Stop Procrastinating

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." -  Abraham Lincoln

Procrastination is a challenge most of us have faced at one point or another. We struggle by putting things off, delaying tasks, and avoiding essential issues. It's easy to come up with an excuse to procrastinate, and as we all know, it only takes one. Our brains are programmed to procrastinate.  Need proof?

Have you ever found yourself planning for a productive weekend with so much to get done? You organize a list of everything you want to accomplish, and you feel good about it. In fact, you might even be a little bit excited thinking about it. Then, Saturday morning rolls around, and you wake up tired or not fully motivated. Additionally, it happens to be warm and sunny outside. Suddenly, your present self becomes conflicted with your future self. Do I do the work I planned, or relax and go enjoy the weather? Sound familiar?

How about this one. You've had a project due for school or work that you've known about 30 days in advance before its due date? At first, you only feel a little bit of the pain, stress, and anxiety of just having to work on it, so you decide to put it off until tomorrow. This happens day after day, and each time your pain, stress, and anxiety level heightens a little more. But not quite enough to get you to take necessary action. Before you know it, you realize, "Oh no, the project is due tomorrow!" All of a sudden, your pain, stress, and anxiety level are at their peak. Now the fear of failing to get the project done outweighs the pain you felt by doing the work in the first place. Does this sound familiar too?

Likely these are examples that we have all experienced in our life at some point. If we continue to ignore it, this bad habit will continue to worsen. We must raise our awareness and understand the hidden reasons behind our tendency to procrastinate if we intend to eliminate it. 

There is more to procrastination than simply putting things off. Typically, there is also some sort of fear behind us putting things off. Whether we like to admit it or not. Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of failure or embarrassment. Fear is often an ingredient causing us to resist taking action.

However, sometimes we procrastinate just because we'd prefer to do something else. Or, we're too lazy to do what needs to be done. Either way, what needs to get done hasn't taken priority.

We tend to value instant gratification more than delayed gratification.  When we initially set goals, we are thinking about what we want to accomplish in the future. However, when we have to decide to take action, we are dealing in the present. We are more likely to struggle with doing the things that have future upside when we compare it to the effort and action we need to take now. Goals are great to have, but only if we are willing to take action today to achieve them.

Additionally, when we procrastinate, we tend to rationalize to let ourselves off the hook. We convince ourselves we don't have enough time, we have too many other responsibilities to do, or we'll get to it tomorrow. The list goes on and on.

We need to realize when we put things off, our procrastinations begin to stack up. This will cause us to feel even more overwhelmed and likely leading to further procrastination. You create a downward spiral you don't want to go down.

Here are some strategies you can put in place to help stop procrastination:

Check your attitude and mindset. Small mental shifts in the way we think can make a world of difference in how we approach what we do. Don't let 'need to do' become 'should do.' This will turn into 'might do' and eventually lead to 'never do.' Instead, everything should start as a 'must do.' At best, it can become a 'get to do.' Find ways to enjoy what you do. Would picturing the end result get you to enjoy the process? How about the absolute satisfaction of accomplishing the task or goal? Maybe realization of making real progress? Don't let yourself end up saying, "I would've, could've, and should've but didn't."

Try using habit stacking. Combine something you need to do with something you enjoy doing. Could you clean the house while listening to your favorite music? Could you work out and listen to an inspirational or motivational speaker? Create better habits. Consistency is key. Create a routine and stick to it.

Schedule it. Find joy in staying on schedule. Reward yourself for getting things done. Write it down/make a list, prioritize them, concentrate on the most essential (prioritized) item first, work on that through completion before moving on to the next one. At the end of the day, review and revise your list. Repeat. If you are really honest with yourself, how much of the stress do you feel because of everything you need to get done versus what you might have started and didn't finish doing?

Start small. But start now. Starting builds momentum. Sometimes the most challenging step is taking the first step. Give it a try. You may be surprised at how much you get done once you start. There is no better time than now to start something. You don't need more information, you don't need perfection, you don't need to have all the answers. You just need to start. Remember, a year from now, you'll wish you would have started today! Don't wait, don't hesitate. Do it.

Get honest with yourself and visualize the consequences and downside of not getting it done. Think about both sides to both outcomes. What are the pros and cons of accomplishing this task or goal? What are the pros and cons if it doesn't get done? Have you noticed that the longer you put something off, the harder it seems to achieve?

Resist the temptation to do the exciting or straightforward tasks instead of the more important and necessary ones first. Don't confuse productivity with activity. Procrastination can come in hidden forms. You may need to tackle an important task but find yourself cleaning out your email or reorganizing your closet instead of addressing the task that really matters.

Find an accountability buddy. A mentor, a friend, a family member. Someone who will hold you accountable.

We know that when we are in our most productive state, we feel delighted with everything we have accomplished. We need to focus on this. What drove us to take immediate action in those instances? What were we feeling and thinking? What was our attitude? Conversely, what is happening in our minds causing us to avoid what we know we should be doing?

By taking responsible actions to eliminate the causes of our procrastination, we can eventually become free of it.

Make today great!

Curtis

"If you don't pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves." - David Allen