Procrastination, a Disease or a Habit?

Procrastination, A Disease or a Habit?

Whichever it is, it can have very negative effects on the quality of our lives. It is responsible for:

·         Deterring our progress for any goal we are trying to achieve

·         Creating stress in our lives

·          Making you feel  incompetent and guilty which are big red flags for self esteem

·         Producing negative self talk, (which can cause some pretty nasty welts on your wrist if you’re using a rubber band to help retrain negative self talk, or wear out your pretty stretch bracelet prematurely. Yikes!)

 

Isn’t it curious how closely related low self esteem, negative self talk, and procrastination are?

 

 

 

This procrastination thing has a tendency to feed on itself and grow into quite a large monster if you’re not careful.  When you avoid doing one task, there are usually a couple more related items you also put on the back burner because you need to complete task one first.

 

                               

 

Every duty which is bidden to wait returns with seven fresh duties at its back.  ~Charles Kingsley

 

Now you’re feeling overwhelmed, and it’s likely that you are, as you realize there isn’t enough time in each day to accomplish all that’s on your plate because you avoided that task you hate.  No problem, I’ll just put in extra hours until it’s done and promise myself I won’t let this happen again. We won’t talk about the regular mundane tasks your letting go while you slay the monsters.

 

                               

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.  ~William James

 

 

Now you’re mentally and physically exhausted which leads you to feel stressed, like a failure and you begin to question your decisions and ability. Instead of feeling better when the original task is completed you find you’re staring at three or four more monsters that have grown to adulthood and are on the attack.   

 

 

There are a number of excellent resources full of strategies for getting through the process and getting things done and most work pretty well. Here are a few I have tried and found to be very helpful:

 

·         Prioritize your goals.

·         Set realistic goals.

·         Break overwhelming tasks into a series of small steps.

·         Make sure to do something on your big goals everyday. (even if it is small)

·         Go ahead and start a task even though you don’t have time to finish it that day.

·         Plan and write everything you want to accomplish each day and cross off items as you complete them.(Builds confidence)

·         If there are items you don’t get to, place on the next day’s agenda.

·         Have an idea, in writing, of what you would like to accomplish for the week.

·         Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t complete everything you planned.

·         Reward yourself in some way for your accomplishments.

·         Don’t over commit yourself. (This will set you up for failure!)

·         Get the clutter out of your space!

 

 

 These are but a few of the multitude of options available on how to cope with procrastination. All of them are good and like child rearing, dog training, diet and exercise, whatever you decide to do, if you are tenacious and consistent, it works. But for me, this seems to have the effect of treating the symptom while not knowing what the disease is.

 

The best success I have had is trying to understand where my fear and reluctance for a task or goal comes from. Most of the things I procrastinate about are things I fear or believe I am not good at. Of course we can’t be good at everything and we don’t love everything we do.  But if we are willing to undergo high levels of stress and the consequent difficulties of avoiding something we need or want to do, there has to be a reason or a belief that is at the root of this avoidance.

 

Here is a good personal example. When I was VERY young, like most of us, I held a number of positions while trying to find my wings. My father was an incredibly gifted salesperson and could, as they say, sell ice to Eskimos. My brother was also gifted in the field so it was only natural, especially since I was fired from my first secretarial position in a matter of two months that I would gravitate to the field as well. Long story short, I was hired to sell specialty advertising, taken to a specialty advertising convention and show, given a huge number of lines to sell, told I was a natural, gifted and sure to be their best salesperson. I was pumped. On the very first day I walked into a clothing store that my mother and I had often shopped in thinking it would be a safe first attempt. I didn’t get two steps into the front door with my catalogue when the sales person saw me and said in a loud voice for the whole store to hear, “Oh no, no. Get out, out, out.” She literally chased me out of the store. I cannot begin to tell you how devastated, embarrassed and humiliated I was. I ran to my father’s office in tears to tell him my story. He assured me that it was not the end of my career, I shouldn’t and couldn’t wear my feelings on my sleeve and that I would be fine. Although I found success in the field of sales, I made sure whatever I sold did not require cold calling!

 

The example above is obvious but sometimes there are more subtle things in our past that are at the root of our reluctance to tackle a goal or task.  Perhaps it was a remark a boyfriend, relative, boss, teacher or family member once said.  Maybe it was something you read or heard and it stuck with you. You repeated it to yourself over and over and created a pathway in your brain as we discussed in the article on self talk. If you find yourself repeatedly and consistently procrastinating on a goal or task it is very useful to spend some time and ask yourself:

 

1.       Is there something about this task that I think I can’t do or might fail at?

2.       Where is this thought, belief or feeling coming from?

3.       What proof do I have that this is true?

4.       Have I made a sincere effort to accomplish or improve my skills for the task?

5.       Is this something I really need or want to do?

6.       Is this something I simply don’t like, need or want to do and I can delegate to someone else?

 

Spending some time to discover what the disease really is can make the cure far more efficient and effective. Procrastination is a drain on our self esteem and the quality of our life. The next time you find yourself unable to promptly begin a project try asking yourself these questions and see if you discover a long excepted myth in your life that is holding you back!

 

v  What do you do to avoid procrastination? Share your thoughts and comments and if you enjoyed this article don’t forget to book mark it on del.icio.us. Your support is appreciated!

 

v  By the way, to receive your free Life Journey Tools, simply click the “register for a site account” button on the right, enter your name and email and you will have access to all downloads! (I value your privacy as I do my own, your information will never be shared.)

 

Outside resource:

·         Book: Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway

·         Book: Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Deborah Hayes, CTA Life Coach

Empowering women to live a life of consequence, a life without regrets that is your own unique version of the life you love. About Deborah

480-656-2026
deborah@womenintransitiononline.com

 

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