Procrastination - How to Manage this Common Vice
By Sharmin Banu. Posted on .
If you are reading this you might be like many of us who suffer from procrastination. But don’t stop there – this vice may be just the tip of the iceberg, the symptom of something bigger underneath. Pay attention and address the root cause.
For my case I procrastinate for different reasons. For example, when the task:
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- Needs deep attention (e.g. creative thinking)
- Is hard – something I am not naturally good at (e.g. accounting).
- Is boring (organizing, paper work, chores)
My strategy depends on the reason for the procrastination. For the high energy demanding creative work, I try to schedule them when my brain and body are in its best performing state, in my case it is after breakfast. For tasks that are just hard work for me, I try to break it in much smaller doable tasks so I can take one bite at a time. Positive psychology expert Shawn Achor said, making it easier to do have a much better chance of getting it done. Regarding the third category, the boring tasks – sometimes those are necessary to create the environment for me to do my most exciting work. So if those little things help clear my mind and be more productive, then let be it! I Suffer … for Fifteen Minutes.
Now there is another category I haven’t mentioned yet. Despite all those strategies if the task is not attracting me, I analyze it further, to understand what the piece that is blocking me. Some possible reasons are:
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- Not seeing the real value of doing it
- There is some fear underlying
- …
I am so amazed how this little awareness can open the door of possibilities like it did for my client Tom. When he first came, he described him as “the master procrastinator”. After a few coaching sessions he finally figured out that he had a fear of failure and that prohibited him from finishing tasks on time. The excuse he had been using was perfectionism (another ally of procrastination)! This realization helped him to finally accomplish his long cherished dream – today, Tom, that “master procrastinator” has become an esteemed member of one of the top research lab in the world.
[If this resonates with you let me know and I will be happy to have a chat with you about it.]
