Is Procrasting Holding Your Back?
Is procrastination plaguing your life? Do you find yourself putting things off that you know you need to do? Do you get annoyed with yourself and find yourself having a sudden burst of productivity because the deadline is fast approaching, vowing never to leave things to the last minute again…… but then find yourself in the exact same blind panic next time? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We all procrastinate on some level. We can all find more interesting things to do if we’re not emotionally invested in the outcome of the activity we need to do.
Procrastination was the topic for the final episode of the Winter Wellness feature with Kaye Adams on BBC Radio Scotland with myself and Kamalyn Kaur.
There are many reasons for procrastination. Sometimes we have competing priorities. Other times, we may not have the skills or resources to complete the task. Another reason can be the curse of perfection, not starting a job because we think were just not good enough or capable enough.
Whatever the reason, the sooner we can get a handle on our explanations for not doing something, the sooner we can start to overcome the issue of procrastination. Its also worth exploring what your fears are around completing the task – fear of failure? Or is it actually fear of success? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Why would you fear success I hear you ask, but many do, because a lot of responsibility comes with success. The expectation that if you’ve done it once, you can do it again and that becomes the status quo. We see this a lot in the workplace as you upskill, but don’t get rewarded financially for it. Another example is if you are studying and pass your assessment receiving a high grade, the pressure to repeat this can become paralysing. The expectations from others can lead to imposter syndrome if you feel like your accomplishments were just a fluke - especially if you procrastinated and simply pulled it out of the bag at the last minute!
Equally, we all know exercise is good for us, but how many of us have to force ourselves to do it? The issue here is that we focus on the pain that we feel when unfit trying to get fit rather than the feel good factor and the endorphin glow, we are going to feel after completing the exercise – but even that’s not always enough to get us off the couch and into our trainers.
Bottom line is procrastination is stealing our joy, the energy, and head space it takes up constantly thinking about the task we’re supposed to do is taking away from the joy of whatever you’re doing to avoid the task. I really like Brian Tracy’s method of “Eating the Frog”. The concept is that you have your to do list, the thing you don’t want to do and find yourself procrastinating about is the equivalent of eating a frog – ie horrendous! So do it first, get it out of the way and then anything after that is a total breeze and your mind is clear. Give it a try and let me know how you get on.
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To listen to the interview click here:
