Overcoming Procrastination, Why We Procrastinate

Stopping Procrastination Is Easy When We know Why We Procrastinate

Everyone procrastinates, but some people are so chronically affected by procrastination that it stops them from achieving things they’re capable of and disrupts their careers. The key to controlling and ultimately combating this destructive habit is to recognize when you start procrastinating, understand why it happens (even to the best of us), and take active steps to better manage your time and outcomes.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

In a nutshell, you procrastinate when you put off things that you should be focusing on right now. Usually you do something that is more enjoyable or that you’re more comfortable doing. Procrastinators work as many hours in the day as other people (and often work longer hours) but they invest their time in the wrong tasks. Sometimes this is simply because they don’t understand the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks. Everything urgent is not always important.

Another common cause of procrastination is feeling overwhelmed by the task. You may not know where to begin. Or you may doubt that you have the skills or resources you think you need. So you seek comfort in doing tasks you know you’re capable of completing. Unfortunately, the big task isn’t going to go away – truly important tasks rarely do.

Reasons For Procrastination

Some of the many reasons for procrastination include:

• Waiting for the “right” mood or the “right” time to tackle the important task at hand;
• A fear of failure or success;
• Poor decision-making skills
• Poor organizational skills; and
• Perfectionism (“I don’t have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won’t do it at all.”)

How to Overcome Procrastination

Whatever the reason behind procrastination, you must first see it honestly for what it is. After you honestly recognize your moments of procrastination, then you can deal with it so that you do not miss opportunities or derail your career. You first need to make sure you know your priorities. Putting off an unimportant task isn’t procrastination, it’s probably good prioritizing.

Recognize that you’re Procrastinating

If you’re honest with yourself, you probably know when you’re procrastinating. Some useful indicators which will help you catch yourself procrastinating:
• Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List
• Reading your To Do List more than once, without starting work on it or deciding when you’re going to start work on it
• Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee or check your e-mails, or something else you enjoy more
• Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it’s important

• Regularly saying “Yes” to unimportant tasks that others ask you to do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list.
• Not looking at your To Do List for days at a time
• Adding things that are not on the To Do List after you have done them, so you can cross them off

Think about WHY You’re Procrastinating

Why you procrastinate can depend on both you and the task. It may be different in each event. It important to understand what the reasons for procrastination are for each situation, so that you can select the best approach for overcoming your reluctance to get going.

Common causes of procrastination were discussed in detail above, but they can often be reduced to two main reasons:
• You find the task unpleasant
• You find the task overwhelming

Stop Procrastinating & Get over it!

If you are putting something off because you just don’t want to do it, and you really can’t delegate the work to someone else, you need to find ways of motivating yourself to get moving.

Approaches To Stop

These are some approaches that you could try to put a stop to procrastination in your life.
• Give yourself rewards
• Ask someone else to check up on you. Peer pressure works! All 12 step programs work on this principle.
• Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task.
• Think about how much it is costing you. (in sales, family time, sleep….)

If you’re putting off starting a project because you find it overwhelming, then break it into smaller parts. Smaller goals that are easier and more manageable can be accomplished one at a time. Make an action plan. Baby steps are better than no steps.

So here are the important points of overcoming procrastination:

• Honestly see and admit you are procrastinating to yourself and to someone else.
• Identify why you’re procrastinating and take appropriate steps to overcome procrastination.