A guide to understand why you procrastinate and how to overcome it.
Procrastination can be a b*tch. How many times have you felt frustrated because you want to accomplish so many things in life but it always seemed like procrastination got in the way and you ended up doing absolutely nothing?
In order to break this vicious cycle, we first need to understand where your procrastination is coming from. First of all, let’s clarify something. The reason you procrastinate is not because you are lazy, you have no discipline or have a time management issue. No, the reason why you procrastinate is because you have an emotional regulation problem. In simple terms, some tasks trigger negative and uncomfortable emotions in your body. These could be boredom, stress, insecurities or fears. And since you were never taught how to deal with them in a healthy way, you tend to avoid them.
Let’s say for instance, you need to fold laundry (a very boring task if you ask me lol). You know you need to fold it and put it away, but just the thought of doing such a boring and unpleasant task, triggers something in your body that makes you focus on a totally different task and avoid folding laundry completely.
This kind of emotional response happens all the time. Whether you need to start a project, go to the gym, do the dishes or having a difficult conversation with a loved one. You will feel overwhelmed by the unpleasant emotions triggered and you will do your best to avoid them at all cost. Now the question is, how do fix this?
The first and most important step when it comes to procrastination is self-awareness. You need to ask yourself “What is the psychological discomfort I’m avoiding right now?” A tip that has helped me with this is by writing on a piece of paper or notebook, what emotions are being triggered by the task I’m avoiding. This technique will help you pinpoint the underlying feeling and reason why you are avoiding a specific task to begin with.
Once you identify what the root of the problem is, you can start addressing it accordingly. This is obviously easier said that done, but like everything in life, it gets easier with practice. For example, if you find that the unpleasant feeling is “overwhelm” and you don’t know where to start, you can break that task or project down into smaller pieces that you can complete more easily and start building momentum.
Another technique that has helped me a lot when it comes to procrastination is the “5 min rule”. This one consists of doing the task that I’m avoiding for only 5 minutes, after those 5 mins I can stop if I want to. By doing this, I realized that in most cases I didn’t stop after 5 mins, I just kept going. I found out that the hard part was to start, but once I did, it was actually hard to stop. This was a game changer for me.
Last tip is the “2 min” rule. If you have any task that you know it will take you less than 2 mins to complete (i.e. making your bed, doing dishes, taking trash out, etc.), do it right away. Don’t put it off. This will help you accomplish a couple of things. First, you would be completing a task and you no longer have to think about it. And second and probably the most impactful one, you will start gaining confidence in yourself that you can get things done and that procrastination doesn’t hold any power over you. These small wins are evidence that you can take control of your life, and that right there, can be very powerful.
So, go ahead and try these tips. Remember, you don’t need an overnight success. Don’t set up yourself for failure by trying to do too much too quickly. Start small and build up from there.
Much love,
Daniel
