Procrastination is more than “Putting Off”.

When the task feels “Meh” and our energy is low, how the hell do we motivate ourselves and get into action?

Procrastination is more than

“Putting Off”.

Is there more to it than simply not fancying the task? What if we’re serial procrastinators? Firstly, let’s define procrastination. Procrastination is...

“Deciding to delay or not complete a task you’ve committed to, and instead doing something of lesser importance, despite there being negative consequences.”

There are a few key words that jump out to me here - committed - importance - consequences. I don’t know about you, but those words feel very heavy and not so much fun! They remind me of sacrifice, and interestingly focus on the past and future rather than the present, which is essentially the problem with procrastination!

So why do we procrastinate?

There are several reasons why we might procrastinate and they each have a very different energy flavour - yes I made that term up but I like it. 😊 Here are a few of my favorites.

Confused.com - Missing Puzzle Pieces

A simple, yet debilitating reason, can be that we don’t have a clear enough handle on what’s required of us to complete the task. Particularly in a new role, with a new project etc, we may feel primed and ready to go in those creative and collaborative phases, and once we sit down alone to get going, feel overcome with a sense of brain fog and second guessing. Rather than ask for help we waste time trying to muddle our way to answers, with a heavy dose of procrastinating down rabbit holes. This can lead to sitting there wasting mental energy debating possibilities and primarily being concerned with looking stupid!

The answer is clearly to seek help but we can mitigate the perceived damage to our work-cred by trying a few things first.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1 - What is the purpose of this task - the outcome?

2 - Can I break this down into stages?

3 - Which stage is the “frog”* which needs eating first?

4 - What would be a realistic time frame to do each stage?

5 - Share with a colleague and get their advice as to whether you’ve hit upon the most efficient path.

* Productivity consultant Brain Tracy coined the phrase “eat the frog” method after this vivid piece of advice from Mark Twain:

“If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning.

And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”

Perfectionism - Done is Better than Perfect

Perfectionism, whilst similar, is perhaps a more persistent offender, regardless of the task in front of you. The ironic thing about this self-sabotage is that we end up doing a mediocre job, or even worse, regularly overwork to make up for the time wasted procrastinating.

If you resonate with the “perfectionist” badge, you likely have high expectations of yourself and may want to prove how capable you are to others, even if subconsciously. Starting or completing a piece of work and claiming it as “finished” can therefore feel like a mountainous task. Adding, tweaking and delaying completion, also means time away from the next task and we travel further along the path to overwhelm.

To challenge this perfectionist energy, we first have to recognise it - scrutinise whether fear of imperfection, “not-good-enough” or even fear of success is the reason you’re dragging your heels.

Then you might like to try the following:

1 - Try to release the fear that it needs to be perfect by reminding yourself your work is usually amazing - trust yourself!

2 - Future pace imperfection - imagine the work has not gone perfectly and practise feeling comfortable with this.

3 - Rehearse telling yourself “this is good enough for now” and “done is better than perfect”. You can serve more powerfully by being decisive.

Not Seeing the Big Picture - Undervaluing the Rewards

A common reason people procrastinate and eventually end up overwhelmed, is that they don’t buy into the “why” behind the task. They have little control over the tasks given to them and fail to understand the significance of them in relation to the bigger picture of the organisation.

As with the self-sabotaging behaviours already mentioned, this lack of motivation can be seen in people suffering burnout - the sense of apathy can be overbearing and make getting into action feel like walking through treacle.

If this is you:

1 - Remember a time when you did feel motivated by the common goals and outcomes of the team.

2 - Recall the emotions, thoughts and feelings in your body when you were working towards your cause.

3- Looking at the task in front of you, can you keep completing the sentence “So that…” for each stage of the task until you reach the “Why” of what you’re doing.

All of the above reasons we procrastinate have two key things in common - they present demotivating and hindering factors. Our fear of judgement, the anxiety about getting things less than perfect, has the opposite effect of motivation - demotivating and sucking energy. Additionally, not having all the resources we need to complete the task, hinders our efficacy and weakens our self control.

If we can practise recognising the unhelpful thoughts such as “I’ll do it later”, and scrutinise why we’re resisting action, then we can save ourselves the energy drain of wasting time deliberating and avoiding.

We cover the topic of procrastination, alongside other subjects such as battling burnout, regaining confidence, and coping with mixed emotions after leaving the classroom, in our monthly mindset sessions within the Adventures After Teaching Academy.

To access these sessions, join a supportive community and tap into tonnes of practical resources to help you navigate a career change, head over to https://www.adventuresaftertea...