An instant gratification monkey lives in the primitive areas of your brain. It’s with you at all times and tempts you to do things that are fun and easy.
But just because it spends as much time with you as your closest friends and family members would, doesn’t mean you should fulfil its needs. You should learn to ignore it and delay gratification.
Who Is the Instant Gratification Monkey?
In 2016, blogger Tim Urban gave a TED talk on procrastination. During his presentation, he provided good advice on how to beat procrastination. Urban argued that we all have two metaphorical creatures living inside of our mind: an instant gratification monkey and a rational decision maker.
- The instant gratification monkey lives in the oldest area of the brain, often referred to as the emotional brain. This region represents your instincts, impulses, and intuition and allows you to make decisions quickly and effortlessly.
- The rational decision maker resides in a more recent part of the brain, called the rational brain. This region operates on a logical schedule and gives you the ability to make rational decisions through various options.
Neuroscience tells us that emotions can overpower rationality.1
Our emotional side loves instant gratification. It likes to experience pleasure or fulfilment without delay or deferment. When it wants something, it wants it now.
While this way of thinking has its uses, it is not always an aid to productivity. To finish a large, important task, you must keep your long-term goals in mind and delay gratification (more on that later).
If you’re looking to improve your productivity at work, school, or in your business, then I recommend you get yourself a copy of Chris Bailey’s book, The Productivity Project. It is one of the only books that has lived up to its productivity claims for me, and taught me how I can achieve more in less time.
Chris Bailey’s The Productivity Project is a trenchant and entertaining year-long examination on a topic that concerns just about everyone at some point in their lives: how to be more productive at work and in every facet of your life.
The Instant Gratification Monkey Loves Procrastination
Our emotional side loves to put off tasks that don’t have immediate benefits. In other words: our “pet monkey” can turn us into a real procrastinator. If it is presented with the option to have a small reward now or a larger one later, it will always choose the former.
The emotional brain cannot think about the future. It wants instant gratification and is drawn to leisure activities. This is why it is much simpler to sit on the couch and watch TV than to change into athletic wear, drive to the gym, and do a rigorous workout.
Statistics show that procrastination affects approximately 20% of all adults and 50% of the student population.2 Procrastination affects many, especially when it comes to hard work we don’t enjoy doing.
We like to do fun things and enjoy the pleasure of the current moment. Our emotional side loves to check out new posts on Facebook and watch YouTube videos. It does not like to do hard things that take a long time, such as cooking elaborate meals or writing a 5,000-word senior thesis.
On top of that, many of us are surrounded by distractions. Companies are constantly fighting for our precious attention. Social media, emails, advertisements, mobile phones—you name it.
In a world where we’re always pulled away from the task at hand, focus seems impossible. The question becomes, “How do we get things done when we are presented with an abundance of choice?”
Defeat Procrastination by Ignoring the Instant Gratification Monkey
Procrastination is a habit that you can change.
The process that underlies any habit is a four-step model: cue, craving, response, and reward. This is something I learned in James Clear’s fantastic book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
This sequence is an endless cycle that is active every moment you are alive. It is also a great framework for working with our rational decision maker.
1. Minimize Distraction
A habit starts when you identify a cue in your internal or external environment. It is a trigger that causes a specific behavior to take place.
At its core, a habit is a response to your surroundings. From the vibrating iPhone on your study desk to the bowl of chips on your kitchen counter, items within sight often lead to actions.
To change the habit of procrastination, keep distractions to a minimum. Design your living spaces so that it is challenging to waste time.
2. Delay Impulses
You notice cues because you subconsciously associate them with positive thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This association leads to a craving, a powerful and often overpowering desire to engage in an activity that makes you feel good.
Studies have shown that cravings last anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes.3 When you feel inclined to follow through with an action that provides immediate pleasure, delay acting on the impulse for at least 10 minutes.
Try to gather up a tiny amount of willpower, and distract yourself by going on a walk, listening to music, or cleaning the house. Once enough time has passed, it is possible that the urge has disappeared.
Postponing action can weaken the craving and give you the chance to make a better choice, one that agrees with your rational decision maker.
Related: 25 Simple Ways to Stop Impulse Buying and Save Money (14 min. read)
3. Make It Difficult
To satisfy an urge, you take part in an action. The response is the third step of the habit loop and is the actual behavior you perform.
To abstain from an unwanted behavior, you want to increase the number of steps between you and the habit. If online shopping is having a negative impact on your focus, remove your credit card from smartphone apps and internet websites. To make a purchase, you will need to re-enter your bank information. By the time you find your wallet and submit your payment details, you will probably have given yourself enough time to think rationally.
Eliminate bad habits by making them more difficult to perform. Make it difficult to act impulsively and implement obstacles. The higher the resistance, the less likely you are to follow through.
4. Reward Yourself Often
Rewards provide reinforcement and encouragement. They aid your brain in remembering previous steps, making it more likely you will repeat a behavior in the future.
The reward is the motivational force behind any habit. The end goal of every repetition is to achieve some level of immediate pleasure.
Whenever you successfully delay gratification and overcome procrastination, give yourself a small reward. Treat yourself to a snack, your favorite TV show, or a trip to your local park. Do this immediately after so you form a connection between the response and the reward.
The Instant Gratification Monkey vs. The Rational Decision Maker
Your emotional and rational minds are at the root of your behavior.
The emotional mind lives in the present moment. It doesn’t consider the past, nor think about the future.
Remember: Your brain provides a happy playground for your “pet monkey”, who is is constantly scanning your surroundings for immediate rewards. Once it notices a cue, it will tempt you to act impulsively.
In a time where distractions are ever-so present, its important to be aware of our irrationalities. Defeat your inner gratification monkey and focus on what is important to you.
Look at a procrastinator’s brain and you’ll see that their emotional brain is overpowering the rational brain. This imbalance, however, can be changed.
Think twice when you’re tempted to do something that delivers an immediate reward, and I promise, you will make even more good choices.
References
- The triune brain theory hypothesized that the limbic system (the emotional area of the brain) is older and more developed than other parts of the forebrain.
- Harriott, Jesse, and Joseph R. Ferrari. “Prevalence of Procrastination among Samples of Adults.” Psychological Reports, vol. 78, no. 2, Apr. 1996, pp. 611-16, doi:10.2466/pr0.1996.78.2.611
- Heishman, Stephen J., et al. “Prolonged Duration of Craving, Mood, and Autonomic Responses Elicited by Cues and Imagery in Smokers: Effects of Tobacco Deprivation and Sex.” Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, vol. 18, no. 3, June 2010, pp. 245-56, doi: 10.1037/a0019401.