How do you feel when you read the word procrastination?
I bet some of you read it and told yourselves it does not apply to you?
Well, read on, you might be surprised.
Procrastination shows up in many ways, and we all have different levels of it. We have the clear procrastinators who know they always put things off; and then there are the rest of us who don’t consider ourselves procrastinators, but most probably have it show up in some way. If you have ever put something off, delayed an uncomfortable conversation, hesitated on a decision, or had a task on your to-do list for weeks, then you are procrastinating.
There is usually a reason or story behind it:
Maybe you are feeling unmotivated?
You have told yourself that you are not good at decision-making?
Do you just like to go with the flow?
You are too busy to do something you keep ‘meaning’ to do?
Or you tell yourself you’re rubbish at planning or taking action?
In reality, the reason behind procrastination is that we’ve got a self-regulation problem around the decision or the action rather than not being able to make it or do it, even if we tell ourselves otherwise.
So why fix it?
Well, putting things off raises our stress levels. We are carrying around the thoughts of what we are NOT doing or what we SHOULD be doing. This mental load can make us feel stressed, as though there is not enough time, and our experience of ourselves is one of failing, or not being good enough. All of which affects our productivity and how we show up in the world.
What we do when we procrastinate is we place immediate emotional needs ahead of our future needs, to make ourselves feel better in the moment.
The need to satisfy ourselves today, in that moment dominates. If we procrastinate, we will feel better now as we won’t have to make a decision that we’re not sure about or take the action that we don’t want to.
The ways procrastination shows up.
There are many ways it presents itself, here are a few that I come across when working with clients.
We may have a decision go round and round in our heads, unable to choose which is the right option.
We have a fear of making a poor decision. What if we decide to follow a course of action and it’s wrong? What if we fail to achieve what we want?
Sometimes leaving a decision for a short period helps us to consider everything involved and leads us to making a good decision, but if you do this every time, then it is becoming a pattern of not making decisions soon enough, and therefore procrastination.
Do you tell a story about decision making? I need to have a conversation with a team member, supplier, or customer first. Or do you put off talking about it and hope it goes away?
Deferring the problem means it builds, what is manageable now becomes a bigger problem for your team or your business further down the line. We are better off finding a way to regulate ourselves now, so that we can do it rather than procrastinate.
Is preparation becoming procrastination?
It’s definitely good to do some research before embarking on a new project or choosing something. You want to know what you are embarking on. But, there is a real danger of preparation actually being another form of procrastination if it’s stopping you from taking action.
Do you have trouble completing a task? Maybe you don’t want to do it because it’s boring or difficult? When we satisfy ourselves now by avoiding or procrastinating, it means we are no better able to do that work another day. It’s better to find alternative strategies to regulate ourselves now.
Here are some tips on how to stop procrastinating and get things done!
Identify why you are procrastinating and understand why it is causing you an issue.
Is it mundane? Is it the fear of it not being right? What is it?
Get under the hood of the problem and know why you’re procrastinating. Say to yourself, out loud, I’m avoiding this task/decision because… That way you admit you are avoiding something, bringing awareness to it is the first step in stopping it.
Write a list and do the worst thing first. Set clear goals and motivate yourself by thinking of the benefits to getting the task done or the decision made.
Make a list of the priorities for a period and decide when you will start something, don’t worry about whether you will finish, for now getting started is the problem you are solving.
Put less on your to-do list for the day. Pick one or two things that make a difference to focus on completing and get them done. The feeling of completing those tasks will motivate you to complete others.
Set a timeframe for research. If you do not know enough to make a choice, then how much time will you spend looking into it? Set a date when that decision needs to happen and stick with it.
Get an accountability buddy. We are all more likely to get something done if we know someone is expecting it, checking in on you.
Procrastination is a habit, and it takes consistency and time to change a habit into a good one. Take small steps and notice the feeling of getting something done. You will be motivated by the progress you are making.
If you want to blast through procrastination, why not work with a coach like me and make swift work of changing this. Take a look at the programmes I offer HERE