3 Ways to Stop Procrastinating After Winter Vacation, Inspired by Atomic Habits

Winter blues are coming on strong this year. It's the season to loaf around, or so my brain is telling me. If I were a bear, I'd be deep in hibernation, wallowing among baked goods and unwrapped Christmas gifts, dreaming of an easy-breezy 2024.

Doing anything productive, it seems, is an uphill battle.

Struggling to work? You're far from the only person struggling to get their butt into the office. One 2017 study by Redbooth found that winter is the least productive season on average, with January as the least productive month of the year. It's a whole thing.

This is your gentle reminder that taking a vacation is okay, but procrastination typically leaves you feeling stressed and anxious. Thankfully, it's fixable. Here are three ways to stop procrastinating after winter vacation, inspired by the NYT bestseller Atomic Habits.

1. Follow the two-minute rule

This one trick has gotten several articles published, including this one. It's simple. When I want to write an article, but I feel like staying in bed, I'll tell myself just to take a quick peek at the assignment. I commit to working on it for two minutes. Then I'll quit, if I feel like it.

I rarely feel like quitting once I've hit the two-minute mark. Hours will fly by before I emerge, blinking, from my writerly trance. I'll wonder how the heck I've gotten so much done.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, calls this the two-minute rule. Clear suggests that if a habit can be done in less than two minutes, you should do it immediately. This helps in overcoming procrastination and building momentum.

2. Reward yourself with something nice

It's shockingly easy to bribe myself into being productive. Typically, I do so by cracking open a Peach Mango Celsius can. The Pavlovian hiss of escaping air drags my fingers to my writer's desk faster than the promise of money in my bank account.

Coffee, tea, or a snack can work just as well. So long as you reward yourself with something nice immediately, you can feel good long enough to overcome the tallest hurdle: getting started.

James Clear calls this temptation bundling, pairing a task with something you enjoy. Instant gratification is a powerful motivator. In the short term, you can bribe yourself with whatever's on hand to stop procrastinating. In the long term, you can use this to form good, sticky habits.

3. Sit somewhere else

When the two-minute rule fails -- when not even the crackle-snap-pop of Celsius can get my creative juices flowing -- I pack up my belongings. Laptop in hand, I journey to a far-off land, one commonly known as the living room. There, I sip my drink and get to work.

Sounds weird, but sometimes, moving my workplace from one room to another gets my fingers moving. I've also gone to cafes and bookstores with similar results.

James Clear calls this choice architecture. Sometimes, your environment holds you back. One way to overcome this is by changing locations. If you're feeling unproductive, go somewhere you'll be surrounded by productive-seeming people. It could kill procrastination dead.

Knocking out those 2024 resolutions

New year, new you. Some healthy habits can get you moving toward your goals, whether you're paying off debt or putting money toward that vacation fund.

I've been through this song and dance before. Sometimes, I succeed. Often, I don't. The key is to be gentle with myself. Taking it one step at a time has helped me actually stick with the habits I'm trying to create -- in 2024, I'm improving my personal finances.

Feel free to take two minutes to do something productive right now. Fill out that form, schedule that meeting, or send that text. You'll be building momentum before you know it.