Author Susan Orlean said, “I think of myself as something of a connoisseur of procrastination, creative and dogged in my approach to not getting things done.” She speaks for many of us who continually find ingenious ways to avoid doing things we know need to be done.
Why do we procrastinate? There are several possible reasons.
Negative emotion avoidance – We might avoid a task because it brings up anxiety or other unpleasant emotions. For example, avoiding a conversation you expect will arouse conflict.
Large or vague tasks – Tasks that seem too big or too complicated are more likely to be avoided because there is either no definite starting or ending point, or both. It’s human nature to want a clear picture of how long a task will take and how to do it. An example would be writing one’s life story. We might view that as a worthy goal, but the perceived immensity of the project is likely to deter us from starting.
Perfectionism – An unrealistic expectation of perfection also drives procrastination. If we perceive we can’t do a good enough job, we might not start the task. The problem is that in many cases, we’re entirely able to complete the job adequately, but our warped need to perform perfectly keeps us from getting started.
Delayed gratification – Instant gratification usually beats out a delayed reward. We’re more likely to choose the path of least resistance to a payoff, which leads us to avoid tasks that take longer to deliver a reward. Instead, we’re likely to waste time on minuscule, unimportant tasks because they feel good immediately.
Mental or emotional overload - When we’re mentally or emotionally tired, the prospect of starting a new task often feels overwhelming. At these moments, we are likely to put off even less ambitious tasks.
Fear of the expected outcome – We may avoid tasks that we expect will lead to an undesirable outcome. An example would be a task to implement an AI system that would lead to job losses among co-workers.
Awareness of these drivers is the first step to breaking our procrastination habits. Now, it’s time to take action! Here are a few tips to help you combat procrastination and perform at your optimum level.
If a task seems too big, identify a small piece of the whole and tackle that. For example, instead of “sort old photos”, reframe it as “sort photos for 20 minutes” or “sort photos for 2010 only.” This way, you’ll be more likely to handle the task.
It’s human nature to get distracted by less important tasks that deliver immediate gratification, even if the payoffs are tiny. For example, rather than starting a crucial task, how many of us have decided to check our email or social media feeds first? The payoff for doing this is small but immediate.
To avoid this trap, identify the types of things that distract you and take steps to avoid them. For example, temporarily turn off notifications on your phone and computer so you won’t be tempted to interrupt your attention from the important task.
Completing an important task is often easier if we feel an obligation to something or someone outside ourselves. For example, suppose you wanted to improve your writing skills. Rather than taking the self-study route by reading books or online content on the topic, why not sign up for a writing class? That way, you’ll feel accountable to the instructor and fellow students to keep up with the curriculum and accomplish your goal. You’ll also feel motivated to finish to justify the cost of tuition.
Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” How many of us have wasted our day worrying when we avoided doing an unpleasant task? Tackling that dreaded chore first thing in the morning puts it behind us so we can concentrate on the rest of our day. Another advantage is that we are typically at a higher energy level in the morning, so we’re able to devote our best effort to getting the job done.
The specific reasons for procrastination differ from person to person. Yet if we become aware of what drives our avoidance behavior, we can take steps to promptly manage seemingly troublesome tasks. A key part of this may be acknowledging that it’s human nature to avoid some tasks. We can make things easier on ourselves if we dial down the impulse to do tasks perfectly and dial up the self-compassion.
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