How to Overcome Procrastination

Wednesday’s Wisdom:  “The best way to get something done is to begin.” – Author Unknown

Google defines procrastination as “the action of delaying or postponing something.”  Some of us are in the habit of procrastinating and are doused with a flow of side effects.  Side effects that include guilt, stress, and frenzied work hours. 

There are several reasons why you procrastinate.  Sometimes you fear that you might fail so you put off what you consider an unwelcomed consequence.  Sometimes you have packed your schedule to tightly and there is just not enough room for the additional task.  Sometimes you are just feeling plain lazy and you just don’t want to do it.

Whichever the cause, there are ways to overcome procrastination.  I will list several root causes of this scourge along with ways to overcome.

Stress is one root cause of procrastination.  Sometimes we use procrastination as a coping mechanism to help us deal with stress.  Reducing the amount of stress in your life is one way to overcome procrastination in this instance.  Schedule more time for play.  Play is a known stress reliever.  Benjamin Franklin suggested that you split your week into thirds.  One third for work, one third for play, and one third for rest.

Another root cause of procrastination is being overwhelmed.  Sometimes we pack our to-do list with more activities than we can reasonably do.  This inevitably causes you to put some tasks off for a later date.  Your brain just can’t keep up with a schedule that you know you can’t follow.  Your brain then instructs you to stop. 

One way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to prune your to-do list.  Allow only priority items to make it onto the list.  Delegate some of the activities.  This way the task gets done without the cost of overwhelming yourself. 

Resist the temptation to classify yourself with the workaholics.  Peak performers get more done by staying relaxed and fresh.  Once again, schedule more time in your schedule for play and relaxation.  Doing so will render you more effective, focused, and balanced.

A third root cause of procrastination is laziness.  Sometimes our work leaves us physically and emotionally drained.  Once this becomes a pattern it easily becomes a habit.  When you are feeling lazy you don’t feel like doing even the simplest of tasks.  When you are feeling this way your energy is too low to complete the task.  You might decide that the task is too difficult.  Blaming the task will only strengthen the habit of laziness.  This habit can easily send you spiraling downward towards depression.  The way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to know that you should not normally feel weak and/or unmotivated.  If you find that you are feeling this way immediately disrupt the pattern.  Disrupt the pattern by immediately becoming active.  Not just mentally, but physically as well.  One way to become active and raise energy levels is to do exercises.

A fourth root cause of procrastination is a lack of motivation.  Temporary laziness can be expected at times.  However, there is a problem if you find that you are chronically lacking motivation.  The way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to find out what your true purpose is.  Until you find your true purpose you won’t even come near to reaching your full potential and you will always have weak motivation.  Once you find your purpose center your work around that purpose.  This will do wonders in reducing your tendency to procrastinate.

A fifth root cause of procrastination is a lack of discipline.  Sometimes you come across tasks that you just don’t want to do.  Your motivation may be high but you just don’t like the task.  These are the times that self-discipline comes in handy.  The way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to take note of the many articles on the web that are written to help you improve self-discipline and to put some of the suggestions to use.

A sixth root cause of procrastination is a lack of good time management habits.  Bad habits like oversleeping, being too disorganized, and letting tasks fall through the cracks are a feeding ground for procrastination.  The way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to formulate good habits that will replace the bad habits.  For instance, if you have the habit of oversleeping consider taking the challenge of becoming an early riser.  Begin by setting your alarm to ring one half an hour earlier than you would normally wish to get up in the morning.  Try this for a week and then move the time back another half an hour.  You can do this until your wake up time equals 4 am.  Many successful entrepreneurs as well as others start their day at 4 o’clock in the morning.  Imagine the things that you could get done.  There would be time for breakfast, coffee, a work out and perhaps some work tasks that you would normally put off due to time constraints.

A seventh root cause of procrastination is perfectionism.   Thinking that you must do something perfectly causes stress.  When you stress over a task you immediately begin to avoid it because of the unwanted feelings that it fosters.  You put the task off until the last minute and then you make errors because you have forced yourself to rush through it.  But then you think “that’s ok,” because you have told yourself that if you had just had more time to do the task you would have done it perfectly.  The way to overcome procrastination in this instance is to allow yourself to be human.  Realize that it is better to have a task done imperfectly then to not have the task done at all.

These seven cures that I have listed will not come about easily.  You will have to work at it.  The bad news is that the problem of procrastination is not going to go away by itself.  The good news is that working towards eliminating procrastination from your life will be well worth it.

(This article was written via  ‘Overcoming Procrastination,’ by Steve Pavlina) 

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