Are you looking for a way to beat Procrastination?
Then, this write up is just for you!
To honor the essence of this article, I tried not to procrastinate and come up with a piece of work that I would not only proudly publish during this week but it would also be drenched in value so that you, as a reader, could benefit from it.
However,
Before you read on, let’s get something clear…
Procrastination is not an ailment that goes away by taking a pill in the morning. It’s a condition of the mind and it affects more people than you can imagine.
Since you are here, I’ll assume that you feel the affliction of procrastination upon you,
BUT,
Believe me when I tell you this – you are not alone.
It may come as a surprise to most of you but I am a champion procrastinator myself even though I am a business owner, a father of three kids and the sole earner of my house. My to-do list is so extensive that it would make your head spin.
How do I actually get anything done? – It’s a mystery to me!
But, I suppose I get to do this by managing myself,
And,
That is the key to conquering procrastination!
I believe I am so good at managing this, firstly by accepting my own weaknesses and the chief amongst them is today’s antagonist. I don’t feel any shame in revealing my proclivity towards it because it’s a natural behavior – everybody does it.
The best thing one can do is to manage it or minimize it.
Nevertheless,
More importantly, we must first understand it.
As you know, I started to write in this discipline specially to help you.
I want to give you the best advice that I can think of – such that I would have given to my own past self (if it was possible). It will include suggestions that can help you improve your income, your business or at the very least assist you in achieving your “best life.” Finally, a personal achievement would be to see you reach your true potential.
Like everyone else, you must have tremendous responsibilities that you are committed to.
You may have:
- kids to raise, like I do,
- a business or a very demanding job or
- things to do at home.
These responsibilities must be met with a great amount of effort and commitment.
You need to raise your productivity levels along with a mentor who can show you the way.
This is why I chose to act as a guide for those seeking one.
Procrastination is a productivity dampener.
And identifying some of the ways we procrastinate is the first step to freeing ourselves of it.
✶ The first one is – NOT WORKING AT ALL!
Imagine yourself having a big project in front of you but instead of working on it you log-on to a streaming platform and watch a bunch of videos until you get back to your senses and pull yourself back.
Or,
You are working from home and suddenly you feel the need to steal yourself away from work to wash your car or water the plants on the balcony.
✶ The other way of procrastination is – WHILE YOU ARE WORKING.
There is a difficult task that you are working on but it is taking ages to complete. It’s not that you are unable to do it but you still shift your focus onto smaller, less significant tasks that you think you should complete first.
Most people, including businessmen do this all the time.They would think about writing emails or taking up calls, even if it’s not urgent. Ironically, they justify this behavior by telling themselves that they are busy and they choose to do the easier tasks first instead of the main/difficult task that would take their business forward.
It may not seem like it, THOUGH this too is procrastination.
The experts from the field of trauma therapy use the word;
GOAL TRAUMA
They say it is not the fault of a person; it is something else that holds him back from work.
We have a habit of blaming ourselves for not working hard enough or not being able to focus on the job at hand but there is nothing wrong with us. And I’m sure you go through this all the time. I would imagine you reprimanding yourself – that your head is not in the right place. You would find yourself going through such episodes over and over again.
So, according to the experts;
At the core of everything, is “Goal Trauma”.
At some point of time, in the past, you were passionate – you had goals and dreams.
There were some ambitions that you wanted to see fulfilled.
And with all the positivity of the world, you dived in.
YET,
Something happened,
You failed at it!
And it broke your heart and shattered your spirit.
I’m sure it must have been traumatic for you
Because,
Your nervous system registered all those feelings of hurt and pain.
And it said,
“That hurts – We will never let that happen again!”
Fast forward into the present;
You are chasing a big goal or trying to come to an important decision.
Your nervous system is going to trigger that alarm – it’s a subconscious response, you don’t even know you are doing it.
Because it is trying to save you from any potential trauma.
Hence, this is why the experts call it Goal Trauma
The unfortunate result of all of this is that it (goal trauma) can keep you playing small. If you want to achieve big in life, you will HAVE to set big targets.
For that reason you might have to stretch your limits and get out of your comfort zones.
And there will be uncertainty.
Your brain is going to trigger that “Fight Or Flight” response.
And you may find yourself getting unsure about accomplishing the difficult task and considering setting an easier goal.
And sadly, that might actually happen.
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM HERE?
The goal that you would set for yourself will always be too easy and is not going to take you forward in life.
And the worst part of it is that it is not going to get you excited.
You are not going to face your friends, family and peers and brag about it.
There will be no exhilaration about it.
You will not be setting a higher standard for yourself.
You will be procrastinating at every turn.
And things will start to get mundane very quickly.
Finally, you will hate the fact that you are not going anywhere in life.
You will just be doing “things…”
The last aspect to uncovering the dilemma of procrastination is our own psychological makeup.
We humans have two personalities within us!
✶ The first one – The Present Self.
The fun lover.
The pleasure seeker.
The one who wants his way all the time.
✶ The other one – The Future Self.
The planner.
The organizer.
The one who sees things more wisely.
The one who wants to make the effort.
These two people always find themselves at crossroads whenever you are about to make a big decision!
The present self would always want to go for quick results and easy gratification and the future self would always value the importance of working hard, striving for greater rewards, setting goals and long-term planning.
Ironically, the future self can only make the plans for you and the present self is the one who takes the action.
Most of the time, our willpower fails – we give in to the pestering of our present selfs; the need for immediate gratification and the hit of dopamine that comes with quick achievements that can only happen if we choose easy targets.
Hence, we procrastinate…
HOW CAN WE CONVINCE OUR PRESENT SELFS TO MAKE THE EFFORT THAT WE NEED?
It is quite complex.
Procrastination occurs due to poor emotional self regulation. Because both of our brain systems are in a perpetual battle, we are wired in such a way that we see difficult tasks as a threat. As a result we end up delaying them or avoiding them entirely.
What we must do is to muster the courage and will power to convince our present self to start and trust the process.
We should sit down and TELL OURSELVES that the momentum and motivation that we need would ONLY come once we begin.
BUT
How to avoid it?
What’s the way to fight back?!
There are some proven tips and tricks that I know. 😎
I will suggest some strategies to you guys.
There are some hacks that worked for me which I am sure will definitely work for you too.
HOWEVER…
That content is destined for the next part of the series. 😉
So keep visiting & hope to see you again!
