Lost your mojo? Discover the secret to overcoming procrastination
August 13th, 2021
Ann Collins
Three weeks ago on a sunny afternoon at the end of August here in France, I sat down to write this article. Everything was set: I’d done some research, I had an hour free, even a cup of tea was to hand. I was motivated to get it done. It was all going to be done and dusted before lunchtime. And then I remembered my to-do list...
Procrastination, low-level or not, can be a quite debilitating habit. So what causes it? And what can we do about it? "Just get on with it! Stop faffing!" I hear you, however it appears that it’s not that simple.
Procrastination is as old as the hills. The word derives from the Latin, procrastinat meaning "deferred to the morning". If it were just until the morning, maybe that would be ok, but when it’s 3 weeks or even 3 years, it’s starting to be an issue. The Latin definition doesn’t adequately describe the self-sabotage involved: "I’ll avoid doing it even though it would be better not to."
Why do we procrastinate if it’s so bad for us?
Some would say it’s because they lack self-discipline or that they’re lazy. However, Dr Piers Steel, author of "The Procrastination Equation: How to stop putting things off and start getting stuff done" suggests that it’s our inability to manage a negative mood or emotions and not our inability to hack into our motivation.
Steel proposes an interesting equation: our expectation to succeed (we could call this confidence) and the value we attach to the task versus our impulsivity. He argues that those who are more impulsive are more likely to procrastinate as they value the immediate reward and this is often not available to us with more complex or longterm tasks. You could look at the example of starting to train for marathon: the results will not be immediate for most! Therefore to decrease procrastination we need to increase our confidence and the value we attach to the task and simultaneously decrease our impulsivity to accept the delay of the reward for completing the task.
So the good news first! Procrastination is not an inherent personality trait that is fixed. Assuming that we value the task and that the reward for completion (even if it is a mini-goal) is attractive and imminent, key seems to be fixing our expectation that we will succeed.
Which emotions could block us at this point? Anxiety, low self-esteem, boredom, resentment, frustration could be among the sources. Fear of what others might think or how we may be judged is a common one.
In order to change, it’s sometimes helpful to understand more about what procrastination actually is doing for us positively. In those moments of avoidance, we are therefore taking a short-term decision to remove the discomfort. A perfectly sensible and understandable solution at this point is to stop the process, delay starting or continuing in order to protect ourselves from the negative thoughts. This causes magnificent short-term relief that is addictive! I avoided the pain!!
However, as we all know, this short-term relief only serves to compound the problem and reinforces the negative thoughts and emotions, It’s so easy to see why this becomes a habit. We prioritise the short-term gain and procrastinate. The long-term pain is potentially very limiting: this limiting habit can lead to stress, problems at work and at home and possibly to poor mental and physical health, depending on the context.
The solution however is within reach. Having identified this pattern, we are already halfway there to moving forward. There are many ways to explore, but one of my favourites is this question:
What would you do if you really didn't care about what anyone else thought?
Answering this question doesn't negate or downplay the difficult emotions that we are perhaps experiencing, but it does, for some, offer a way to unlock the door towards action. Accept the emotion, plan the way forward and then do it. do we procrastinate if it’s so bad for us?
The second boost required in Steel’s model is in the value part of the task: how important is this task to me? This can be challenging. Think of a task that is going to involve patience, time and possibly not much joy. What will this enable you to do? If you don’t do it, what will you not be able to do?! It’s worth persevering to find a value in the activity that will kickstart your motivation to get on! Unless, of course, you actually don’t want to do it… be aware of that too! Maybe procrastination and actually not doing the task is the best option.