Hi, Paul here, I hope you are having a productive day. How are you getting on? Are you having a productive week and do you feel as if you are achieving all that you want to? I’m doing well this week, and I know that when I am it is best to push on. Whilst I will give myself a treat later for all the hard work, I know if I do it too early then I can easily drop my levels when I really should be utilising the energy I have.
Of course, it’s not always like that. All of us, and I include myself here, suffer from bouts of procrastination. Of course, there are different levels, so I try and minimise mine once I have recognised the fact. Many of us sabotage our own best intentions by not even realising it, through procrastinating in relation to all the work and essential chores they need to get done. Here are 3 ways that we procrastinate.
Reasons for Procrastinating
Negative Self-talk
The first reason is that we might be our own worst enemy and critic. Negative self-talk along the lines of, “That’s way too hard – if you try, you’ll probably just fail anyway,” make us sabotage ourselves.
This can start from a very early age. It might begin with a parent or teacher who never seemed satisfied no matter how hard we tried. Children love to please the adults they look up to. Failure in academic work can make THEM feel like a failure, not that their test or report got a failing grade.
This can lead to poor self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence. Suddenly, even the most ordinary tasks become a dangerous minefield in which any step they take could lead to disaster. That being the case, it is safer and easier to just stand still rather than try to move forward.
This paralysis then leads to lost opportunities, stress at work and at home, and damage to many of your relationships. If your overly critical parent starts to label you a lazy good-for-nothing, procrastinating will turn you into that person.
Perfectionism
Another reason for procrastination and paralysis is the idea that since nothing we ever do is good enough, it has to be perfect. But perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Spending weeks on a task that should only have taken a day or two is a sign that you might be seeking perfection when you really just need to get it done. You feeling your work is not good enough becomes the same as feeling YOU are not good enough.
Lack of Motivation
Some people attribute procrastination to a lack of motivation. But we do not need to psych ourselves up to go to the beach or eat ice cream. We need no reason to do something fun. We do need a motive to act when things start to get tough, though.
One clue that you are sabotaging yourself is if you just can’t get started on a project – even if it is an interesting one you would actually enjoy. Or things are going well, but you suddenly stop when 90% of the task is complete.
How to Stop Procrastinating
So how can we defeat these three behaviours that cause us to procrastinate? There are a number of ways, depending on which one we wish to tackle.
Negative Self-talk
* Recognize you are doing it.
* Note whose “voice” you hear when it is happening. One person reported that it sounded just like his nagging mother. Once he made that connection, he could re-tune his thinking to a different channel, with his own voice.
* Accentuate the positive to counter the negative. For everything you find fault with, think of at least three things you do well.
Perfectionism
* Remind yourself that it does not need to be perfect; it just has to get done.
* Remind yourself that no one is perfect, so it is unreasonable for anyone in your life to expect you to be.
* Remind yourself that we are human beings, not human DOINGS. The work you do is important, but it is not the same as who you are as a person.
Lack of Motivation
* Set goals and track your progress towards them.
* Look for the fun in every task.
* Motivate yourself with a reward at the end of a task. The bigger the task, the better the reward.
Which of these three do you struggle with? Drop me a comment below, I always love to hear from you. And if you have any specific issues then maybe I or other readers can suggest ways to help you tackle them.
Until next time.