Why Emotionally Intelligent People Adopt the 30 for 30 Plan to Overcome Procrastination and Tackle a Big Goal or Build a New Habit

First of all: we all procrastinate. From time to time, we all put things off. Even the things we really need or want to accomplish. In fact, the more important the task or project, the more likely we are to postpone it.

Obviously, that doesn't make sense. Why would we find ways - passively or actively - to avoid starting the tasks that we think will make a huge difference in our professional or personal lives?

For one thing, we're built that way.

The science behind procrastination

The limbic system - Seth Godin calls it your "lizard brain" - is the part of your brain that helps control behavioral and emotional responses, and it plays a key role in adapting to survival.< /p>

The limbic system focuses on the present moment. You are thirsty ? Beverage. To fear? To hide. Do you feel attacked? Flee or retaliate.

Are you about to do something difficult? Put it back.

Even though your neocortex (the part of your brain that takes care of higher-order functions such as cognition, spatial reasoning, and most relevantly, making decisions about your future) has decided that doing something something hard or difficult will really be good for you.

That is why we have postponed the launch of this business plan. Or make a bunch of cold calls. Or dealing with a problem employee. Or start an exercise program. Or any of the things that your neocortex knows will pay off down the road - but that seem too difficult, intimidating, or painful for your limbic system to begin doing.

That's why we procrastinate: not because we're lazy (OK, I'm a little lazy), not because we lack the will, not because we don't have what it takes ...but because our limbic system and our neocortex are constantly at odds.

And, since the limbic system is more powerful - logic rarely stands a chance against terror - it often wins.

And we procrastinate, at least until the fear of not doing something important outweighs the fear of starting.

The 30 for 30 diet

So how do you overcome your limbic system's short-term focus so that the long-term view of your neocortex can come to the fore?

Make your emotions work for you, not against you – an essential part of emotional intelligence – and adopt Sahil Bloom's 30 for 30 plan to trick your limbic system into thinking it's winning.

The 30 for 30 plan is simple:

Choose something meaningful that you want to do. Start a new business. Develop a new product. Start exercising. Start reading more. Something you wanted to do, but didn't. Commit to 30 minutes of focused effort each day for 30 consecutive days. Work on your business plan. Get rid of your new product. Sit in a quiet place and read. Go for a walk or jog. Add some positive pressure, if that's your thing. Tell someone your plan. Use an accountability partner to hold you accountable not for a particular outcome, but for sticking to the plan. Track daily execution with a calendar. (Similar to the Jerry Seinfeld Method, a goal-achieving approach I've written about before.)

Why 30 days? According to Bloom, this time frame creates a "razor sharp" of engagement. Thirty days isn't a lot, but it's more than a little. If the goal isn't meaningful, you'll struggle to commit for 30 days.

Why 30 minutes? Bloom calls it...