The Procrastination Parade
I think we all know what procrastination is, but just as a reminder it’s defined as the action of delaying or postponing something. Doesn’t seem like such a terrible thing, right?
It’s not actually terrible at all, you might need more time to think, maybe you need to gather more data so you can make a good decision. Maybe you need to rest and postponing something will give you the chance at having a fresh perspective. Maybe you need to get your priorities straight so that you can approach the task or project more efficiently.
But I want you to know there are other reasons you are procrastinating and it’s NOT because you’re lazy. You weren’t born a procrastinator you learned how to be one.
It is perfectly human of you to postpone or rest or prioritize. I want to talk about the kind of procrastination that has you providing yourself excuses not to show up, not to get the work done and feeling miserable about yourself… jumping in on the procrastination parade.
In those situations, you are procrastinating because you’re avoiding… and do you know what you’re avoiding… feeling a negative emotion, which usually ends up being fear. There is something about that thing, you don’t want to face.
Psychologist have identified several types of procrastinating behaviors. Let’s take a look at some of them.
The Perfectionist - this person also doesn’t start the task because of the fear of failure but the feeling comes from the “all or nothing” kind of thought process (I believed this). It has to be done perfectly or they feel like failures. They tend to get lost in very small details.
Life Hack: Do B- work. Yep I said it! You need to stop obsessing about the endless details that have to be perfect, because they don’t. I would bet that your B- work is most everyone else’s A work since you are naturally detail oriented. You must give yourself a timeframe to work within and stick to it, it will force you to stay focused and get to the finish-line.
The Over-Doer - this person commits to WAAAY too many things making it almost impossible to prioritize and get all the things done. Taking on way too much almost immediately sets up failure because if all the tasks are not completed it equates to them being a failure.
Life Hack: Prioritization is the key here. Remember “urgent” doesn’t always mean it’s important. Separate them out and identify urgent and important and put them on the top of the list and work the tasks from that point of view.
The Crisis-Maker - this person believes that they perform the best under pressure (I believed this) I really believed that if I didn’t have a looming deadline that I would not perform at my best. It’s 100% a lie. I almost never knew how long it would take me (especially if it was something new) causing me to almost guarantee that I would be burning the midnight oil to get things done, and then you know what happened? Perfectionism kicked in causing even more self doubt and second-guessing.
Life Hack: Putting crazy pressure on your self because you’ve convinced yourself that you will perform better is a lie. You leave yourself no room to review or enlist help if needed. It makes every part of the project an “emergency” you cannot prioritize in the order of importance since you’ve waited so long that every part if it is now an emergency and overwhelm easily sets in.
Take the time to review the project and prioritize leaving plenty of time in the end for revisions. If you like to feel pressure, set a timer for part 1 of the project and work hard for 30 minutes to get that done and then take a break. Come back and give yourself 10 minutes to review your work. Continue this way all the way to completion.
The Dreamer - this person has a really big ideas and spend a lot of time thinking about them and how amazing things would be if….. but that’s where it ends. They never seem to find the motivation or commitment to take action toward the dream. They are usually highly creative but get very carried away in their endless imagination.
Life Hack: Set SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound). Breaking down goals in to doable action items will give you traction to move ahead and not spin your wheels.
The Avoider - this person has a fear of judgment from others and would rather put something off or avoid it all together so not to face any criticism (even constructive/healthy feedback).
Life Hack: Break down your tasks into manageable smaller tasks, assess how much energy is needed to complete each one, allowing you to feel a sense of achievement and build momentum for the rest of the tasks you have for the day.
If you can see yourself in any of these, not to worry try the little life-hacks and see how much better you feel.
Reply to this email, let me know if any of the life hacks have worked for you, or share back what is working for you to overcome some of these limiting beliefs.
Have a great week friends!
Chris
PS. Share with anyone that you know who needs to feel better this week.
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