How to Beat Procrastination
Why do we procrastinate and how to change that?
Procrastination is not being lazy.
Procrastination is when you postpone something you know you should be doing because you choose to do other seemingly important tasks instead.
Those usually are just distractions, such as answering e-mail, checking social media, reading news, making tea or coffee, etc.
That is self-sabotage.
You are sabotaging yourself by telling yourself, “I will be better equipped to do what I need to do after I get done with those other little tasks.”
But hardly ever does the distraction make you better equipped or focused for the task ahead.
Two Types of Procrastination
There are two types of procrastination
on daily activities,
on the bigger goals we have.
Both are very common.
And I have personally struggled with both and many different formats.
If you are a writer or other type of creative, then this scenario is very familiar to you:
You are about to sit down to write already in the morning, but it seems like there are several little things you should do before you get to writing. You think about the e-mails, it would make sense to read and answer now. You think about another tea or coffee you could make to feel more ready. You remember something you promised your friend or co-worker to do, and you figure out it is better to do it now than after writing.
That is an example of procrastinating on daily activities, and the disturbing thing is that it repeats day after day until we break the unhealthy pattern.
This type of procrastination is more related to the feeling of overwhelm, perfectionism, and lack of prioritization.
However, the procrastination regarding our bigger goals is more related to self-doubt and the fear of failure.
When I started my coaching business, I was procrastinating a lot. I did not take almost any action for more than half a year. Instead, I tried out other types of online business — drop-shipping, freelancing options, etc. because all of that seemed easier than building an online coaching business.
I knew from the very beginning that coaching business is what I genuinely wanted to do, but my fear of failure was too big. I wanted to get “more ready” before I could take action. I thought something big would change through that time, but it didn’t. The same challenges I faced initially were also there six months later.
Reasons Why We Procrastinate
Perfectionism
We feel as if we need to be perfect before we are ready to present something to the world. But perfection does not exist.
“There is much more growth and progress in messy action than in waiting for the perfect moment to take action.”
You can read more about how to ditch perfectionism here.
Fear of failure
We get this fear when we identify ourselves too much with the single act of failing.
We feel that it defines who we are and lowers our worth if we experience failure.
Yet, it cannot be more wrong. In reality, failure is necessary to learn the lessons without which it would be impossible to get to the next level in our lives.
To decrease the fear of failure, you need to look differently at what failure is and what it means for your life.
Fear of criticism
We are afraid of what others will say about us. We are scared to be judged.
“How much time can we lose, and how much potential can we waste hoping that everyone will love and approve of us?”
We must understand where does our fear of judgment come from? What experiences in childhood have contributed to us having this fear?
I break down steps on how to do that in my article about self-doubt.
Low self-esteem
Lack of confidence and low self-worth are extremely common predispositions for procrastination.
If you don’t feel confident, it makes sense that you overthink and procrastinate, waiting for the circumstances to be perfect.
Here is an article I wrote not so long ago about seven steps to improve self-esteem.
Overwhelm
Often, the need for perfectionism and fear of failure and judgment create another factor for procrastination, and it is a feeling of overwhelm.
We may get overwhelmed thinking about how to please others so they won’t judge us or try to become as perfect as possible.
Often people can lessen their overwhelm if they solve the issues that are causing it, such as fear of failure, fear of judgment, perfectionism, etc.
Too big and unrealistic goals
There is nothing wrong with having big goals. We must have big goals.
But we also must break them down into smaller steps that are realistic for us.
The overwhelm and procrastination starts when we set too high expectations for ourselves without a realistic plan on how to carry them through.
Depression, anxiety
It is a no-brainer that depression and anxiety cause apathy, along with procrastination. However, the solution for depression and anxiety is not another type of antidepressant.
If you struggle with depression and anxiety, you must address the root cause of these problems. That can be, for example, childhood trauma, abuse in relationships, loneliness, financial struggles, lack of purpose in life, etc.
The freedom from depression and anxiety will come when you find healing for the bigger or smaller trauma you have experienced. A professional — a licensed therapist or a trauma-informed coach may help with this.
Lack of motivation
We tend to procrastinate also because we are not seeing the importance and urgency of the task at hand. The importance and urgency come when we know the purpose behind the actions we need to take.
For example, if you work a commission-based job, and you struggle to increase your results (and the income along with it), you need to shift your motivation from “I want to earn more money” to “Why I want to earn more money?”
In reality, you want to earn more money, not for the sake of having more money but to have more freedom in your life — to travel more and give freedom to your family.
We are not always motivated to get more money; we are motivated by values.
“We are motivated by values, experiences, and emotions of what having more money can bring to our life.”
Disconnected from the future self
There is a principle in psychology called “hyperbolic discounting.”
It states that we are inclined to choose immediate rewards over the rewards that come later even if they are smaller than those we would get in the future.
At this particular moment, it seems easier and more rewarding to get done with a few tasks or watch a movie; however, the price is always higher for procrastination in the long term.
Working on your vision and reviewing your goals often can help with this.
How to Beat Procrastination
Fix the root cause
First of all, let’s try to understand why you are procrastinating. Which ones of the reasons above are the most common for you?
Take a piece of paper and complete the sentence below:
“I am procrastinating because….”
Once you understand the core underlying reasons and work on fixing those, you will be a great step toward beating this self-sabotage.
Break down the task into smaller tasks
What is something you can do during the next hour? During the next 5 min?
It is easier to get yourself to do one little thing, and then since you already have started something, it is easier to keep on going from the momentum built.
Commit yourself to one step at the time
To avoid the overwhelm that often leads to procrastination, focus on one step at a time. Avoid thinking about how much you have to do to get a certain thing done.
Desmond Tutu has said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
That is exactly how it works with achieving big goals.
Remove distractions
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to turn off notifications on your phone and laptop if you haven’t done so already.
I have turned off on my phone all social media notifications. I usually keep my phone on silent mode unless I am waiting for an important call.
There is nothing worse for a focus and flow state than a constant interruption of notifications on the phone. With time, your brain starts expecting them, making you constantly in a high-alert state.
Set a timer and focus on a single task
It has proven to be helpful again and again — to set a timer for 30 min or an hour, during which I am focusing on a single task only. No distractions are allowed.
One of the most famous ways of doing this is the Pomodoro technique.
There is also a helpful app for this — the Freedom app. It sets a timer for your working session and blocks distracting websites and apps during that working session.
Prioritize
Especially high-achievers and perfectionists fall into the trap of “I want to get done it all.”
“Wise prioritization of the tasks is one of the core fundamentals to be productive.”
I used to have a to-do list with 20–30 items. Each day, I would look at the to-do list and feel overwhelmed and try to accomplish just the easy tasks and procrastinate on the ones that seemed more difficult and time-consuming.
A game-changer was my Productivity Planner.
If you don't want to buy one, you can also just use a pen and paper.
Choose only one main priority for the day. It has to be done before you are allowed to get to any of the other priorities.
Then choose two tasks of secondary importance. And two additional tasks that you can accordingly do also only after you have the main priority and the two tasks of secondary importance.
Measure your day’s productivity not by how many small, less important tasks you have done but by whether you have done the main priority and the two tasks of secondary importance.
Be self-compassionate
Research has shown that people who speak kindly to themselves and forgive themselves for their mistakes make progress much faster. Compared with the ones who blame themselves and beat themselves up.
“And what you focus on expands. The more you judge and criticize yourself, the more likely you will repeat that behavior you judge yourself for.”
Stop beating yourself up with, “Oh, no, I did not do it again!”
Start speaking to yourself more kindly, for example, “I got lost on my priorities today, but that’s ok; I have a new day to start tomorrow.”
In Conclusion
Often people want to beat procrastination with willpower.
They think, “if only I try harder and push myself more, I can stop procrastinating.”
What they don't realize is that procrastination is a subconscious automatic reaction. A way for your brain to keep you safe.
When you become aware of what makes you procrastinate — a need to achieve perfection, fear of failure, fear of judgment, self-doubt, etc., and work on that, then it is much easier to discipline yourself to stop procrastinating.
