Procrastination seems is the blight of modern civilization killing more good intentions and hope than an Ingmar Bergman movie.
Of course we all do it from time to time, even Life Coaches, but that doesn’t make it any the less frustrating or annoying, especially to chronic procrastinators.
Even though I recently ran a post called ‘How To Stop Procrastinating in 3 Steps‘, I still really didn’t go into the reasons fully.
And this dawned on me the other day when chatting with a client who didn’t really know why she procrastinated.
People in such situations find it even more frustrating than people who do know, because they presume it makes no logical sense and they’re just weird.
Which of course, they’re not.
I had just done the value elicitation process with this particular client who happens to be incredibly bubbly, intelligent and a lot of fun to work with. She also has a load of goals she wants to achieve but aren’t getting done.
Unfortunately in this case, she has a high value of ‘accomplishment’
I say unfortunately because it doesn’t really matter what she accomplishes (within reason) it still gives gives her a lovely little dopamine rush and she feels good about her day.
All well and good under normal circumstances.
On the other hand, if you have a book to write and you’re struggling to get going you’re likely to get a lot more satisfaction from cleaning out the laundry cupboard and getting that finished, than writing 500 words and thinking you’ve achieved little.
That is a classic value conflict and the type very few people spot on their own even if they’re familiar with values.
But there are other reasons people procrastinate that can be equally debilitating and I’m going to share 7 with you today because by knowing what’s causing your procrastination you make it exponentially easier to deal with.
1. Seeing The Big Picture
The client in question is definitely a big picture person. She could see all the projects she had on the go and they numbered close to 10.
Unfortunately for her and anybody else trying to focus on so many things, your brain simply cannot accommodate you.
It struggles with more than 2 things to focus on at a conscious level and completely freaks out and heads for the hills screaming when you ask it to deal with 4 or more.
For people like this (and they are many-fold) the idea is to chunk down (click on the link if you’re not sure what that is) and focus on one task at a time.
Don’t try and spin more plates than necessary, in fact stick to one plate if you can.
The Confucius quote that every journey starts with single step applies really well here.
Every goal and/or task starts with just one thing. And then another thing and another and another, until you suddenly realize that you have achieved way more than you thought.
2. Not Seeing The Big Picture
This may seem contradictory, but it really isn’t.
Only being able to see the big picture is problematical, but never being able to see the end result of your work can be very demotivating and highly probable to create procrastination, or worse still the abandonment of projects.
Take time once in a while to mentally visualize you hitting your goals. Use as much detail as possible by closing your eyes and involving all your senses.
If you do this properly you will soon start to get excited about the prospect of achievement and the procrastination will melt away. Of course it may well make a reappearance a day or two later, but you just repeat the process
3. Thinking Tomorrow, Next Week or Next Month Will Be Different
Human Beings are quite honestly, shit at understanding how they will feel about events in the future.
That’s why people make promises to others about all sorts of weird and wonderful things that are way off in the distance that no way would they have agreed to do if it were later that day.
When you tell yourself that you’ll put off that task until tomorrow because you’ll feel more like it then you’re effectively lying to yourself.
Presuming you’re weren’t incapacitated in some way, 99% of the time you will feel pissed the following day that you didn’t do it when you had the chance.
If you can intercept that faulty thinking when it happens and remind yourself that “No I won’t feel better tomorrow, in fact I’ll probably feel worse” then you are half way there.
Implementing a brake state may help here.
4. Not Being Stressed Enough
Stress is actually a necessary part of life and too little stress can lead to apathy and even depression.
Stress gets you to act because the consequences of not acting are worse than actually doing whatever it is.
You can artificially increase your stress levels by taking time to imagine in detail the serious consequences if you sit on your ass all day or default to some meaningless chore like polishing the tortoise.
5. Being Too Stressed
The flip side of the above is that if you generate too much stress you may very well shut down, so don’t go nuts imagining your own brutal death and the destruction of the planet.
When you feel mildly stressed, stop and go do the work!
6. Not Understanding Your Core Values
You knew I’d have to bring this up at some stage right? Of course you did.
If you have goals and don’t fully understanding what’s driving them at a core value level, then when things get tough it’s easy to think “fuck it I’ll do it later I hear there’s a new video on YouTube of a skateboarding llama”
Get to know your values and focus on them when you are feeling the urge to paint the house rather than make a few phone calls, go to the gym or write a report.
I doubt house painting will be as important to you getting in alignment with your core values*
If you are a painter and decorator, please ignore that last piece of advise.
7. You’re Bone Idle
You may just be plain lazy and procrastinate on meaningful things because you’d rather watch Judge Judy or some other pile of crap. Sorry I can’t help you with that one.
Great stuff, buddy.
Number 7 made me LOL. I can offer some hopefully useful advice on this one though…
Often I’m a right lazy mofo. The best way to increase my motivation for a task I’m avoiding is simply to start thinking about it.
I don’t mean in a negative, “Fuck me, I really don’t want to do this” kinda way.
What I mean is this: I start thinking about actually doing the task. I imagine the order things have to be done in, I start pondering any problems that need to be solved.
Usually, after just a few minutes of this, my laziness lessens significantly and I feel much more willing to tackle the task.
Where the brain leads, the body follows. I just made that up! You can quote me if you like. 5 million pounds to a good man like you.
If that works for you mate then that is definitely the best approach.
However, most people procrastinate on stuff they don’t want to do and taking that approach may freak them out even more. Trying to think positively about what they see as a negative event can create cognitive dissonance and even more inaction..
That’s a great point mate, I hadn’t considered that. It’s dead easy to assume that what works for us individually will probably work for other people.
Allow me to refine my technique by generalising it to apply to more people…
My brain is geared up to solve problems, it loves them! (Even to the extent where it will find them where none exist sometimes, but that’s a whole other story!!). So it’s no surprise that when I focus on problem solving (which I love), it motivates me to tackle the task I’ve been procrastinating.
So, here’s an idea: try thinking about the aspect of tasks that you enjoy the most. My wife is ridiculously talented at planning and organising. Some people get a real buzz from socialising. For some people, perhaps there’s an artistic element to the task which will get their blood pumping.
The key thing is to tune in to whatever usually motivates you, and look for those elements in the task you’ve been avoiding. So you do need a little bit of insight to begin with.
I’ve only just come up with this idea. It might be nonsense, OR it might be a well-established technique that I’ve just reinvented.
Whaddya think? (Can you tell my brain went into problem solving mode as soon as I read your comment?!).
Cheers dude.
P.S. I’ve got a great deal on the Cloud Elevator which is on loan from Willy Wonka this week. Do you want to share a ride with me? How do you fancy seeing Florida from 50,000 feet? Might help build your tolerance for that parachute jump you keep procrastinating ;)
BTW, I’ve just realised that this technique is nothing more complicated that Michael Heppell’s “Flip It” idea. It’s simply looking for the positives in each situation. It’s basically reframing to look for the good bits. I don’t think that causes cognitive dissonance – it’s more that it wakes your brain up to motivating factors that may have been previously overlooked.
Cognitive dissonance occurs when the disempowering belief is much stronger than the new empowering way of looking at things.
But you’re right reframing shouldn’t cause CD as we’re never looking to change reality, just how we perceive it.
WTF is cloud elevator?
My screw up with the parachute jump is not realizing that at this time of year it’s almost impossible to set a date and know you’re jumping because of the weather.
I know somebody that just went through all the agony leading up to the jump and it being postponed 3 times!
I will do it though.
There’s a children’s story about Charlie (from the Chocolate Factory) and Willy Wonka going into a great glass elevator. I think anyway. I may be misremembering. It can fly into the sky.
I’m not sure why I included this in my comment yesterday. I don’t recall taking any drugs yesterday!
Wouldn’t that story been 100x better if Roald Dahl had been American and inadvertently called it Willy Wanka And The Chocolate Factory?
Hah! #7 is classic–can I put that on my “About” page? ;).
Love #4 as a technique in the therapy room. When I first learned this it seemed counterintuitive. Why would people need more stress if they come to you for anxiety? Well…as you mentioned, some people don’t want to do the work; or they’d rather half-ass it in the name of “at least I’m doing something.”
In the end it comes down to the big picture and committing to doing a little bit each and every day to achieve your goal.
Of course, after years of personal experience with being too lackadaisical about life events and pending decisions, I know see how infusing a bit of anxiety into the relationship wards off dependence and gets people moving.
My new procrastination tool (thanks to Alison Golden) is to listen to my resistance, and tackle those issues first thing.
So far it’s working…
Do you mean Guru Golden? Let’s have her proper title please!
Yes let’s! Seriously, what are you two like? ;-)
Tim, have you read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield? Little book meant for writers but his words on resistance could apply to anyone. Snapped me out of many a procrastinating funk.
Glad you’re seeing results, Linda!
Yes I have and it’s an excellent book.
Ok, Tim, I confess!
Number 4 is the bane of all my work. If I don’t keep a healthy level of stress I can’t get anything done.
I can say that the technique works, and it can help you jump into action before you really get stressed because the consequences can really get you. :)
At least you won’t have a heart attack ;-)
I’m slightly offended by this post as usual. While I may fall into the trap in #7, it’s not Judge Judy I watch. It’s Jersey Shore. People used to think these characters were a bunch of drunk muscle heads that would never amount to nothing. they just partied and didn’t do a whole lot. then they became famous millionaires. I think there’s a takeaway lesson in that for all of us.
Seeing the big picture has helped me too. As well as taking one small step at a time. It’s the first step that’s the hardest. For example, I make time every single week to watch Jersey Shore. Cheers!
I don’t even know what Jersey Shore is.
And no, I don’t want to know thanks ;-)
Jersey Shore is this beach made from posh jumpers.
Makes sense.
There are definitely times I suspect myself of #7. But when I really think about it I know better, because I can’t laze around very long without getting bored and wanting to climb the walls. I hate sitting around — I like to DO STUFF. (Unfortunately the stuff isn’t always productive or money making — but at least I’m not bone idle!)
#3 is a killer, though. Guilty of that one way too often for sure.
I’m curious, Tim…which one of these do you find most of your clients are most susceptible to?
3 is the classic one that most procrastinators suffer from Lynn, but I also think #1 is huge too. Not chunking down can be a killer.
Procrastinate? I’ll get to that as soon as I can.
Juggling kids, family, work, and side projects you would think I’m too busy to put anything off. Wrong. I do it all the time. It crops up in different areas. It usually sneaks up on me when I’m about to do something out of my comfort zone. Damn thing needs an alarm on it!
You’re spot on when you say tomorrow will feel worse if it’s still not done. You gave chunk down as a strategy. I feel that’s the best strategy on the list. It’s what gets my ass moving.
Good post, Tim!
Then I’m guessing you’re a big picture guy Lonnie?
Yep, you got. You must be a life coach. Ha!
I can see the big picture better than anyone in my group of friends and coworkers. Sometimes that can be overwhelming.
I’m good at breaking things down into steps. It’s my favorite technique to teach other people. BJ Fogg really figured it out with Tiny Habits.
Just remembered my favourite anti-procrastination tip:
Go Nike on yo’ ass! (i.e. Just Do It!). Forcing yourself to start is often the hardest bit.
Thank you for sharing that Mr Stepper.
Hi Tim,
I think hands down the biggest thing that I have changed over the last few years is identifying and understanding my core values.
I guess this really gets down the “why” of my life and my choices. Of course, it helped to have a job I hated (a few years ago) that sucked the life out of me. This made me step back and really identify what matters most to me in my life.
Once I was able to truly identify those values it changed everything. I became more committed to those things that matter and I easily dropped things that didn’t align with those values.
Yeh it’s funny that, how it can actually be better having a job that you hate rather than one you merely don’t like.
The latter breeds apathy and misery, the former is more like to create action.
Being too stressed cannot really see the bigger picture properly. Try to be calmed and relax. Exercise will help and eat properly.
Yes it will.
I don’t know. Laziness can be useful. The fairies of the Universe can come and take over and live your life for you.
Just sayin’. LOL:-)
Love that phrase “polishing the tortoise”!
I’m stuck in #1 Territory, too many great projects, skim around the edges of all of them, none move forward with any great haste, so small rewards hard to see amongst the never ending To Do List. I will take stock, this week, prioritize, pick one, work on it for one week to the exclusion of all others, chunk it down…, Thanks for this reminder that dreams are great, too many and no concentrated action means no one dream has a chance to be fulfilled. Thanks Again Tim, good advice, good signposts, as always, Mary-Ann
Hey Tim. I know you’re not a fan of The Happiness Project, but Gretchen’s just posted some useful procrastination tips. I like almost all of them.
Oops, the URL would help…
http://happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2012/06/dreading-a-task-5-tips-for-getting-yourself-to-tackle-it/
Great post. There are lots of psychological reasons that contribute to our tendency to procrastinate. One BIG reason is that people tend to avoid doing things that make them feel anxious, frustrated, or just plain bad. Some of the thoughts underneath these feelings can be about feelings of low self-esteem or lack of confidence in one’s abilities.
Most of us jump at the chance to do things we enjoy and and bring us pleasure.
Improving our self-esteem and self confidence can do wonders for improving our motivation in general.