Louis Rossmann has a video about procrastination in which he says a bunch of things, but the thing that stuck with me the most was the idea of personal freedom and giving oneself the choice of many different actions.

The idea is simple: instead of fixating on the large task weighing on your mind and lamenting and beating yourself up over how much you have to do, acknowledge and present to yourself the option of not doing the task.

If you have a large report due at midnight, acknowledge the possibility of not doing the report. You may get a zero on the report, or have to do it late, or even fail the class, but you have the choice of whether to do it or not. Giving yourself this choice is the key idea.

It’s also possible to take this idea a step further by giving yourself the choice between the important task, and whatever you would like to do instead. So if you want to eat goldfish and watch funny videos instead of doing the report, then say to yourself: “I can either write my report, or I can eat goldfish and watch videos.” You are then free to weigh the pros and cons, and choose whichever option seems best. You may choose to not do the important task—and that’s okay! The important thing is giving yourself the choice, and choosing the option that is really the best for you.

The second option doesn’t have to be something leisurely and ‘unproductive’ either. Perhaps you have another assignment that is less urgent but easier. You can give yourself the choice between the report and the easier assignment. It doesn’t have to be a binary choice either. Add a third option if that’s appropriate. I recommend against going too crazy though, excessive options will lead to analysis paralysis.

Giving yourself this choice does a few important things: it frees you from the burden of worrying about your important task, allows you to get in touch with the source of procrastination as well as your values and goals, and restores a sense of freedom that you may have been lacking.

Giving yourself the choice and then choosing the best option means that whichever choice you make, you can go about it with full confidence that it is really what you want to be doing. You don’t have to worry about whether you need to be doing something else. This means less worry, less stress, and more focus. (Though, if you picked videos, it may be a good idea to set a timer and re-evaluate after 30 minutes or so. Setting a timer and taking a break is actually a good idea regardless of what choice you make.)

Second, giving yourself the goldfish and videos option will help you get in touch with the part of you that’s causing the procrastination. Reflecting on what you’d rather be doing will aid in understanding that particular part of yourself, and understanding is the first step toward control. Evaluating the two choices will also require you to get in touch with your goals and desires, so that you pick the option you really want. Understanding your true goals is important for mental health [citation needed].

The last effect this has is to restore a sense of personal freedom. According to Louis, procrastination is a response to feeling forced to perform a particular action, like homework. Whether or not that is true, giving yourself a choice reinforces the idea that you are free to choose your own destiny, which is a feeling that I believe everyone strives to experience.

I have been using this tactic for the last week and a half or so, and have found it to be consistently beneficial. Regardless of which choice I make, I know it is what I really want to do, so I don’t have to worry. Sometimes it turns out to be the ‘unproductive’ choice, and that’s okay. Accepting whatever choice is best is part of what makes this work.

Sometimes a short break from the grind is exactly what I need, and I come back to it refreshed and ready to work. Other times I may just need some variety, and working on a different task for a while is better than slogging away at the same old problem.

I hope you get a chance to try out this technique. I recommend pairing it with the ‘tomato timer’ or ‘pomodoro technique’ in which you set a timer, work for 20 or 25 minutes, and then take a 5- or 10-minute break where you stand up, stretch, and walk around. At the end of the break, you can either give yourself the choice again, or just go straight back in to the task at hand.

Good luck! And share any ideas, critiques or success stories you may have.