Why do now what you can wait to do until tomorrow? Most people procrastinate occasionally, and some always put off their tasks until the last minute. While procrastination is incredibly common, it’s not a harmless habit. Avoiding work until the last minute can lead to shoddy performance. And procrastination is stressful — if you’re in the habit of putting things off, you’re probably all too familiar with the rushed, panicky feeling of trying to get everything done right before the deadline rolls around.
There’s some good news, though. Even if you’re a chronic procrastinator, you can learn to recognize the thoughts that lead to putting off work, and you can train yourself to think more positively and reduce your procrastination. As a result, you’ll do better at work or in your classes, and you’ll be less stressed on a regular basis. You might even find that once you stop procrastinating, you have more personal time to spend on activities that are meaningful to you, totally guilt-free. Learning to manage your time better not an easy process, but it’s a highly worthwhile one.
The Thought Patterns That Cause Procrastination
Before you can kick your procrastination habit to the curb, it’s essential to understand why you’re procrastinating in the first place. But figuring this out can be tricky. After all, procrastination doesn’t make a lot of rational sense on its surface. It doesn’t reduce your workload or make your life better. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why on earth can’t I make myself stop putting things off?”, one (or several) of the following reasons could be why.
Perfectionism
Do you just hate it when things aren’t perfect? If so, perfectionism could be at the root of your procrastinating. When a perfectionist isn’t sure whether they’re going to be able to do a task perfectly, they often just avoid doing it altogether. Sure, it’s not checked off the to-do list — but to a nit-picker, that’s sometimes preferable to having the job done imperfectly.
Uncertainty about how to do the job
It’s hard to start working on something when you don’t know how to do it in the first place. Even if you want to do the task, you might not know where to start or how to learn. And the longer you put off a task due to not knowing how to complete it, the bigger and more intimidating that task will begin to seem over time.
Not liking the task in front of you
Sometimes procrastination just comes down to not wanting to do a particular task. You might hate it, you might simply find it boring, or you might feel as if you’ve got more enjoyable things to do with your time. When you don’t feel much personal drive to get a to-do item checked off your list, it’s easy to tell yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Fear of failure
“But what if I mess it up?” If you’ve had this thought while putting off an important task, a fear of failure is probably what’s keeping you from getting it done. This particular thought pattern can be hard to fight, especially if the task on your plate is an important one. But as uncomfortable as it can be to do a task badly, it’s even worse to not do it at all.
Fear of success
It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes people procrastinate because they’re actually afraid to succeed. You may be subconsciously afraid that if you do a task very well, you’ll be given additional responsibilities than you can handle, for example. Or, if you’re shy, you might be afraid of the attention that could accompany success.
Depression or anxiety
Unsurprisingly, your mental health affects your ability to get things done. If you have a mood disorder, an anxiety disorder, or another type of mental health condition, you might find it particularly difficult to get started on a task.
5 Ways You Can Reduce Your Procrastination to Get More Done
Getting completely rid of a procrastination habit may not be a realistic goal — it’s human nature to procrastinate a little bit. But you can certainly improve your time management skills enough that procrastination doesn’t take a bite out of your sense of serenity anymore. Put these ideas to work for you, and you might soon find yourself finishing things early, even if you’ve been a lifelong procrastinator until now.
1. Address the root cause.
When you find yourself avoiding a task, ask yourself why. Examine your emotions instead of trying to rationalize your procrastination. Are you afraid of doing the job wrong? Bored at the very prospect of sitting down and working on it? Figuring out what’s causing your block will give you a starting point for fighting the habit. If your procrastination is severe and you’re having trouble pinning down the underlying reasons, you may find it helpful to talk to a therapist about the issue.
2. Trim down your to-do list.
Putting too many things on your to-do list in the morning doesn’t actually help you get more done. In fact, it does the opposite. When you put more on your list than you can realistically get done in a day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to start, and that leads to procrastination. If you use to-do lists, keep them short — try writing down just the three most important things you need to get done.
3. Make peace with boredom.
Sometimes a task just isn’t fun to do, but it needs to be done anyway. Remind yourself of how much better you’ll feel when you cross it off your list, take a deep breath, and just get started. It’s probably not going to be as bad as you think.
4. Ask for help.
Don’t put off a task just because you aren’t sure how to start. Instead, look for someone who does know how to do the job, and ask them for pointers. You can even ask for help on the internet if people in real life aren’t helpful.
5. Use a time tracking app.
If you feel like time gets away from you constantly, try tracking it with an app (or a simple notebook and pen). After a week or two, you’ll get a clear picture of what you’re really doing with your time, and you’ll be able to plan your tasks and work schedule more effectively to avoid doing things at the last minute.
Procrastination is an ongoing problem for a lot of people. While a little procrastination is normal, it’s not normal for this bad habit to take over your life and stress you out. Figuring out why you procrastinate and taking steps to get rid of the habit will improve your state of mind and help you get more done.
