If I procrastinated less I would ……….?

Here I want to offer you a strategy for busting the procrastination habit which can be one of the biggest hurdles to achieving your goals and getting more of what you want from work and life. To procrastinate means to ‘put off’, this not only means achieving less it also creates ‘clutter’. Getting something done takes it off your list and makes more space in your life, putting things off keeps your ‘space’ cluttered with unfinished jobs and things to do. This doesn’t feel good and is the opposite of the sense of responsibility and control that goes with getting things done. Taking action means prioritising what is really important and requires courage. While there can be good reasons to put something off I want to suggest that we may often ‘cheat’ ourselves into procrastinating simply to avoid the short term discomfort that goes with acting now. Awkward conversations often get put off and this is justified by saying “it’s not the right time” or “they’re not in the right mood”. So we delay until there is a right time by which time it’s too late or the right time never comes! We may delay starting our new health and fitness plan until next month and justify this by saying “I’ll wait until then because I’m just too busy at the moment”. At work important management meetings or appraisals often get put off because of ‘busy ness’. In truth this can be about avoiding the uncomfortable consequences of taking people away from ‘the coal face’ for an hour.

One way of breaking the procrastinating habit is to see that putting something off requires a certain way of thinking. I really should do ‘x’ … but …I can’t do it right now because of ‘y’ …. so therefore …..I’ll slot it in somewhere next week and try to do it on ‘Z’.

X is the action we are planning to put off. Y is the reason (excuse) as to why we won’t do it now (usually linked to avoiding some discomfort associated with doing X). Z is the time in the future where X has been put off to. The result is now a postponement plan with enough delay to reduce feelings of discomfort and far enough away that further delays can be slipped in as the time draws closer. Try thinking about something you have been putting off, imagine committing yourself to doing it or starting it right now and notice how this feels. There maybe a sense of elation as you commit to taking action but equally there may be a feeling of trepidation as you contemplate experiencing the discomfort you have been avoiding. (going to the Dentist!) Sometimes we delay to avoid the discomfort of another person’s reaction and while few people enjoy confrontation don’t make this an excuse to avoid dealing with something important.

Once you see the thought structure behind procrastination you can adjust it. Notice yourself ‘putting off’ and be honest about what’s going on (procrastination labelled as something different because you have justified it that way can really hold you back). Now think differently about your action X by first changing the words I should do X or must do X to I want to do X. Then explore your Y’s for what they really mean. What are you trying to avoid by delaying? Might you be avoiding something uncomfortable in the short term only to make it worse in the long term? Go on to build a new way of thinking that searches for the reasons (‘A’) why you can do X now rather than why you can’t. This starts with the words ‘I can do X (or start X) now because of ‘A’ and I will take action at the earliest possible time which is ‘B’. As you commit to this action plan notice how it feels and accept there may be feelings of discomfort associated with just getting on with it but don’t let these get in your way of achieving what it is you really want. That well used saying ‘there is no gain without pain’ has stood the test of time for good reason. So take a moment to think through your goals or wishes or ‘to do’ list. What have you been putting off? What can you commit to doing right now? What are you waiting for?

I hope you have enjoyed this tip and find it valuable for yourself or for others. If you want to contact me my email is jeff@betterbalance.co.uk and other people can also benefit from these tips by adding their email to the box on www.betterbalance.co.uk

Best wishes Jeff Gill ICF Credentialed Caoch.



If I procrastinated less I would ……….? - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Gill's Website.

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