I’m sitting in bed and sipping coffee from my bedside coffeemaker (literally one of the best decisions I’ve ever made). Ever-so-slightly hung chowder, I’m watching Charles Barkley argue with Shaq on YouTube. While entertaining, I’m beginning to feel the all-too-familiar pang of “man I should really be doing, you know, an actual thing.” I figure it’s apt sharing another tactic I use for combating procrastination.

The But-Rebuttal Method

I mean, it's just fun saying "But Rebuttal."

Anyway. When we think about doing something productive, it’s easy giving ourselves excuses in the form of buts. I dunno, something like, say:

“I could go for a run, but…”

-I’m just too tired

-I’m feeling lazy

-I’m not in the mood, etc

Standard stuff. However, if we challenge this thinking with a But Rebuttal (Jesus Christ, I'm still eight years old), the tone shifts entirely.

“I could go for a run, but I’m not in the mood”

-I’ll feel more into it once I get started, and afterwards I’ll feel amazing

“But running takes a long time”

-I can always run a shorter distance today

“But I’m too tired”

-Just do a little bit and rest

“But I’d rather rest now and watch Netflix”

-I can, but I’ll feel like a giant sack of crap, and deciding not to run will hang over my head all day

“But I’m just a lazy person”

-That can’t be true- I’ve run on numerous occasions in the past

Just keep going until you’re out of excuses. If you're anything like me, this can sometimes take a while, but I'm eventually always able to drag my ass out the door.

Doing stuff can be overwhelming, sure, but I find doing something- almost anything- is better than doing nothing. That said, hey, I’ve written this post, and I’m out of coffee. Time to hang out by the fence with Big Country.

Happy January 19th, everybody!