#60 Must stop proctrastinating

So the irony is not missed here but I have been putting off writing this blog on procrastination! I am a serial procrastinator - I will nearly always find a reason why not to do something that is tedious or puts me out my comfort zone or is just boring. Even when not doing it could have dire consequences (like realising last week that my car MOT is a year out of date! but I have sorted it now).

One definition of procrastination which sums it up well is ‘Unnecessarily delaying an important task usually by focusing on less urgent and more enjoyable or easier activities’. This can apply to anything - whether it’s meeting a work deadline or paying a bill or doing household chores or even putting off telling someone something important. Although it is human nature, if it gets out of hand, it can be a cause of escalating anxiety and frustration.

So WHY do we put things off?

1) The task seems overwhelming in the moment - some things just seem to involve too much effort so we push them out to the future, the trouble is this just means our task lists grows bigger

2) We have too many other things to do because we have taken on too much or can’t say no but promise ourselves we will do it later - then we don’t

3) We doubt our ability to get the task done - pesky imposter syndrome can pop up when it’s the most unwelcome so we tell ourselves we can’t do it so we choose not too

4) Fear and anxiety about the being judged or feeling embarrassed that we haven’t performed the task well enough so we delay the outcome

5) Perfectionism causing continual delays to completing a task you really want to perform well when really you know that what you have done already is good enough (or [NOTE TO SELF] that someone else could do instead if you delegate more)

6) Distractions - in the modern world there are so many sources of distraction to tempt us away from focusing; constant messages, stimulations, or really any shiny and more interesting thing other than what we should be doing

The fact is that time is limited. Most people have more to do than there is actually time for. So we have to make a conscientious effort to use time wisely. I have been researching some tips that I hope to put into practice myself:

1. Just start it - instead of over-thinking the task ahead, JFDI. Often once we get into the natural flow we realise the task isn’t as daunting as it seemed

2. Break tasks down into chunks - if it appears too much, make a plan and identify smaller steps that can more easily be tackled. Then you will feel a sense of achievement as each one is done

3. Organise your day better - I mean, easier said than done but time management is a skill in itself (see previous blog on Getting organised - looks like I don’t practice what I preach LOL), we all know what the right thing to do is….

   • Deal with the more difficult tasks early in the day when we have a skip in our step and they aren’t hanging over our heads

   • Make a list and prioritise the tasks and make sure you do them in that order (so tempting to skip to the fun ones though right?)

   • Block out some time to avoid distractions - even 30 minutes with no phone or messages pinging can make a huge difference

4. Embrace imperfection - instead of sweating over completing ever task to perfection, lower your standards slightly in order to get more done within the time available

The most important thing is not to be too hard on yourself if you do have a tendency to procrastinate - I mean things will get done eventually won’t they? I am going to try and get a bit better at prioritising things which really do need to get done as it does stress me out knowing I don’t have a reasonable excuse!