I started journaling about why I procrastinate and holy crap, my productivity skyrocketed

I've always been a chronic procrastinator (hello fellow "due tomorrow = do tomorrow" gang 👋). I tried everything - pomodoro, website blockers and even meditation. Nothing works in the long run. But about 2 months ago, I started doing somthing that actually changed things for me.

I began keeping a "procrastination journal" (sounds stupid, I know, but hear me out). Every time I caught myself procrastinating, I'd quickly jot down:

  • What I was supposed to be doing
  • What I was doing instead (usually scrolling Reddit or watching yt shorts)
  • How I was feeling in that moment

And then I would read it at the end of the day. At first, it felt pointless. But after a few weeks, I started noticing patterns. Turns out, I wasn't just being "lazy" - I was avoiding specific types of tasks when I felt overwhelmed or unsure where to start. I am a software dev who also do the product management at my company. And I hate doing "research" on features.

The weird thing is, just being aware of these patterns made them easier to deal with. When I know that if i had to do research, greater changes i won't be productive today. And now Instead of beating myself up, I started break down the scary tasks into smaller chunks.

I'm not saying I'm some productivity guru now and I still waste time watching stupid yt videos when I should be working. But holy shit, the difference is night and day. Projects that used to take me forever to start are getting done without the usual last-minute panic.