that you can use the 5 Second Rule to stop procrastinating.

And look, we all procrastinate.

We avoid the things that we know that we need to do,

and then we spend the rest of the day beating ourselves up.

It's amazing.

Actually, it sucks, doesn't it?

So how do you stop procrastinating?

Oh,

simple.

Just nail yourself to a chair.

That's what you do.

You tell yourself, no booze until you get it done.

That works.

No, it doesn't.

The reason why these things don't work

is because most of us don't even

understand what procrastination is.

I know I certainly didn't.

The reason why you procrastinate is not why you think.

Procrastination has nothing to do with work.

Procrastination is a stress reliever.

That's right.

It's a tool that you use to give yourself relief

from stress that you feel,

and the stress that you may be feeling right now.

Might be stressed about money,

you might be stressed about your health.

Maybe your stressed about something going on at work,

or about a relationship that you're in.

And the way that this relates to procrastination

is you're stressed out,

you got work you know you need to do,

but instead of doing it, you go online,

or you watch the highlights of last night's game,

or you waste an hour looking at Facebook.

And when you do that, when you avoid work,

makes you feel good,

but just for a minute.

See, this is where we get procrastination all wrong.

A lot of people think procrastination is about will power,

it means that you're lazy.

Has nothing to do with that.

It's all about your stress.

That's why your work ethic, or discipline,

that's not gonna solve this either.

The key to stopping procrastination,

number one, is understanding what it is,

it's a way that you deal with stress.

And number two, it's about five second decisions

that stop the cycle of procrastinating.

Because when you change your decisions,

you're gonna change everything.

And here's how you're gonna use the 5 Second Rule to do it.

When you catch yourself procrastinating,

or you feel yourself starting to avoid what you need to do,

use the rule.

Five, four, three, two, one,

activate your prefrontal cortex, and then acknowledge.

Acknowledge that you feel stressed out.

That's the first piece.

Then you're gonna use the 5 Second Rule to just get started.

That's it, for five minutes.

That's all I'm askin'.

Force yourself, I'm stressed out, I get it,

but I'm gonna work for five minutes.

Five, four, three, two, one, sit down and get started.

After you've worked for five minutes,

give yourself a break.

Watch all the cat videos you want, I don't really care.

The point here is that this is a way

that you can use the 5 Second Rule

in combination with research about beating procrastination

that puts you in control of your decisions.

Stacy found that when she used the 5 Second Rule

to improve her relationship with herself,

there was an amazing result, she stopped procrastinating.

In her words, "Your rule has helped me grow in ways

"I never thought possible.

"I no longer procrastinate on anything."

And the same is gonna be true for you.

Because when you understand that procrastination

is something that you do when you're stressed,

and you also understand that the secret

to beating procrastination, which is a habit,

is to just get started,

now you can use the 5 Second Rule

to leverage all the research

that will help you end the habit

of procrastinating once and for all.

To learn more about the science behind why this works,

why just getting started is the key,

and all of the science behind it,

I want you to read Chapter 11 of The 5 Second Rule book.

And it's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble,

and at your local bookstore.

- [Man] Cool.