for this video. It helped.

[raininess]

In addition to the "instant gratification" explanation there's also the "fear of failure" aspect, I think. There's that feeling of knowing the result won't be up to my expectations and it oftentimes keeps me from starting... which then leads to not working on any projects I've been planning for years, which then leads to stressing out over the likeliness of dropping dead before getting any personal projects done increasing every day. OTL

[carrotylemons]

Absolutely love the color of the background wall, combined with the lamps and animation. Very aesthetically pleasing.

[savanabanana]

as someone who has ADHD, this sounds like very textbook ADHD struggles! it's not exclusive to it ofc, but procrastinating EVERYTHING and being unable to stay focused on something long enough to get it done was a huge reason why I sought out diagnosis haha

[SAIKA_SAN]

Honestly I find setting an inescapable schedule helps put pressure on myself to not procrastinate. What I mean by this is creating a commitment (making an appointment or reservation at some point of time) which you absolutely cannot miss or there will be huge consequences. By doing this I've cut down on procrastinating a lot because now the time slot for doing work is a lot more restricting rather than previously where I would have plenty of time to do nothing and cram everything at 11am.

[ibiteni]

i was going to say “well at least i don’t procrastinate playing minecraft” but then i remembered that i do, in fact, procrastinate playing minecraft. what a life

[itsdivyag]

Bro the quality of these videos increase every upload 👌👌

[brendapartida]

Have not finished vid yet but that edit at 0:26 of 9:00am -> 9:01am -> 11:27pm is unbelievably satisfying.