Overcoming Procrastination
Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last
possible minute, can be a major problem in both your career and your personal
life. Side effects include missed opportunities, frenzied work hours, stress,
overwhelm, resentment, and guilt. This article will explore the root causes of
procrastination and give you several practical tools to overcome it.
The behavior pattern of procrastination can be triggered in
many different ways, so you won’t always procrastinate for the same reason.
Sometimes you’ll procrastinate because you’re overwhelmed with too much on your
plate, and procrastination gives you an escape. Other times you’ll feel tired
and lazy, and you just can’t get going.
Let’s now address these various causes of procrastination
and consider intelligent ways to respond.
1. Stress
When you feel stressed, worried, or anxious, it’s hard to
work productively. In certain situations procrastination works as a coping
mechanism to keep your stress levels under control. A wise solution is to
reduce the amount of stress in your life when possible, such that you can spend
more time working because you want to, not because you have to. One of the
simplest ways to reduce stress is to take more time for play.
In his book The Now Habit, Dr. Neil Fiore suggests that
making time for guaranteed fun can be an effective way to overcome
procrastination. Decide in advance what blocks of time you’ll allocate each
week to family time, entertainment, exercise, social activities, and personal
hobbies. Then schedule your work hours using whatever time is left. This can
reduce the urge to procrastinate because you work will not encroach on your
leisure time, so you don’t have to procrastinate on work in order to relax and
enjoy life. I caution against overusing this strategy, however, as your work
should normally be enjoyable enough that you’re motivated to do it. If you
aren’t inspired by your daily work, admit that you made a mistake in choosing
the wrong career path; then seek out a new direction that does inspire you.
Benjamin Franklin advised that the optimal strategy for high
productivity is to split your days into one third work, one third play, and one
third rest. Once again the suggestion is to guarantee your leisure time. Hold
your work time and your play time as equally important, so one doesn’t encroach
upon the other.
I’m most productive when I take abundant time for play. This
helps me burn off excess stress and enjoy life more, and my work life is better
when I’m happier. I also create a relaxed office environment that reduces
stress levels. My office includes healthy plants, a fountain, and several
scented candles. I often listen to relaxing music while I work. Despite all the
tech equipment, my office has a very relaxed feel to it. Because I enjoy being
there, I can work a full day without feeling overly stressed or anxious, even
when I have a lot to do. For additional tips to make your work environment more
peaceful and relaxing, read the article 10 Ways to Relaxify Your Workspace.
2. Overwhelm
Sometimes you may have more items on your to-do list than
you can reasonably complete. This can quickly lead to overwhelm, and ironically
you may be more likely to procrastinate when you can least afford it. Think of
it as your brain refusing to cooperate with a schedule that you know is
unreasonable. In this case the message is that you need to stop, reassess your
true priorities, and simplify.
Options for reducing schedule overwhelm include elimination,
delegation, and negotiation. First, review your to-dos and cut as much as you
can. Cut everything that isn’t truly important. This should be a no-brainer,
but it’s amazing how poorly people actually implement it. People cut things
like exercise while leaving plenty of time for TV, even though exercise
invigorates them and TV drains them. When you cut items, be honest about
removing the most worthless ones first, and retain those that provide real
value. Secondly, delegate tasks to others as much as possible. Ask for extra
help if necessary. And thirdly, negotiate with others to free up more time for
what’s really important. If you happen to have a job that overloads you with
more work than you feel is reasonable, it’s up to you to decide if it’s
worthwhile to continue in that situation. Personally I wouldn’t tolerate a job that
pushed me to overwork myself to the point of feeling overwhelmed; that’s
counterproductive for both the employer and the employee.
Be aware that the peak performers in any field tend to take
more vacation time and work shorter hours than the workaholics. Peak performers
get more done in less time by keeping themselves fresh, relaxed, and creative.
By treating your working time as a scarce resource rather than an
uncontrollable monster that can gobble up every other area of your life, you’ll
be more balanced, focused, and effective.
It’s been shown that the optimal work week for most people
is 40-45 hours. Working longer hours than this actually has such an adverse
effect on productivity and motivation that less real work gets done. This is
especially true for creative, information age work.
Don’t just take my word for it though; test this concept for
yourself. Many years ago I ran a simple experiment to determine how efficiently
I was working. I measured my efficiency ratio as the number of hours I spent
doing important work divided by the number of hours I spent in my office each
week. The first time I did this I was shocked to find that I only got 15 hours
of real work done while spending 60 hours in my office, an efficiency ratio of
25%. Can you believe that? Over the following weeks, I increased my
productivity dramatically while spending far fewer hours in my office. By
limiting my work hours, I actually got more done. You can read the details in
the article Triple Your Personal Productivity. I now know that working long
hours is huge mistake, and I challenge you to discover this truth for yourself.
3. Laziness
Often we procrastinate because we feel too physically and/or
emotionally drained to work. Once we fall into this pattern, it’s easy to get
stuck due to inertia because an object at rest tends to remain at rest. When
you feel lazy, even simple tasks seem like too much work because your energy is
too low compared to the energy required by the task. If you blame the task for
being too difficult or tedious, you’ll procrastinate to conserve energy. But
the longer you do this, the more your resolve will weaken, and your
procrastination habit may begin spiraling toward depression. Feeling weak and
unmotivated shouldn’t be your norm, so it’s important to disrupt this pattern
as soon as you become aware of it.
The solution is straightforward: get off your butt and
physically move your body. Exercise helps to raise your energy levels. When
your energy is high, tasks will seem to get easier, and you’ll be less
resistant to taking action. A fit person can handle more activity than an unfit
person, even though the difficulty of the tasks remains the same.
Through trial and error, I discovered that diet and exercise
are critical in keeping my energy consistently high. I went vegetarian in 1993
and vegan in 1997, and these dietary improvements gave me a significant ongoing
energy boost. When I exercise regularly, my metabolism stays high throughout
the day. I rarely procrastinate due to laziness because I have the energy and
mental clarity to tackle whatever comes my way. Tasks seem easier to complete
than they did when my diet and exercise habits were poor. The tasks are the
same, but I’ve grown stronger. A wonderful side benefit of the diet/exercise
habit is that I was able to get by with less sleep. I used to need at least 8-9
hours of sleep per night to feel rested, but now I function well on about 6.5
hours.
The most energizing foods are raw fruits and vegetables.
Make your diet abundant in these foods, and you’ll likely see a marked
improvement in your energy levels. The first week or two, however, you may
temporarily feel worse as your body takes the opportunity to detox. Erin and I
each lost seven pounds the first week we went vegan. Once the dairy clog
finally got cleaned out, our intestines were better able to metabolize
everything we ate from then on. We later learned that this is actually quite
common. There’s a good reason baby cows need four stomachs to digest their
mother’s milk. Human beings can’t metabolize dairy products properly, so the
partially digested cow proteins float through the bloodstream and must be
eliminated as toxins (i.e. poisons). This requires even more energy, which can
leave you feeling more tired than you otherwise would.
You’ll have to decide for yourself how far you want to take
this. I suggest you try different dietary changes for only 30 days at first to
see how it affects you. That’s how I went vegetarian and later vegan. In each
case I went into the challenge fully expecting to revert back at the end of the
30 days, but I liked the results so much that I couldn’t fathom going back.
Don’t take my word for this. Experiment for yourself, and discover what health
habits work best for you. For more tips see the article How to Find the Best
Diet for You.
4. Lack of Motivation
We all experience temporary laziness at times, but if you
suffer from chronically low motivation and just can’t seem to get anything
going, then it’s time for you to let go of immature thought patterns, to
embrace life as a mature adult, and to discover your true purpose in life.
Until you identify an inspiring purpose, you’ll never come close to achieving
your potential, and your motivation will always remain weak.
For more than a decade I ran a computer game publishing
company. That was a dream of mine in my early 20s, and it was wonderful to be
able to fulfill that dream. However, as I entered my 30s, I began feeling much
less passionate about it. I was competent at what I did, the business was doing
well financially, and I enjoyed plenty of free time. But I just didn’t care
that much about entertainment software anymore. As my passion faded, I started
asking, “What’s the point of continuing with this line of work?” Consequently,
I procrastinated on some projects that could have moved the business forward. I
tried to boost my motivation using a variety of techniques but to no avail.
Finally I recognized what I really needed was a total career change. I needed
to find a more inspiring career path.
After much soul searching, I retired from the gaming
industry and launched StevePavlina.com. What an amazing change that was! I
found renewed passion in helping people grow, so I didn’t have to use
motivation-boosting techniques to get going. I was naturally inspired to work.
I still feel totally inspired. Best of all I procrastinated less on non-work
tasks too — my passion spread across all areas of my life.
Center your work around an inspiring purpose, and you’ll
greatly reduce your tendency to procrastinate. If you haven’t already done so,
listen to Podcast #15 – What Is Your Purpose?. Finding your purpose is a
powerful way to defeat procrastination problems because you won’t procrastinate
on what you love to do. Chronic procrastination is actually a big warning sign
that tells us, “You’re going the wrong way. Take a different path!”
Once you’ve centered your life around an inspiring purpose,
then you can take advantage of certain motivational techniques to boost your
motivation even higher. For some specific motivational tips, read Cultivating
Burning Desire.
5. Lack of Discipline
Even when motivation is high, you may still encounter tasks
you don’t want to do. In these situations self-discipline works like a
motivational backup system. When you feel motivated, you don’t need much
discipline, but it sure comes in handy when you need to get something done but
really don’t want to do the work. If your self-discipline is weak, however,
procrastinating will be too tempting to resist.
I’ve written a six-part series on how to develop your
self-discipline, so I’ll simply refer you there: Self-Discipline Series. If you
really want to overcome procrastination, you must release any attachment to the
fantasy of a quick fix, and commit to making real progress. Hopefully you have
the maturity to recognize that reading a single article won’t cure your
procrastination problems overnight, just as a single visit to the gym won’t
make you an athlete.
6. Poor Time Management Habits
Do you ever find yourself falling behind because you
overslept, because you were too disorganized, or because certain tasks just
fell through the cracks? Bad habits like these often lead to procrastination,
often unintentionally.
The solution in this case is to diagnose the bad habit
that’s hurting you and devise a new habit to replace it. For example, if you
have a problem oversleeping, take up the challenge of becoming an early riser.
To de-condition the old habit and install the new one, I recommend the 30-day
trial method. Many readers have found this method extremely effective because
it makes permanent change much easier.
For tasks you’ve been putting off for a while, I recommend
using the timeboxing method to get started. Here’s how it works: First, select
a small piece of the task you can work on for just 30 minutes. Then choose a
reward you will give yourself immediately afterwards. The reward is guaranteed
if you simply put in the time; it doesn’t depend on any meaningful
accomplishment. Examples include watching your favorite TV show, seeing a
movie, enjoying a meal or snack, going out with friends, going for a walk, or
doing anything you find pleasurable. Because the amount of time you’ll be
working on the task is so short, your focus will shift to the impending
pleasure of the reward instead of the difficulty of the task. No matter how
unpleasant the task, there’s virtually nothing you can’t endure for just 30
minutes if you have a big enough reward waiting for you.
When you timebox your tasks, you may discover that something
very interesting happens. You will probably find that you continue working much
longer than 30 minutes. You will often get so involved in a task, even a
difficult one, that you actually want to keep working on it. Before you know
it, you’ve put in an hour or even several hours. The certainty of your reward
is still there, so you know you can enjoy it whenever you’re ready to stop.
Once you begin taking action, your focus shifts away from worrying about the
difficulty of the task and toward finishing the current piece of the task which
now has your full attention.
When you do decide to stop working, claim and enjoy your
reward. Then schedule another 30-minute period to work on the task with another
reward. This will help you associate more and more pleasure to the task,
knowing that you will always be immediately rewarded for your efforts. Working toward
distant and uncertain long-term rewards is not nearly as motivating as
immediate short-term rewards. By rewarding yourself for simply putting in the
time, instead of for any specific achievements, you’ll be eager to return to
work on your task again and again, and you’ll ultimately finish it. You may
also want to read my article on Timeboxing.
If you find that clutter and disorganization are hurting
you, I suggest you read the article Getting Organized. For a compelling
overview of effective time management principles, read Time Management. And for
a giant list of specific time management tips you can apply right away, read Do
It Now.
7. Lack of Skill
If you lack sufficient skill to complete a task at a
reasonable level of quality, you may procrastinate to avoid a failure
experience. You then have three viable options to overcome this type of
pattern: educate, delegate, or eliminate.
First, you can acquire the skill level you need by training
up. Just because you can’t do something today doesn’t mean you’ll never be able
to do it. Someday you may even master that skill. For example, when I wanted to
create my first website in 1995, I didn’t know how to do it because I’d never
done it before. But I knew I could learn to do it. I took the time to learn HTML,
and I experimented. It didn’t take long before I launched a functional web
site. In the years since then, I continued to apply and upgrade that skill. If
you can’t do something, don’t whine about it. Educate yourself to gain skill
until you become proficient.
A second option is to delegate tasks you lack the skill to
do. There are far too many interesting skills for you to master, so you must
rely on others for help. You may not realize it, but you’re already a master at
delegation. Do you grow all your own food? Did you sew your own clothes? Did
you build your own house? Chances are that you depend on others for your very
survival. If you want a certain result but don’t want to acquire the skills to
get that result, you can recruit others to help you. For example, I don’t want
to spend my days trying to understand the details of the U.S. tax code, so I
delegate that task to my accountant. This frees me to spend more time working
from my strengths.
Thirdly, you may conclude that a result isn’t needed badly
enough to justify the effort of either education or delegation. In that case
the smart choice is to eliminate the task. Sometimes procrastination is a sign
that a task needn’t be done at all.
When I was in college, I felt that certain assignments were
pointless busywork, and I couldn’t justify the effort required to do them. If
the impact on my grade wasn’t too great, I’d decline to do those assignments.
Nobody cares that I received an A- instead of an A in a class because I
declined to write an essay on gestural languages. If an employer or graduate
school screener ever did care, I’d have turned the experience to my advantage
by using it to demonstrate that I could set priorities.
8. Perfectionism
A common form of erroneous thinking that leads to procrastination
is perfectionism. Believing that you must do something perfectly is a recipe
for stress, and you’ll associate that stress with the task and thus condition
yourself to avoid it. So you put the task off to the last possible minute until
you finally have a way out of this trap. Now there isn’t enough time to do the
job perfectly, so you’re off the hook because you can tell yourself that you
could have been perfect if you only had more time. But if you have no specific
deadline for a task, perfectionism can cause you to delay indefinitely.
The solution to perfectionism is to give yourself permission
to be human. Have you ever used a piece of software that you consider to be
perfect in every way? I doubt it. Realize that an imperfect job completed today
is always superior to the perfect job delayed indefinitely.
Perfectionism also arises when you think of a project as one
gigantic whole. Replace that one big “must be perfect” project in your mind
with one small imperfect first step. Your first draft can be very, very rough.
You’re always free to revise it later. For example, if you want to write a
5000-word article, allow your first draft be only 100 words if it helps you get
started.
Some of these cures are challenging to implement, but
they’re effective. If you really want to tame the procrastination beast, you’ll
need something stronger than quick-fix motivational rah-rah. This problem isn’t
going away on its own. You must take the initiative. The upside is that
tackling this problem yields tremendous personal growth. You’ll become
stronger, braver, more disciplined, more driven, and more focused. These
benefits will become hugely significant over your lifetime, so recognize that
the challenge of overcoming procrastination is truly a blessing in disguise.
The whole point is to grow stronger.
No comments:
Post a Comment