The Real Reason Why You Are Procrastinating

Why you are procrastinating

Procrastination is not just a time management issue reflecting laziness or a lack of motivation. Your self-discipline is not to blame. Instead, it is actually an emotional challenge that you are avoiding.

You’ll make up excuses for not working on the task you need to do, because deep inside you are afraid of failure. It could be that the task seems risky, or so complex that you are not sure what the outcome is going to be.

So it’s not only a fear of failure, but also a fear of success. Because on the road to success, you will face increased scrutiny from others, which means increased pressure to perform and an associated fear that you may let everyone down and fall short of expectations.

If you are a perfectionist, this may manifest itself by not starting the task at all, as this will prevent you from putting yourself in a position of failure. In this way, you can continue to pretend that you have a perfect track record, because you only take on challenges of which you are sure about the end result.

But of course, you’ll never get anywhere that way. All progress requires effort. Moreover, the task at hand remains unfinished. Depending on the nature of the task, you are betraying yourself, sabotaging your own progress, or disappointing people around you.

How to overcome procrastination

Before you engage in all sorts of time management methods, find out if your procrastination has an emotional origin. Find out what emotions your task evokes. Is it anxiety? If so, what exactly are you afraid of? Do you think you will not be able to complete the task successfully? Are you afraid that others will criticize your work? Are you afraid that after completing the task, it will lead to a whole new set of tasks?

One way to get rid of your fear is to detach yourself from the outcome, but instead make progress the goal. This way you can’t fail, because your every minute spent on your task is worth it.

5-Minute Rule

As with everything in life, the beginning is usually the hardest. Once you get that out of the way, you’ll find the rest of the journey much easier.

To get started with your task, you can utilize the 5-minute rule. The 5-minute rule is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique for procrastination in which you set a goal of doing whatever it is you would otherwise avoid, but only do it for five minutes. If after five minutes it’s so horrible that you have to stop, you are free to do so.

Not only will you find that you can accomplish a lot within five minutes, but also that you will unconsciously spend longer than five minutes on the task you had been dreading for ages. This is because setting the intention and starting is usually the hardest part. By thinking about the task as something that may take only 5 minutes, it feels much less overwhelming and a lot more doable.

Setting the right environment

Your environment will partially determine how well you can overcome your procrastination. The fewer distractions, the better.

Therefore, clearly block out when you are going to work on your task. Tell people around you not to disturb you for the next hour, unless the building is on fire. Clear your desk, put away food, lock your pet in another room. Put all your devices on silent and put them out of arm’s reach and out of sight. Say to yourself, “I’m going to work on this task for X minutes now.”

By making it this explicit, you trigger your brain to go into focus mode, causing it to release more adrenaline and acetylcholine for increased attention.

Your procrastination is defeated

Once you have stepped up to the challenge and completed your task, an indescribable sensation will race through your body. A feeling of triumph and relief. You will find that all along, procrastination was just a little voice in your head making you anxious. You can actually laugh about it. All it took was a different mindset and just doing the thing you need to do.