Issue 62: Conquering Procrastination
THE LEAP
BY QUANTUM ORANGE
GROW, EXPAND & EVOLVE
ISSUE 62 | CONQUERING PROCRASTINATION
Each week The (Quantum) Leap summarises a key aspect of success into what you need to Think, Feel and Do to create a personal shift.
Procrastination is not laziness - it is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.
~ Julia Cameron
THINK
Psychological science reveals that procrastination undermines our performance, reduces well-being, harms work relationships, and corresponds to poorer health, even coronary heart disease and hypertension.
Effective strategies for change depend on an understanding of the problem itself, and there are many misconceptions about procrastination: it’s not a time management problem as many of us think - research has revealed that procrastination is an emotion management problem.
Anxious procrastinators often feel both an intense pressure to succeed and a fear of failure. These people often feel overwhelmed, are unrealistic about time, indecisive and uncertain about goals, and find themselves dissatisfied with accomplishments. They blame others or circumstances for failures, lack confidence and often have perfectionistic expectations.
The underlying fear of an anxious procrastinator is of failing - they think that their self-worth is determined by what they do and are often afraid of being judged and found wanting. This causes enormous stress and rumination on the stressful thoughts.
If this is you, think about the most stressful thought to understand it better. You can help yourself do this by asking the following self-reflection questions:
- How do I react when I have this thought?
- Does this thought bring peace or stress to my life?
- What images do I see, past or present, as I think this thought?
- What physical sensations arise from having this thought?
- What emotions arise when I have that thought?
- Do any obsessions begin to appear when I have this thought?
- How do I treat others when I have this thought?
- How do I treat myself when I have this thought?
- Who would I be and how would I feel without that thought?
Without overcoming your negative rumination, you are certain to continue a pattern of procrastination behaviour. Changing your thought patterns will allow you to change to more productive self-talk.
FEEL
Paying attention to emotions is a real key to understanding procrastination.
We cope with the negative emotions that are associated with the task by avoiding it, but this is a self-defeating coping strategy, because only the present self benefits.
Avoidance acts as short-term mood repair, but it doesn’t work in the long-term. We may escape the task and its associated negative emotions - like anxiety, frustration, resentment, or boredom - but the task doesn’t go away.
Our future self must still face the task - and we burden our future self with additional time pressure, stress and, even associated self-loathing when we procrastinate.
The research of Dan Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University, has shown us that we rely on the present to predict how we’re going to feel in the future.
Reflect on the following:
- Is the task making you feel uncomfortable?
- What do you call the feeling that you are experiencing?
- When you have put the task off do you feel better?
- When you have put the task off do you feel any guilt?
- Do you believe that you will feel more like doing it tomorrow
- Do you feel like you have solved the emotional problem you had?
- Do you use your avoidance to fuel engagement in other tasks?
DO
Unfortunately, we can’t just tell ourselves to stop procrastinating. Despite the prevalence of productivity hacks, focusing on the question of how to get more work done doesn’t address the root cause of procrastination.
Productivity won’t save us. We must realise that at its core, procrastination is about emotions, so change requires deep commitment.
Here are a few suggestions to help you with better emotional management next time you notice yourself procrastinating…
Reward Yourself
Find an internal reward that can relieve the negative emotions without damaging your future self.
Explore The Emotions
When you’re feeling tempted to procrastinate, bring your attention to the thoughts in your mind and the feelings in your body.
- What feelings are eliciting your temptation?
- Where do you feel them in your body?
- What do they remind you of?
- What happens to the thought of procrastinating as you observe it?
- Does it intensify? Dissipate? Cause other emotions to arise?
- How are the sensations in your body shifting as you bring your awareness to them?
Consider Actions
According to researcher Dr. Tim Pychyl, focusing only on the next action calms our nerves. Ask yourself: what is the next action I’d take on this if I was going to do it? Taking even the smallest steps forward will help you form a new habit of taking action instead of making excuses.
Self-Compassion
Forgive yourself for past procrastination and commit to meeting your new challenges with greater acceptance and kindness rather than rumination and regret.
Understand Motivation
Your motivational state does not have to match the task at hand. You don’t have to feel like doing something to do it.
Visualisation
Visualise yourself doing positive things to make progress towards your future self and expanding your comfort zone.
Read. Watch. Listen.
