WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE AND HOW CAN WE END PROCRASTINATION?

Procrastination is a common problem. People tend to procrastinate when they view the project or tasks to be difficult, boring, unpleasant, or perhaps stressful. These negative feelings cause anxiety and make the person too overwhelmed to proceed, so they avoid doing whatever is required. Other people procrastinate due to a low self-esteem and fear of failure.

In either case, it boils down to a person’s inability to control or deal with their emotions and self-regulate. They may ruminate over making stressful decisions, worry about being judged due to poor performance, or they put it off because they feed off of the adrenaline rush of working under pressure.

What can be done to overcome procrastination?

The key to overcoming the desire or tendency to put things off lies in regulating the feelings and emotions associated with the task. By doing this, we can improve both our physical and mental state to make us better equipped to tackle even the most daunting of tasks.

There are a number of things which can be done to help such as:

1. Be kind to yourself – Don’t beat yourself about past failures or the fact that you could have started earlier. Focus on doing your best rather than worrying about what others think. If you are filled with self-doubt, you may want to try CBT coaching to get a more realistic perspective.
2. Start small – If the task seems overwhelming, break it down to manageable chunks. Just getting started and making a bit of progress will motivate you to keep going. Even if you are a perfectionist, it’s much easier to succeed by doing one thing at a time and doing it well to gain momentum.
3. Focus on the importance of completion – imagine how you will feel when it is done. What are the rewards or what negative repercussions will be avoided by getting it done. (Will your client be pleased? Will you avoid failing a course?)
4. Set a lot of small deadlines – this is especially helpful if you feed off of the adrenaline rush of working against the clock.
5. Prioritize – You may find that you get more motivated by tackling the simplest things first to build your confidence to go on to the tougher challenges. For some people, however, this is only a way of putting off their fears, so you really need to know yourself and what gets you moving.
6. Avoid interruptions and diversions – work in a quiet place, away from friends, family, emails, phone calls, tv and the internet so that you do not get distracted.
7. Reward yourself for a job well done! Try the Premack Principle, or the differential probability hypothesis, which states that by reinforcing a target behavior with the incentive of a reward on completion, the work is most likely to get done. This helps to improve our self-regulation and modify bad habits to achieve a desired outcome. By rewarding early completion, you may just curb your desire to put things off.
8. Find accountability partners – whether you have an accountability buddy who holds you to your goals or whether you share them with family, friends or on social media, having supporters and cheerleaders can be helpful.

If you still feel you need more help or support, I would be glad to chat with you in a 30 minute free consultation to help you to come up with an action plan.

About Amy Sindicic

I am a trained Life Coach who has helped many people, like you, to reach their goals, and get the most out of life. I look forward to meeting you and discussing whether or not this is right for you.