As you pursue your (big and small) goals for this year, you may find yourself facing that all too common, and thoroughly unpleasant roadblock: Procrastination. Procrastination involves mindlessly avoiding starting (or finishing) something out of anxiety, rather than logic
The problem with procrastination is not so much that we get stuck, it’s the way we respond to it. Our knee-jerk reaction is to judge ourselves. Studies show that leads to huge energy drain and stress as we beat ourselves up for not making progress on what we said we wanted to do.
The reality is, in over 30 years as a time management coach, I’ve never found that procrastination is caused by laziness or irresponsibility. Procrastination is not a personality flaw-there are always specific reasons we get stuck. Getting to the heart of the matter will help you find a solution.
One of the best ways to combat procrastination is to identify the cause of your hesitation the moment it occurs.
Here are 3 very valid reasons we procrastinate, and what to do about each:
REASON #1: Task is too big. Some tasks and projects are so big and complex that you don’t know how to get started. Or maybe you do know how to get started, but the project is very big and the results seem very far away.
SOLUTION: Break down overwhelming tasks into manageable parts. Instead of facing one huge, amorphous task looming ominously over your head, divide of it into three (or six, or ten) achievable steps. Each step could be 30-60 minutes in duration. Then concentrate only the first step or two. Let’s say you made the decision to organize your photos this year. And you haven’t made progress. Here’s a way to break it down. Step 1: Gather all physical photos into one room, all digital files into one file on the cloud. Step 2. Sort into folders by year. Step 3. Edit the photos down to a manageable amount for each album. You do one step at a time, and before you know it, you are on the road and in the project (instead of just thinking about it).
REASON #2: Performance anxiety/Fear of Making a decision. Sometimes we are intimidated by tasks on our list because they are demanding, risky, and require courage. You may be worried about making a mistake, or not feel you have enough information to actually get the job done.
SOLUTION: Trust your ability to iterate
It helps to remember that everything you start can be adjusted. Trust your ability to make corrections as you go. Recognizing that you can edit, adapt and polish as you go will get you moving. And once in motion, it’s easier to keep going. If you realize you don’t have all the information you need to tackle a particular task, what you can do is focus your efforts on steps that will get you ready. e.g. Take a course, ask a friend how they’ve tackled a similar task or look up some tips online to get you started.
REASON #3: Work better under pressure Some people thrive on the adrenaline rush that comes from leaving things to the last minute. It’s a thrill, it’s a little dangerous, and they love the victory of rescuing themselves from near disaster. Other people work better under pressure because it takes the edge of performance anxiety off. This is where procrastination meets perfectionism. Perfectionists often leave things to the last minute, because it takes them off the hook— subconsciously they feel that if the work isn’t perfect, they have a built in excuse—it’s not a reflection on their abilities, they just didn’t have enough time.
SOLUTION: Ask “"If this was the last minute, how long would I spend on it?" If you work better under pressure, one way to get past paralysis is to ask yourself a simple question, "If this was the last minute, how long would I spend on it?" Then give yourself ONLY that much time. Just because you're doing something far in advance doesn't mean you have to spend more time on it than you would if it were the last minute. But if you do it in the first moment, instead of the last, you gain freedom from the burden of having that project hanging over your head for days or weeks.
The next time you find yourself procrastinating on anything, go in with curiosity instead of judgment. Diagnose the cause of the pause, solve that specific problem, and get on the road to action. As Mark Twain once said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”