Procrastination: Understanding It to Overcome It

You guessed it, this article fell victim to my own procrastination. Don’t judge me — we’re in the same boat, since here you are reading this instead of getting through today’s to-do list.

I’m going to make the most of your precious minutes to take a tour of the topic: what is procrastination, what are its deeper causes, and above all, what are the best strategies for procrastinating effectively and making the most of your time, with a smile?

Why do we procrastinate?

So why do even the best of us tend to put certain tasks off until later? Whether it’s a work project, an email or call we keep pushing back, or renovations we’ve left on the back burner for ages, the procrastinator’s attitude has one clear cause:

The human brain is wired to seek pleasure and avoid discomfort. So it’s only natural that less appealing tasks get postponed, or avoided altogether. Do this often enough, and procrastination becomes a learned behaviour — a habit. If you recognize yourself in these lines, stay tuned!

Certain conditions can push us to procrastinate even more, whether it’s the idea that we have plenty of time to spare for a long break, a negative feeling about the task at hand, or an environment that just isn’t conducive to getting things done (like the mountain of dishes piling up in the sink — a handy excuse for not making lunch). While most of us share the same experiences, and several areas of our lives are affected by this attitude, the roots of procrastination can vary. Whether we’re trying to avoid acting altogether out of fear of judgment or failure, convincing ourselves we perform better under last-minute pressure and stress because we’re thrill-seekers, or simply finding it hard to make a choice and stick with it, procrastination can lead to negative consequences across various areas of our lives.

Bye bye procrastination!

There are strategies within your reach to reduce the harmful effects of chronic procrastination. The first step is to identify and name the reason (or reasons) why you procrastinate, along with the excuses you tend to make. The easiest way is to write them down to put things in perspective. If certain tasks tend to get put off often, it’s worth breaking them down into microtasks. A project that takes several hours can feel like an insurmountable task, but taking a small moment to start with careful planning is entirely doable and helps you better consider every aspect of it. After five minutes, you can reassess — simply getting started is likely to lead to real progress on the task at hand.

If a task doesn’t take much time to complete, but you really don’t feel like doing it, promising yourself a “reward” once it’s done can be an excellent source of motivation. Movie nights, Sunday brunch, and “spa and relaxation” moments are far more enjoyable when your mind is free and you’ve checked one of your goals off the list. Pairing the task with an activity you enjoy but that doesn’t require your full attention, like listening to a podcast or sipping a latte, also adds a healthy dose of pleasure to getting it done.

Finally, scheduling dedicated time for these tasks and setting an automatic reminder makes us feel more accountable for actually doing them. During that time, it’s important to limit distractions (zen mode on for your phone, that Chrome extension on your computer, a clear workspace, all the tools you need within reach, and so on). Prioritizing and organizing what needs to get done also makes it easier to navigate your day while cutting down on delays.

So, do you have any tricks for beating procrastination? –

Read also

On procrastination: The Kaizen approach to overcome procrastination; TED Talk by Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a procrastinator. From the Sparkling blog: 13 Tools to Boost Your Everyday Productivity (Part 1); 13 Tools to Boost Your Everyday Productivity (Part 2). Are our tips and tricks inspiring you? Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter to stay in the loop on our upcoming articles and case studies.