Just do the job! What is difficult about that? You can stop procrastinating!
If it were that easy then none of us would procrastinate, but most of us do with some things most days. The key thing is looking at what we procrastinate on, why we do on those certain areas and finding ways to work around this to help us get the job done. The last bit is the hardest bit as this is personal and individual to each one of us.
The definition of procrastination is “the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline”.
Usually, it’s a habit we have developed where we intentionally delay either starting or completing a task despite knowing when our deadline is, and more importantly what the negative consequences are from not completing this piece of work. Some might call this self-sabotage.
If we are anxious about something, then we avoid the ‘thing’ that makes or causes us to be anxious. Being anxious about something developing in procrastination about a particular task just festers over time creating a barrier or obstacle in that person’s life.
We might look at ourselves honestly and consider what areas we procrastinate in and think about why we might. Is it an event or an association? What do we think might happen to us if we start or complete the task? What is it that’s going on in our minds during this time? Understanding ourselves and being self-aware is important and can help us address those weak areas using our strengths to do this.
Another reason for procrastination is perfectionism. We just want the task to be done ‘right’, with ‘right’ being perfect. We need to consider that whilst it’s great to have high standards it’s not helpful to expect everything to be perfect.
Working through the pros and cons of the negative consequences of not doing a task and considering what it is we most fear will happen and write down the likelihood and probability of the worst thing happening. Putting things into context is a great way to deal with procrastination and why we procrastinate.
