We all procrastinate, and it is not necessarily a bad thing to take a step back and think about an issue, but when it affects important aspects of our lives, such as our relationships, our work, and the goals that we find important; it is time to try and change things, so that we can accomplish what we want to do.
Again, it is important to keep in mind that too much is like not enough and it is important to keep a balance of projects, schedule and free-time that works for you.
Here are a few tips that can help when procrastination gets in the way too much:
- Starting the project: There was an interesting story that said that starting a project was like trying to move a vehicle that ran out of gas, and it was hard to get started but once the momentum gets going, it was easier to keep going forward. For me personally, my procrastination hits more after the initial excitement of starting a new project and I realise that I’m in it for longer than I was hoping to. Or if I stop after a good start, it will be harder to keep going. So, to help with this is to try to develop a habit that lets you work on a project only five minutes at a time until you get the ball rolling, so to speak and then if your time permits just keep going. Then if you must stop, you’ll have a higher chance to keep going the next day if it becomes a habit rather than having to think about it.
- Work on your fear: A lot of the reasons we procrastinate are linked to fear and so figuring out what it is we fear and why our brains are telling us that the activity or situation we are procrastinating about is seemingly activating our stress response (the fight or flight response), then we can find better ways of addressing it such as desensitizing ourselves gradually, reframing the idea in our minds so that we are less likely to be triggered (such as saying that what we are feeling is excitement rather than anxiety… they have the same physical symptoms…) Or even getting help form professionals to overcome fears that prevent us from living our lives. They have techniques that work with phobias and that may help in this instance too or to manage our stress and body response.
- Work within your resistance level: This triggering of the stress response can also be called resistance. Your brain activates the warning signals that there is danger to the activity that is contemplated (whether it is real or not is irrelevant to the brain). So, working within your resistance level doesn’t mean to give. It means to break a task down into smaller pieces that are easier to manage. This is especially useful in cases where a task seems overwhelming and that is why you are procrastinating. Usually, giving yourself a smaller time frame, a less difficult to reach goal makes it easier to start and get going. Conversely, if you procrastinate because something is boring then adding a deadline or a challenge to it can make it easier to start. Just find the right option for you.
- List the costs of procrastination: I just want to repeat here that procrastination is not bad in the short term, but if done frequently and on important matters the cost to health, relationship and livelihood can be high. Listing these out can make us see the importance of the activity and help us to give it a go to avoid these costs. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work and can make the shame and guilt that is associated with procrastinating even worse. So if that is the case for you then it may be better to list the benefits of not procrastinating more than the costs and focus on what is important to you and why you have this activity in your list. It may be a good opportunity to spend some time evaluating if the task or activity should be on your list at all. Do you really need to do it?
- Adjust your environment: When we are procrastinating, it usually involved replacing the activity we don’t want to do with a more pleasurable activity. But what if, that more pleasurable activity was harder to get to? For instance, we do a lot of procrastinating with our phones or social media. What if we store our phones in another room and in a drawer? So then it is out of sight and it is easier for us to find the focus we need to get going. We would rather do a task we dislike than do nothing at all. And if that are our only two choices then we have less chances of procrastinating. If TV is the culprit then remove the remote batteries and you either have to go get batteries or get up to change the channel. If you still procrastinate with that, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate what is causing your procrastination. If it is fear then these tips may not work for you, but perhaps meditating before the task might. Or working in a calming environment with calm music. Experiment to see what works.
- Forgive yourself: This is one of the most important ones and one that research has shown to really work. They tested students and showed that those that procrastinated before a test but forgave themselves did better, and procrastinated less on the second test. Self-compassion is also helpful in many other contexts, but especially when procrastination is accompanied by guilt or shame. We know what we are doing is wrong but our resistance and stressor is too strong to get going. Yes facing your fears is and important step, but so is forgiving your lapses and as I mentioned a couple of times, to avoid the spiral of fear leading to shame leading to even more fear that can make procrastination even more problematic, this step helps to break the cycle and can help you get back to a normal once in a while that has a much more normal impact on your life.
- Telling yourself no matter what: The brain loves coming up with excuses for our behaviour and for our procrastination. “I don’t feel like it”, “I would rather play or have fun”, “I can’t do it”, “I won’t be good enough”…. All those thoughts and excuses that push us to do anything other than what we are procrastinating over, can be almost silenced if we tell ourselves “No matter what”. That phrase in this context has a subtle power. It means that no excuses will count. I have been using this in some cases and it seems to be working for me. I just need to try it in more situations and perhaps this in combination with other techniques may help me to procrastinate much less than what I currently do.
- Re-evaluate your list: Now this may be a controversial tip, but checking what it is that you put on your list can be a good idea once in a while. Have you fallen into a perfectionist trap, and you try to do each task to perfection when you could tolerate a little less time taken there? Can you even do it less often? And have more time for the fun stuff which is also important not to neglect. Taking the time to do this can feel liberating if you feel you’ve taken on too much and if not enough then you can add some too. Just keep in mind that your lists are not permanent and can be changed.
Did you try any of these techniques? If yes, what has worked best for you? If not, what do you think you will try? Please leave a comment below.
“Do not call procrastination laziness. Call it fear.”
– Julia Cameron.
For more tips and tricks, I covered this topic in my free Creativity and Anxiety Workbook. To get it, please subscribe to my free e-mail list, see subscription form below.
Thank you for reading,
Resources
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/procrastination
https://services.unimelb.edu.au/counsel/resources/study-related-issues/procrastination
We all procrastinate at some point. For me at this time in my life it is mostly on things that are a bit boring but eventually they have to be done. I will have to find a positive way to do them. But I know that when there done I will be very happy and satisfied.
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