Tip 18: Procrastination Busting (Part one)

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard,
just keep putting off doing it.
Olin Miller

Procrastination is something I know a lot about. As a serial procrastinator I’ll find almost anything to do as a diversionary tactic from the task I know I should be doing. It’s amazing how many trivial jobs just have to be done when I’m faced with a gnarly project or challenging task.

So why do we procrastinate and how can we overcome it? In this, and the following Tip, I offer some suggestions.

Fear

There’s almost always some element of fear underlying the tendency to procrastinate. Fear of failure (or success); fear of not doing something well enough (perfectionists will recognise this); fear of being exposed… Fear is an instinctive reaction which is designed to make us get as far away from the cause of the fear as possible — no wonder we’ll do anything to avoid the activity associated with it.

Understanding what the fear is all about will make it easier to address. On a sheet of paper, write the words ‘I’m afraid of …’ and complete the sentence as many times as you can. Don’t think too hard about it — write the first things that come to mind. Or perhaps you could discuss it with someone objective who can help you think it through. When you’re clearer about what the fear is, then you can find creative ways to address it. Do you need to challenge your beliefs and think differently? Find out more information? Get some help, advice or support?

Lack of knowledge, skills, understanding

Sometimes we put off doing things because of a gap in our knowledge or skills. We simply don’t know enough to approach the task. In this case, ask yourself What’s missing? Where are the gaps? What do I need to find out? Where could I get this information? Is there someone with the expertise I lack who could give me advice or support? Do I need some specialist training? Do I need to delegate all or part of this to someone else?

Feeling overwhelmed

Another reason for procrastination is because a task feels too overwhelming. It’s a bit of a cliché, but it really does help to break a large project or task down into small, manageable steps. Writing a book feels like a huge mountain to climb, but if you break it down into chapters and then set yourself a goal of writing, say, two pages a day it feels more achievable.

Understanding procrastination takes us one big step closer to getting to grips with it. Tip 19 expands on this further. In the meantime, grab that task, take a deep breath and get started.

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on
of an uncompleted task.
William James

Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of
diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.
Wayne Gretzky

Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret.
Today’s duties put off until tomorrow give us a
double burden to bear; the best way is to do them
in their proper time.
Ida Scott Taylor