Use the STING method to stop procrastinating

Mon, 2005/11/07 - 21:16 — matt

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There's been a number of writings on overcoming procrastination, with a tidy summary at Recap: Turning procrastination into action. However, one technique that I hadn't heard of was presented last week during an on-campus seminar ("Developing organization skills to be more effective in the workplace"). It's called the "STING" method of addressing procrastination, and it's an acronym that stands for:

S - Select one task.
T - Time yourself.
I - Ignore everything else.
N - No breaks.
G - Give yourself a reward.

In my case I applied it to a programming task that I've been avoiding for almost two months. I set the timer for one hour (3 x 20 minute increments worked well), quit my email program and browser, and closed my office door. The beauty of it is ... it worked! Friday and today I was able to put in enough hours to get that piece working (using Test-driven development, of course). Actually, it was better than that - I was able to get enough momentum to keep going a while; very satisfying. Oh, the reward? Chocolate! (Lately I've been enjoying Lake Champlain's Small World Chocolates - nothing like their usual chocolate, by the way.)

References

Surprisingly, the only reference to this I could find on-line was It's All about Mothers and Babies, where they provide a bit more detail:

Select one task you've been putting off. Break it down to just one small piece if it's complicated. For instance, if the task is cleaning the kitchen, reorganizing a drawer is just one piece of the larger task.
Time yourself. Use a kitchen timer so you don't have to watch the clock and give the task one full hour. Children might need to reduce that time to just 10 or 15 minutes.
Ignore everything else that needs to be done.
No breaks allowed.
Give yourself a reward when the task is completed.

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Comments

Fri, 2010/02/12 - 16:57 - c-g

I call it: protect your project.

and yes... it works.

Sun, 2010/02/14 - 15:30 - matt

I'd like to hear more,

I'd like to hear more, clon-gimini.

Thu, 2010/01/07 - 19:37 - Anonymous

STING sounds like a good

STING sounds like a good well thought-out medicine. .will test it later :)

Fri, 2010/01/08 - 08:37 - matt

I love your attitude - test

I love your attitude - test it. Thanks for reading.

Thu, 2010/01/07 - 14:50 - ingrid

irony: finding this post while using Stumble Upon.

oh yeah.

Fri, 2010/01/08 - 08:31 - matt

Thanks for being here,

Thanks for being here, ingrid.

Wed, 2010/01/06 - 10:10 - RBerenguel

Interesting...

But I thing I have seen it elsewhere, just don't know where. A year or so ago I was procrastinating a lot, and decided to give it up while writing a nice and long post to my blog... I went blog from blog looking for ideas, tips and suggestions, and more or less found your way (it is a mix of 5*(10+2) where you work for a while, non-stop, and setting a specific mail&browse time) but not exactly as a method per-se, but as a mix of methods.

Anyway, it was an interesting stumble, thanks for sharing. I'll keep a look in your blog.

Fri, 2010/01/08 - 08:33 - matt

I'm glad you found something

I'm glad you found something that works, if I understand correctly. Creating a productivity system is personal, and requires adapting as you've done. Thanks for writing, RBerenguel. (P.S. I love the name of your blog :-)

Sun, 2009/12/20 - 00:03 - Anonymous

its funny because the

its funny because the website i looked at before this was about how to procrastinate

Fri, 2010/01/08 - 08:33 - matt

:-) Now, having found my

:-) Now, having found my blog, maybe you can get some help.

Sun, 2009/10/25 - 08:38 - Anonymous

like it

it works

Mon, 2009/10/19 - 00:30 - Matthew

Glad I stumbled this

I was stumbling (procrastinating) and I came across this article. You've inspired me in just a couple minutes, I actually got some work done today haha :-P

Mon, 2009/10/19 - 12:16 - matt

Hey, Matthew. Thanks for

Hey, Matthew. Thanks for sopping by. Give me a holler if you need more help :-)

Sun, 2009/10/04 - 20:27 - Lisa

lol

I book-marked this so that I can read it later!.......LOL!

Mon, 2009/10/05 - 07:36 - matt

I don't get the reference, Lisa

Not sure the connection b/w STING and deferring tasks...

Mon, 2009/10/05 - 00:51 - Anonymous

Apply sting then

You definitely need to apply sting not to bookmark it to read it later. LOLs

Tue, 2009/08/25 - 20:48 - Ratfuzz

Wow!

I have to get a paper done that is already late due to my procrastination. I'm going to try this now!

And by the way, my procrastination actually helped me find this. I was Stumbling because I didn't want to do it, and I Stumbled across this. =D Weird how things work.

Fri, 2009/08/28 - 11:21 - matt

Embrace synchronicity

Any path here is a good path?

Thu, 2009/08/27 - 15:55 - Milo

stumbled

LOL, I stumbled too :)
Unbelievable site, I really like it, found it while stumbling for some beauty supply sites.

One of these days, I'll get through this list :)

Cheers,

Milo

Fri, 2009/08/28 - 11:20 - matt

Glad you found my

I'm a tad skeptical of the path, but hey!

Mon, 2007/11/26 - 16:32 - matt

Hey, Don - thanks a bunch!

Hey, Don - thanks a bunch! I'm always very pleased when something I write is helpful. Keep on reading - it's often listed as the #1 way to go places, earn more, etc.

Sun, 2007/11/25 - 06:54 - Anonymous

This blog is one of the most

This blog is one of the most interesting and useful sites I have read. I too am feeling a kinship with you. I am a procrastinator of the highest order. I also want to read lots of books but don't have the time it would 'normally' take to read every word. I believe these two issues are keeping my income from going out of this world. I make over $70k a year but I know I can do better. I expect to read your blog regularly from now on. Thanks for creating your blog and congratulations on your growth also.
Don Baggarly, Lakewood, WA

Thu, 2007/03/22 - 14:52 - matt

Thanks for the great

Thanks for the great addition, Thea. Also, I like your web site. Cheers!

Thu, 2007/03/22 - 13:53 - Thea

Then of course, there's

Then of course, there's always the option of STINGER, adding Exult and Review after the Reward!

Not sure how that fits with the various programming languages :)

The reward is my favorite bit. Never could resist good chocolate.

Namaste, Thea

Thu, 2006/11/30 - 16:06 - matt

Thanks, Bob - I like it!

Mon, 2006/11/27 - 14:18 - Anonymous

I could not help but an "R"

I could not help but an "R" item:

R - Review the Desired Outcome.

By reviewing the desired outcome, you clarify what you are trying to do, and put the ends rather than the means front and center. Besides, that spells STRING, a much better programmer acronym. :)

Sun, 2006/11/12 - 17:30 - matt

Thanks very much for the

Thanks very much for the pointer, David. I've tried once to work through the book, but couldn't do it. I should try again - many others have recommended it as well. Cheers!

Sun, 2006/11/12 - 17:07 - David, aka, Mac

I read an excellent book on

I read an excellent book on procrastination: The Now Habit by Neil Fiore (or more strictly, The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play): http://tinyurl.com/y8avo6

It starts by outlining the psychology of procrastination (fear of failure, perfectionism, fear of success, etc.). It goes on to how to reframe your commitments from "have to's" to "I choose to", etc. Then focus on getting projects to the right level of granularity, just starting things, planning with a reverse schedule (backwards from completion date). It includes novel scheduling methods (eg, the "Unschedule" where you schedule the play and exercise first and make them inviolate). Use a procrastination log to get objective data on your your actual vs. intended work, logging of what things happen when you procrastination. There is a long section on methods for relaxation and getting into the flow state for high-performance work. It concludes with suggestions on how to live with and work with procrastinators.

For me, the reframing and scheduling play are going to help most.

I think it's a good complement to GtD. I recommend a read.

Mon, 2006/08/07 - 14:51 - matt

Hey, Uncle. Thanks for

Hey, Uncle. Thanks for comment, and for reading. I would like to balance the single-mindedness with "enjoying the ride," which I honestly could use some help with.

Regarding Zen and buy-in, I'm not sure... The concept of maintaining pure focus is central, of course. I'd like to hear more about your insight, Uncle.

Sun, 2006/08/06 - 22:12 - Uncle

There is something Zen about

There is something Zen about this approach, in particular the singular minded-ness of doing only what you are currently doing.

"Zen" seems to come up a lot in productivity circles. Just curious: Matt, have you found it a useful angle to pursue, in terms of techniques or promoting buy-in?

Tue, 2005/11/08 - 13:36 - matt

Thanks for the comment,

Thanks for the comment, Jason. I like how you highlighted the focus aspect. Sorry about the flight attendants!

Tue, 2005/11/08 - 07:24 - Jason

Wow, we must have been on

Wow, we must have been on the same "mental page" today... I was doing this exact thing - without knowing it had a name - during my travels today.

In fact, as long as I wasn't interrupted by the (cranky) flight attendants, I got a lot done! The idea of "closing" what I am NOT going to do, and only looking at what there is TO DO was very powerful for me.

Tue, 2009/10/06 - 06:54 - Shabbar Suterwala