It is not unusual to think of procrastinators as lazy or unprincipled people. They say that they want to act. They have the intention to act. They recognize they could act and that it would be in their best interest to act. But they choose not to act.
Now, that may seem like a good definition of laziness. But dismissing people who procrastinate as lazy and unprincipled doesn’t appreciate the subtlety of the behavior.
After all, all of us are guilty, at times, of procrastination.
We recognize a task that needs to be done and find ways to put it off. Some people believe that putting off a task until the last minute makes you work better under pressure and leads to better outcomes.
Also, consider that one of the definitions of procrastination is a wise and deliberate delay so you avoid impulsive action. Still, there are some costs that come with procrastination and some benefits when you resist it.
1. Anxiety and stress can be the source of your procrastination.
Anxiety has a lot of feelings associated with it that can contribute to procrastination. These include fear of failure, self-doubt, a lack of self-confidence. Along with these feelings, there are lots of self-defeating thoughts as well: I won’t do a good job. Someone will notice how poorly I perform.
The problem comes when you believe these thoughts and feelings to be true. You begin looking through these thoughts like they are reality. You think about a task you have to do. That is followed quickly by the fear of being judged in a negative light. The easiest way to avoid that fear is to put the task off until later.
Instead of looking through these thoughts, you can learn ways to look at them. I teach my clients lots of different defusion techniques to help them get some space between them and these thoughts.
2. Perfectionism can be the source of your procrastination.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to do a good job in a competitive world. People who struggle with perfectionism have only two standards by which to judge a task: I did it perfectly. I failed. Think about how powerful this dynamic can be. You’ve done the task, but well, it’s not perfect. So the only way you can look at the task is as a failure. And the only way to get out of failure is to get back to perfect.
That mindset creates a lot of stress and anxiety, and you can relieve it by putting the task off until later.
3. A chaotic lifestyle can be the source of your procrastination.
When you procrastinate, you create a lot of stress by having to keep track of deadlines and unfinished tasks. Staying on track can make your life more orderly.
Find ways to maintain control and structure as you do a job. Make a schedule and stick to it. With this kind of control and structure, you can also make moments of leisure and enjoyment a part of your schedule. These breaks can help you finish the task.
4. Focus on your values.
A task can be something on your ‘to-do’ list that has to be done. Then, it becomes something you enjoy or don’t enjoy. Something that you want or don’t want to do.
But any task can also be an expression of your values. Values are not these inspirational ideals. They are those big ideas and principles that can shape your behavior at any moment…including this task that your want to put off.
Sometimes, you wait until the last minute to meet an obligation or express gratitude for what another person has done for you because you are so busy. From a place of values, doing those things suggest that this task or that person is not really that important. That is not who you are, so even in the midst of the busyness, you find a way to act.
Identifying and expressing your values is an important part of my work with people who struggle with procrastination. My anxiety treatment specialty page can give you more information.
