Holding Yourself Back? How To Stop Procrastinating. Now!
Everyone procrastinates occasionally. However, between 20 – 25% of people are known as chronic procrastinators. They put off everything, in every area of their lives, which is sounding depressingly familiar to me. But why do we procrastinate? And what can we do to stop procrastination for good? Let’s start at the beginning…
Evolved To Delay
[P]rocrastinators seem more likely to make rash actions and act without thinking,” Daniel Gustavson of the University of Colorado Boulder.
Procrastination is an inheritable trait so if your parents were procrastinators then there’s a good change that you will be too. Sorry kids!
It is linked genetically to impulsivity and both are related to our ability to pursue and manage goals. This makes sense. In an uncertain world then being impulsive is beneficial. Eat the food today because who knows what tomorrow will be like. Fortunately most of us know what tomorrow is going to be like; pretty much like today! So putting off long-term goals is not helpful in the least.
Then there’s something from behavioural economics called Hyperbolic discounting. Simply put, humans have a tendency to prefer smaller rewards in the short-term instead of greater rewards in the long-term. So, for example, you are more likely to accept fifty euro (pounds, dollars etc) today rather than one hundred in a year’s time. Hyberbolic discounting is used to predict how populations may react to economic situations, but basically it’s a tool to measure impulsivity in populations.
Holding Yourself Back
So I could research that topic about procrastination and then write about it. Not only would I learn tools about how to stop procrastinating for ever but I’d also get a great feeling of achievement once it’s done! Or I could check Facebook for a bit … (True Story)
So we put off what we have to do to do things that will give us a smaller reward of pleasure in a shorter time. Even though we may feel guilty about doing it.
Sometimes we compensate for feeling bad by doing something else that’s necessary or is good for us. We might do a household chore for example, or exercise. So yeah, the task that’s stressing me out is no closer to completion but at least I didn’t waste my time.
Sometimes the deadline is so far off in the future that it’s meaningless to us. One study found that people were less likely to procrastinate on long-term projects when they thought of them in terms of days rather than months or years. Somehow, 365 days sound less than one year and we’re more likely to start on the project.
And then there’s what I’m inclined to call the Deadline Hit. It feels great when we make a deadline, even when we know that our work is not as good as it could or even should be. Once we make that deadline we feel great. And so we should, as our brains release dopamine in response to stressful situations. So in effect we reward ourselves for procrastinating by releasing dopamine to counter the stress induced by procrastinating. Yikes!
“Our brain is hardwired to seek rewards. [It] is able to work out the value of an outcome, so how rewarding the outcome of a task really is, and some things really do have a big reward like acing a test or getting your money back from your taxes, but at the same time there are other things that are immediate, less rewarding, but still rewarding, like playing a computer game,” Dr Amy Reichelt, University of New South Wales
In essence we sabotage ourselves for mini rewards and guilt instead of sticking it out for greater rewards.
How To Stop Procrastinating
So we know a little about what it is, but how do we stop ourselves from procrastinating? We do it by knowing what we’re really after.
You’re addicted to dopamine. We all are. It’s what our brains give us as a reward, even when the reward is ultimately damaging. Many drugs are addictive purely because they mimic dopamine and supply us with higher than normal amounts. In some ways all addiction can be traced back to our desire for dopamine, even if we’re addicted to wasting time.
So we need to:
- Break the project into mini goals. Every job consists of tasks. In itself the job may seem too big, but lots of small tasks can be tackled easily.
- Assign deadlines to the tasks. Get your deadline hits often. Frame the deadlines in days and not weeks or months.
- Reward yourself. Ticked off a certain amount of tasks? That can be reward enough in itself, but if not, have yourself a treat.
- Start. Don’t spend all your time planning and writing task lists. Jump in and start doing them!
- Take a little time out to realign yourself. You can increase your attention and focus by meditating for a surprisingly little amount of time.
You can look at Facebook or have a bar of chocolate. Just cross two or three tasks off your list first. If it takes less than three minutes then do it now. Few things are so bad that you can’t stand three minutes of it. Just do it. Draw a big line through it on your list, bask in the dopamine glow of achieving it on or before the deadline and move on.
Only two more tasks before I pig out on coffee and chocolate…
What are your procrastination busting tips?
Sources:
- APS – Exploring the Genetics of “I’ll Do It Tomorrow”
- Scientopia – Stressed out and not thinking straight? Blame dopamine release in your prefrontal cortex
- ABC – Procrastination is hardwired into our brains
- USC – The future is now: reining in procrastination
Fear of failure is a major contributor to procrastination, as is overwhelm. They are both dopamine killers
Fear of failure is indeed a factor in procrastination, but research by Timothy A. Pychyl found that how competent you feel is a much bigger factor. In an article in APA he states that a key finding of his research was that “after we take into account the relation with competence, fear of failure no longer predicts procrastination!”
So if we can break overwhelming projects into several smaller tasks we can help strengthen our feelings of competence and at the same time lessen the effects of procrastination! So aiming for small wins seems to be the way to go. Thanks for the comment!
Great article! I only hope that I’ll remember this come the New Year!
Well, you could always share or bookmark the page. Or even better sign up for the newsletter 🙂 Good luck with your resolutions!
What a great thought provoking article! Thanks for that!
Thank you!
Thanks Rebecca!
Awesome!! This was actually very informative 🙂
Thanks Kayla!
I love these suggestions on how to not procrastinate. I needed these reminders especially this time of year.
I know, it’s so easy to slip back into bad habits! Thanks!
Great article!!
I love procrastinating! Okay, maybe I don’t love it, or maybe sometimes I do since I wrote a post about the benefits of procrastination. 😉
Really, though, I break through procrastination by focusing my time and energy on what’s important to me. If completing a task adds value to my life then it’s much easier to motivate myself to work on it. If completing a task doesn’t add value to my life, then maybe it’s not something I really need to do after all, and I cross it right off my list!
Chrysta
Good advice Chrysta, thanks for commenting! It’s easy sometimes to take on tasks on a whim. A good task pruning exercise is definitely needed from time to time
I definitely realized the root of my procrastination to be an inability to turn down short term rewards. I am practicing self discipline everyday and try to remind myself that while It may feel good in the moment to procrastinate, it will feel far better to reap the benefits of my rewards of doing the work! Thanks for this great post!
Awesome tips, I need to continue some of these practices as they have reminded me of those things I can be doing to get things done.
Great Article! I’ve found that as I’ve worked on becoming less ‘black and white’ about things, my ‘type A – ness’ has decreased and my procrastination has increased. I guess there are pros and cons to everything right? What works for me when I want to binge watch a show is that I have to do at least 15 minutes of my to-do list between shows. It’s amazing how much you can get done in 15 minutes!!! Again, thanks for the great article.
Love this list! Rewards are a wonderful thing. Yes, we need to take small steps and give ourselves more high fives
I totally agree. No matter how small the win may be we should take to time to enjoy each and every one. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for the tips. I tend to take on more than anyone could do in the time frame allowed. It is a goal of mine to reduce the amount of work I take on.
It’s all too easy to think we’ll have time to do things in “the future”. I’m guilty of taking on too much too – I hope this post helps
I use to define myself as the procrastination Queen ! These are great tips to move beyond and to check in with yourself with these emotions like fear of failure creep upon you. I’ll be sure to keep these tips near to develop new habits and rock it 🙂
I always find it easier to stop doing something when I can reduce it to its smallest parts. I’m glad you found the tips useful, thanks for reading!
Thanks for the great insights. Procrastination comes and goes with me and I really need to stop it all together.
You’re most welcome Billie, thanks for reading!
I am definitely a procrastinator, but I know I need to stop doing that. I hate it when I’m procrastinating. Thanks for the tips!
Great Article!. I love the tip where you said don’t spend you time planning tasking. I remember for years that was me. I would always write and plan thing but never do it. not any more though. LOL
Great post! I personally like ticking off a goal once I reach it.
Thanks Tammy! Me too, each tick can be a little reward in itself!
At one point this was me all the way. I learned that procrastinating only made my progress harder and longer. Great article!
Thanks Juanita!
Great post. The tip that spoke the most to me is “reward yourself.” I tend to have a lot going on at one time, so it is easy to become overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed is my procrastination trigger. Making sure I schedule time for me and reward myself for completed tasks sounds like just the thing to get me over that hump. Thank you for sharing!
Yes, me too, Zenobia. It’s all too easy to take on too much and become totally overwhelmed. We should all take time to pat ourselves on the back, sometimes 😃
We have been going through some major procrastination issues with my oldest daughter. In a major breakthrough this weekend we talked for hours. It started with a few bad grades and then feeling like she wasn’t going to be able to dig herself out of the hole she was in, she stopped caring to try. With a huge progression in her work this week and weekend, she went to school with a new look on it. I am hoping that working through her fears, we are back on track!
I’ve been there Amy! When things are overwhelming it can be easier to just not try. Sometimes a fear of failure or the pressure of being a perfectionist can add to the feeling of being overwhelmed. I’m glad to hear that your daughter has gotten over that particular hump!
Great post. I used to procrastinate a lot. Completing big tasks overwhelmed me. Learning to breakdown into smaller, daily tasks did help me a great deal.
Thanks Tamyka! I’m the same. It all depends on how you think about the problem. A marathon seems very difficult if not near-impossible, but just taking another step is a lot easier. Not that I’ve ever run a marathon 🙂
Once I learned to break projects into mini goals my procrastination behavior declined rapidly. And most of all, like you said, just START! Sometimes I have to take action before I think I’m ready in order to combat the procrastination monster. Great suggestions here!
Thank you Kemya! Some of the most perfect projects were never put into action. Starting is the most important thing.
Great advice. I am a procrastinator, and currently procrastinating finishing my application to grad school, by stumbling sites from blog share learn!