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Procrastination
Let’s be honest, we all postpone things. Just think about the New Year’s resolutions that will be converted into concrete behaviour from the 1th of January. Why not start changing bad habits now, you might wonder.
When does postponing things, or procrastination, become a problem?
When you notice that the procrastination affects your result in a negative way and /or it leads to negative feelings towards yourself. When you see that you keep postponing things whereas in the meanwhile you are not able to complete other important things. Then it is time to be alert!
The consequences of procrastination are not so innocent. Every time you have deferred something, it is very likely that you experience feelings of shame, guilt or even fear. This can become a negative spiral: (“you see, I just can’t do this!”) and lead to a negative self-image. It leads to stress (“I should do....”), a head that is overloaded, a restless (guilty) feeling and your achievements lower in quality.
Delaying something every now and then is not a problem, but if your behaviour becomes notorious and you suffer from it, probably you would like to change that.
The suggestions below may help you to identify old patterns and change them:
- Get to know yourself: find out what causes you to postpone things. For example concentration problems, lack of motivation, fear, failing to keep overview, being a bad planner (I still have time enough), lack of self-confidence (I can´t do this). If you know what is stopping you, you can start thinking of what you need to do it differently.
- Do not judge yourself too harshly! Research shows that students, who were more forgiving to themselves, were more likely to start in time next time, then those who judged harshly, so have compassion for yourself.
- A suggestion from time management theory: perform small tasks immediately. This prevents procrastination and it's usually more efficient because you have the right information and equipment at hand.
- Start with the most difficult part of the job or task. Often this is the part that you are insecure about: can I do it or not, how much time is needed to complete it, what exactly has to be done, how to realise it?
- Prevent getting distracted. Do not fight temptations constantly, but avoid them. Introduce habits and routines in your daily life, like preparing your gym bag on the evening before you have your workout planned, so it is ready to use. Also: check your messages (email, phone) at fixed times; turn off your phone when you are occupied with something complex.
- Find a buddy. Apparently it helps to introduce deadlines, but what helps even better is when the objectives and the deadlines are shared with and controlled by somebody else. A bit of friendly social pressure can help.
- Just start doing what you have to do. According to Roos Vonk, a Dutch professor in social psychology, we postpone difficult tasks often with the explanation that “we need to think about it a bit more”. But, Vonk says, it is far better “to just start doing it, because the feeling of motivation will follow. When you would only do things that feel right, you never get out of your comfort zone. The tension of doing something that doesn´t feel completely right is good, because the outcome is unsure and you can see how you react in a situation like that. Only then you will grow and develop.”
Finally, a suggestion that I personally like because it can have a big impact: Try to zoom out. Think big! Who do you really want to be? What matters? What values are important? Remember that procrastination is often based on emotional motives (and not for example due to a lack of knowledge or experience with time management). In fact, we often postpone tasks because they pull us out of our comfort zone. It is the toddler inside of us, that is leading (“I don’t want to!”; “I don´t feel like it!” ; I am afraid to..”)
By zooming out, reflecting on who you want to be, what is important to you in life, what it is all about for you, you can start thinking more realistically about what you want. What is good for you? This doesn’t only lead to better self knowledge, but often also will give the motivation (or courage or the confidence) you need to deal with a difficult task, to “just do it”.
Gerlinda Smit, psychologist
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