You might be familiar with that feeling of staring at the screen for hours unable to come up with a word. Or getting paralysed in the face of chaos — be it a mountain of paperwork to sort out or an endless to-do list that only grows bigger. In search of solace, you resort to Google, desperately hoping that procrastination isn’t merely a synonym for laziness.
It’s not, does that make you feel better? I bet whatever definition you find — even if it gives a momentary release — deep down you still feel crap. Nothing seems to be able to resolve that issue, which is glued to you. And the more time you spend trying to escape it, the larger that nudging feeling is growing within you.
It’s Only a Jigsaw
Sometimes we struggle to make the right choice having multiple options in front of us. And other times, when we seemingly decided what we want we still can’t bring ourselves to action. Of course, that’s debatable. Some might argue that our hesitation indicates a misalignment between our verbalised desires and actions. Yet, life isn’t always so straightforward; not everything fits neatly into the black-and-white categories.
Let’s start with the fact that it’s ok and only natural not to enjoy every part of your activity and, wish to postpone it. Take, for instance, a startup owner who adores their business but dreads the administrative side of things. Surely, many of us have this idealised notion that well-optimised and successful individuals swiftly find ways to enhance efficiency and prevent chaos from accumulating. Yet, as we’re talking about a start of endeavours or a sticking point on the way to our success, let’s figure out how to solve that issue.
Begin by shifting your perspective. Notice a puzzle where you used to see a problem. The moment you sort one little bit out, you’ll get better equipped and clearer about the next one. And so on, quickly being done before you notice. Whether it’ll be your assignment draft, a webpage for your new business, dissertation, work report, or anything else <insert what’s relevant>.
Start Asking the Right Questions
Simple, right? I wish. Why then many of us are struggling to address that monster?
To put your mind at ease, it might be useful to note that procrastination isn’t laziness per se. Now, you might wonder whether procrastination is inherently good or bad. But I’d argue that framing it as such is perhaps the wrong approach altogether.
Ask yourself — does it serve you? What did it cost you thus far? Shorter sleep, dissatisfaction, feeling low, wasted time? Even if it takes the form of you binge-watching Netflix or eating everything that your fridge has to offer, and seemingly enjoying that. As well as feeling like a hero managing a task in record time. Adrenaline might burst at the moment, but it’ll drop quickly when you don’t get the result you aimed for. You might try to reassure yourself that with just a bit more time, things would have turned out differently But should you be honest, you know that you had all the necessary time, you just haven’t used it.
When You’ve Chosen Not to Procrastinate What Have You Done Differently?
Ask yourself: What would you do with your free time if your tasks were completed in advance or approached in a more structured manner, rather than constantly looming in the background, incessantly nudging you? Sometimes, the issue arises from the lack of direction about what to do with our lives or spare time — that constitutes life. Consequently, puzzles fill a void with a semblance of meaning, alleviating a feeling of guilt and inadequacy. However, that’s more the case with the ongoing postponement of our lives dictated by lack of clarity.
Before we delve into how you can tackle that project you’ve got at hand, take a moment to close your eyes. Picture yourself with completed work well ahead of the deadline. Notice how it changes the quality of your life and how that makes you feel. Observe yourself from the outside and notice what you’ve done differently this time. Reflect on the actions you can replicate next time to achieve results similar to those you’ve managed in your ideal world. And as you come up with interesting observations — feel free to write them down.
Scary Monster
The peril of procrastination lies in its potential to become habitual, spreading to other facets of our lives. This pattern can result in delayed decision-making riddled with contemplation, leading to mediocre outcomes, overarching chaos, and pervasive dissatisfaction. This cycle can cascade into compromised well-being, health issues, unsatisfying relationships, and beyond. But let’s stop here. It’s far wiser to address this issue before the consequences become unmanageable.
Let’s find out what causes procrastination and how you can address it.
Procrastination that Wished You Well
First, let’s thank it for its effort to serve us. Remember, each of our behaviours, whether we like it or not, is guarding what it perceives as our best interest. What’s important to understand is that we tend to procrastinate not because we’re lazy or want to screw a result. Neither because we’re craving that adrenaline rush of the last minute although it does reinforce our behaviour. If we’re not mindful, that feeling of sudden relief after continuous struggle might become addictive.
The key reasons behind procrastination typically revolve around our fear of failure. Whether we think we don’t know the right approach or don’t have an answer. Ultimately, our reptile brain wants to ensure we avoid disappointment at any cost. And we feed it through temporary pleasures. You might agree that it’s far more fun and pleasurable at the moment to get occupied somehow else to delay tackling the major task and, potentially, failing at it. That’s far less appealing than a pizza and beer with friends.
We don’t even have to dissolve ourselves in watching series or spending hours with friends or on social media. We might well occupy ourselves with something else seemingly important at that moment: whether checking and replying to emails, cleaning the space, or addressing so-called urgent demands and enquiries. And when we do that we might feel a momentary relief because we see immediate results. The reptile brain is happy.
Yet, should you be honest with yourself, you might notice that doing anything else doesn’t bring a desired outcome. READ: Why Poor People Get Poorer by Working More and Rich Get Richer by Working Less
Perfect Failure
So, what’s that fear is there? All of us had some authoritative figures throughout our lives, especially at an early age. We were seeking their approval for self-validation to know that we were enough. And the more scarcity of that attention was there, the more dependent on external opinion we became.
It’s like in that article on decision-making where I mentioned a boy who was so dependent on his father’s approval that he was ready to swallow what he didn’t enjoy. To deserve love, a kid seeks all the possible ways to please the ultimate source of that love and who’s the key authority at a time.
As we grow older this transforms into a fear of not being appreciated, not being enough if we disappoint our source external validation. The authoritative figures change their faces throughout our lives, but this doesn’t change the roots of engraved mechanisms within us. Although we might rationally know that our parents love us and don’t care how well we handle a task, we still pursue that perceived perfection that doesn’t exist.
And, the only way to produce a perfect result in this scenario is to do nothing.
Let’s See Who’s Smarter
A way to trick our inner reptile and rewire our patterns is to forget the big task. Yes, don’t think of the final results. Think of what you’ll get as a result of completing it and picture an outcome of an outcome. If that inspires you then you’re on the right path and you’ll manage to stick to it and complete what you’ve got to do despite the odds.
To handle a project, first of all, put it on a pedestal of priorities. Promise yourself to ignore anything else until you’re done with the tasks on your agenda related to that project. Remember equally not to aim to tackle a task in one day when you know that realistically it requires 30 days. You know it’s not going to happen. No need to try and prove yourself a hero, just because you’ve done it once before, fuelled with an adrenaline rush. One day it won’t work.
Instead of trying to attempt something impossible while overwhelming yourself, ending up hating what you do. That’d only lead to quitting halfway through. Or getting distracted — because remember about that scared part of you seeking a comfort zone? Rather break the project into small meaningful chunks.
From the Least to the Most Important
If you can’t divide your project into parts and feel overall confused about it, start small by performing one related task that’s damn simple. Then another one. And then a few more, until you get into a routine of tackling that project.
Step back after that, and, now, being more familiar and more involved with a project, see how you can structure it.
After that move on to addressing the most meaningful parts that’d contribute to the result in a major way. Because, when you’re short of time in the end, you’ll quickly complete small bits, never mind that some parts will get addressed meanwhile, seemingly, themselves. And some will appear to be irrelevant.
To kick off your project it’s crucial to establish a structured workflow. Create a zero-distraction zone — no tea, no coffee, no phone — just one or two hours of uninterrupted focus. Follow this with a 100% break, which should be regarded as mandatory, even if you’re tempted to continue working. Taking breaks enhances the quality of a final result. There’s nothing more creative and productive than a fresh rested brain.
Experiment for a Top Performance
Quick tip. As we all function differently, be mindful of your attention span. You might find in the beginning that you can only stay focused for 20 minutes — and that is fine. Have also five-minute breaks in between. Eventually, you’ll find yourself, working on a task three hours non-stop, yet the moment you feel you’re getting tired or start day-dreaming — pause.
Meanwhile, if you feel like it’s early for a break but you’re stuck with a puzzling bit, make whatever part of that task that’s clear to you. And move on to the next part. You can return to the uncertain element later, but avoid staying on it. Just staring at an issue won’t resolve it, but it’ll eat your valuable time.
Experiment with different times of the day to find your top performance hours. For example, I discovered that my most productive and creative hours are between 8 am and 1 pm. I also need a quick break in between and a larger one of an hour from 1 to 2 pm. Then I can do a further two hours non-stop, yet, my brain is already less sharp. And then a final sprint for 1.5 hours. After that I know I’m pretty useless.
I can have a massive wave of inspiration and carry on writing non-stop well past that time. But there’s no way I’ll be productive for any task that requires laser focus. And to find out that I’ve done a month-long experiment trying different schedules and monitoring my performance.
At the same time, I have a friend, and her creativity at 11 am only lasts to say Coffee. However, when I’m watching my fifth dream she’s at her pick performance.
So, go ahead and find what suits you.
Chunking Up and Down to the Right Size
Also, be smart with chunking a project up or down. Attempting too large of a piece might break your teeth and put you off, while too small bits will discourage you from chewing a whole project till the end.
Meanwhile, get into a habit of completing tasks on your hands. READ: How to Stick to Your Priorities and Achieve Results When Life Gets in the Way Address manageable tasks, you can finish. If you get too many things on the go — they’ll throw your sanity out of the window.
Do a task, ideally from A to Z in a day. If not possible — then you chuck your tasks down, ideally to the size that would fit one attempt, be it in one go, one block of time, or one day.
For example, writing a 3,000-word part of an assignment might take someone a full day. Yet to create an outline would require only an hour. Be clear and specific how much you wish and can accomplish. Because if you attempt a much larger task than you can complete you might end up with disappointment coupled with your self-doubt about your capabilities.
Plan Less than You Feel You Can Manage
You might find it handy to plan to accomplish less than you believe you can manage in a given timeframe. There are always some unforeseen deviations, even if you stay 100% focused, which isn’t always completely achievable and don’t feel terrible about that. Sometimes, you shut all the apps down, yet something is playing on the back of your mind and no matter how much you try, you struggle to tune it down.
A task itself might come up with some unforeseen challenges. You’ll feel far greater about yourself and much more inspired by a project when you finish ahead of time. You don’t have to make your plan too slim, but equally, there’s no need and it’s rather counter-productive to overwhelm and then disappoint yourself.
Your Gracious Walk Forward
So, to handle your procrastination, you need to forget worrying about the judgement of an outcome and not being enough. And rather stay focused on an immediate little task in front of you. We all fail, that’s fine. I bet you did that while learning to walk, yet your parents haven’t disposed of you for that. And look at you now— you do that without even thinking. So, the only way to walk your success is not not to fail, but to stand up promptly and carry on walking.
