Overcoming Procrastination

The Mystery of Procrastination and how to conquer it.

I haven’t met a leader who doesn’t struggle to some degree with procrastination.  The funny thing is that most of us do not want to practice this debilitating behaviour, yet it seems to persist.  We allow it to prevail in spite of our full knowledge that it eats into potential productivity and profitability levels.  So what is the cause?  Why do we continue to do the very thing we know is unhelpful?  How can we overcome such a prevailing, and often, unconscious habit?

Before we can hope to overcome this unwanted nemesis to greater effectivenesswe must truly understand what is occurring when we procrastinate. The first thing to note is that the practice of procrastination is perceived – in the moment – to be the best course of action rather than working on a particular task/s. Interestingly enough it is a course of action stemming more from our emotional experience of the task/s than from our rational decisions about the task/s. Did you notice the word ‘emotional’ in that last sentence? This is part of the key why it can be so elusive to overcome, because it sneakily and powerfully operates deep beneath the surface subtly affecting our rational decision-making capacity.

Procrastination therefore occurs as a default response by me in trying to deal with the negative emotions I am experiencing when I consider either starting or completing a specific type (which I will explain in the next paragraph) of task or project. The negative twin emotions that arise as I contemplate either starting or completing this type of task, are fear or anxiety. And I have yet to meet anyone who enjoys experiencing these two emotions. The prevailing response to them is to divorce ourselves from them as quickly as possible, and it generally doesn’t include rational thought to produce such a response. So with these emotions being dominant, no wonder we choose to ignore our highly desirable value-based goals and objectives for the practice of procrastination. It is literally a no-brainer.

Furthermore, the reason I experience the evil twins of anxiety and fear is based upon the perception I have over the specific types of tasks that are being considered. Predominantly, if in my opinion the task or project I am contemplating is overwhelming or boring or both, then anxiety or fear or similar negative emotions will arise within me. And with monotonous predictability I will do what is required to avoid experiencing these negative emotions – AKA, procrastination. So generally speaking, procrastination then is actually my futile effort to try and overcome the negative feelings of anxiety and fear that arise within me as I contemplate either starting or completing what I perceive to be a boring or overwhelming activity.

Now that we have defined a broad definition of procrastination, how do we overcome it? Let’s face it, in life there will be projects that we will perceive to be either boring or overwhelming (sometimes a project will encapsulate both). It seems therefore necessary to re-evaluate our perspective in order to overcome this obstacle to our success. So let me give you a couple of strategies to assist you in this process.

First if I am working on a project that seems overwhelming, you need to break down the project into its smaller more manageable parts or steps. You need to plan it out – as Stephen Covey says – by starting with the end in mind and working my way back to the beginning. You start with the final result and break the steps down into the pathway from reaching the big picture. The bigger the task the more you can break it down into more manageable components. For example, you could start with a 3-5 year vision, step back to annual goals, then ninety day projects to reach the annual goals, then weekly action-steps to achieve the projects. You get the picture; you break the seemingly overwhelming task down into manageable pieces so that you can see what needs to be worked on from week to week.

Second, if you are looking at working on a boring task you need to tie it back to the vision it supports. This assists in transforming a menial task into an important component to achieving a meaningful outcome. As human beings we are usually wired so that our lives are invested in meaningful endeavours which motivate us to invest in the task. One of the key tactics here is not to wait until we feel motivated, but to take responsibility for conducting our lives according to what needs to be done to reach important outcomes. It is important to use positive self-talk when contemplating a potentially boring task. Instead of saying, “Do I have to?” use terms like, “I choose to do … (the task) in order to fulfil the vision.”

Another reason why people experience the emotion of fear and anxiety when they consider undertaking a task is an identity issue. Sometimes people unconsciously equate the potential failure of a task/project with their identity. Hence if they fail it causes them to see themselves as a failure. This causes significant fear and anxiety motivating people away from either starting or completing a project. No one wants to be vulnerable to the point where there is a high probability that the core of who they are will be attacked. And then to add on top of this a choice to make sure this doesn’t happen – why wouldn’t we choose to avoid this? It is only natural to run from any such activity. So we can’t afford to tie our self-worth to any activity we do, or procrastination is the natural outcome.

Are you a perfectionist? Or perhaps a perfectionist in only an area or two of your life or work? If you are, you can be sure that you will suffer from procrastination. Perfectionism is a big stopper to progress. With this mind-set we say to ourselves, “If I can’t do it right I won’t do it at all!” It is that “All or nothing thinking,” that we often come across. Let’s face it, we are all imperfect in most all we do and if we ever want to become excellent (never perfect, for this can never be guaranteed) at anything we need to make mistakes on the pathway to excellence. Perfectionism rules out taking risks, even calculated ones. It is a big hindrance to growth. So we need to view mistakes simply as learning experiences on the pathway to excellence. Just view those steps as rough-drafts and get on with it.

Finally, another biggie that supports procrastination habits is waiting to “feel motivated.” The key here is to realise that many of the key components with important goals we have are not that exciting in themselves. The most successful people in life are those who know what is important and take control to live their lives around those key life values prioritizing them over all else. They take responsibility not to let other things intrude and take over. So here is the key. They have learned not to allow their emotions to dictate their success. They self-manage effectively taking leadership responsibility for the outcomes in their life.

Having looked at ways to overcome these common facets of procrastination, let me just summarise below some of the key points.

1. Make sure I don’t attach the outcome of the task to my self-worth. If I do this too strongly then I tend not to start because the cost is too high. I am too afraid of BEING a FAILURE. Call it an experiment and recognize that YOU are not intricately tied to the outcome

2. If the pure volume of the task is truly a significant amount, then don’t focus on the completion, but focus on starting. When you focus on the end product, anxiety tends to rise up. Break the task up into more smaller and more manageable pieces. Learn effective goal setting (project management skills) and START.

3. Get rid of the mindset of PERFECTIONISM, for this tends to stop people from starting, and then when the deadline approaches and the consequences of not getting it done are higher than not being perfect, we get it done. The problem is that we then tend to accept below par performance. Call it a ROUGH DRAFT and get started straight away. I often hear people say they work better under pressure. In reality this is just camouflaged procrastination.d

4. Don’t get tricked into waiting to FEEL MOTIVATED. Let’s face it many things we NEED to do in life and in work are mundane. The key is to be very clear on what is important and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAD your life and or project in that direction. So, tie the mundane tasks to the big picture goals (vision) and recognize their overall importance to the outcome. Stop saying to yourself, “Do I have to?” and start saying “I choose to in order to achieve the vision!”

Which areas do you struggle with the most? What strategy are you going to
implement to overcome this area? How committed are you to this? Don’t wait to feel like it, or the feeling may never come! What is your first step? Don’t worry about it being perfect – just start now! Remember, your pathway to success will be paved with many mistakes and they are all learning experiences to excellence.  Do you want an experienced coach to walk with you to overcome this?