In simple words procrastination is putting things off until later when you know you could get them done now. In other words, not starting a task or activity when you know you could have started it earlier and should be doing it now.In this article we share some tips on how to overcome procrastination.
The reason we tend to put things off is because of fear – fear of failure, success, judgement from others etc. However the reality is that while these fears exist they are not logical and we should acknowledge that they are not rational or realistic.
Procrastination is a major problem in Western society, the reason why it’s such an epidemic is because of how we’re conditioned to behave and what we believe about ourselves – meaning most of us have adopted false beliefs which lead to procrastination.
False Beliefs and why we procrastinate:
(These false beliefs and values can be applied to almost all areas of life, so the following examples may seem common but it is worth putting yourself in this perspective if you want to overcome procrastination.)
1. It’s not important or as important as (something else) – This creates a lack of motivation to start a task as there is always something else you think is more important.
2. I’m not good enough – You feel that if you don’t do it ‘perfectly’ you shouldn’t bother doing it at all, this filters through your life creating an attitude of “do nothing”.
3. I have no self-control – You find it difficult to delay gratification and end up giving into the temptation of distraction.
4. I do not deserve (something nice) as a reward for (something hard) – This creates an opposition between short term satisfaction and long term success, so you would rather have a treat now than achieve something significant later – creating a lack of motivation to start.
5. Focusing on just one thing will cause me to miss out on something else – You feel that by focusing on one thing it will automatically create a lack of focus towards another area, this prevents you from getting started as you know you’ll fail to be productive elsewhere.
7. I should start this task perfectly or not at all – This creates a high standard for starting a task, if you fail to meet this standard you will not start at all.
8. If I start something, I have to finish it – This creates an opposition between starting a task and putting it off for later, the fear of having to deal with unfinished tasks prevents you from starting anything.
11. If I get any resistance, I should put it off until later – This creates an aversion towards doing anything that is not ‘fun’ so you would rather play games than get something done.
12. If this isn’t perfect, it’s not worth doing – This creates an opposition between ‘shitty’ work and perfect work, you would rather do nothing than do something that is not of the highest standard.
13. I have to do this for somebody else or it’s not worth doing – You think if somebody else isn’t relying on you to get something done then there is no point getting it done, this leads you to thinking that nobody cares about what you do.
14. I should do the easy part and put it off until later – You think that you can’t do something unless it is simple and would rather not start than get stuck with a tough task, this leads to procrastination in an attempt to avoid difficult or challenging tasks, postponing them until tomorrow when you hope it will be easier. This creates an opposition between doing something difficult and easy work, so you would rather do nothing than start a hard task.
15. This is too hard – You feel that if something is hard then it isn’t worth doing, this leads to avoiding or putting off tasks that require a lot of effort.
