Procrastination is something we all know. Every human who has been alive for long enough to have to do tasks they don’t like has experienced it. But some of us are better at fighting it off, while others struggle.
I’m in the latter category. I’ve been procrastinating for so long now that I earned the right to call myself an experienced practitioner. And no, I don’t put things off until the very last moment just because I’m lazy or unmotivated.
While I put off tasks I find icky, I’ll read a 300-page book in 2 days, binge-watch a series like there’s no tomorrow, and can’t stop writing about topics I enjoy. The secret? I like doing these things. Plus, I find joy and accomplishment in doing something that excites my curiosity.
So, I don’t lack the ability to focus on a task (and neither do you, for that matter).
I’ve been reading on the topic of procrastination for a while now (there are a lot of books, articles, and podcasts), but it wasn’t until I found Ali Abdaal’s podcast that it clicked:
Procrastination is emotional, and you can’t logic your way out of it.
According to Ali Abdaal’s podcast guest, Professor Fuschia M. Sirois, procrastination is a voluntary form of delay that happens despite knowing there will be negative consequences. We (procrastinators) tend to go into this delay mode whenever a task triggers negative feelings.
Sounds familiar? To me, it does — whenever I have to tackle something new that seems difficult or even something I know is boring and time-consuming, my brain flips a switch, and I find myself scrolling social media.
Instead of dealing with the negative feelings triggered by a task or project, I choose the immediate feel-good feeling of putting everything on hold and doing something else.
This way, the icky task becomes someone else’s problem — future me.
However, what I often fail to realize is that this “future me” is not going to have any more skills and resilience than the present me. They’ll just have to deal with a task perceived to be unpleasant while being under a ton more stress due to the impending deadline.
Why Do We Procrastinate?
I don’t have all the answers to this question, but from what I’ve learned, it’s something deeper than being lazy, unmotivated, or lacking time management skills.
Sure, I like a certain state of ease, but putting things off for an undetermined later date doesn’t bring comfort. On the contrary, it surfaces frustration and disappointment since I’m breaking a promise to myself.
So why do we keep doing it despite not feeling good? Here are a few ideas that may put things into perspective:
Lack of Forward-Thinking
According to Professor Fuschia M. Sirois, procrastination could be encouraged by a lack of vision. When we can’t see the big picture, aka the things that doing the icky task can help us accomplish in the long term, we don’t understand its importance.
Let’s say your deepest desire is to become a world-famous pianist. This is a long-term goal that requires you to put your future self above your present self.
For your future self to become a world-famous pianist, your present self has to go through years of grueling practice sessions and piano lessons. You also need to be laser-focused on self-improvement all the time.
This is definitely not something most people would be able to accomplish, but because you have your goal, you can keep going further, one icky task at a time.
Uncertainty & Fear
When you don’t know how to approach a task or don’t understand the context, it’s easier to say, “I’ll do it later.”
Side note: this is not necessarily a bad thing if you’re using the time to find ways to do the task or ask around for advice. This way, when your future self does come around to the task, they’ll have the right tools to tackle it.
The same thing happens when you have a tendency toward perfectionism, or you’re afraid of criticism and the judgment of others. However, in this case, it’s easy to get caught in a vicious circle of editing and refining that may keep you forever in the loop of procrastination.
Other Triggers
Believe it or not, we also tend to procrastinate with tasks that aren’t challenging enough. When you’re bored, it’s easy to put off a task and find something more challenging (but completely unproductive).
Fatigue and sadness are also on the list of triggers, but these kind of make sense. Who wants to tackle a difficult task after a long day at work or if they feel sad?
Whether we’re talking about feeling anxiety, boredom, fatigue, sadness, or any other emotions, one thing is clear: procrastination is not something we can solve with sheer willpower alone.
If you want to learn more about why willpower is not the answer, I highly recommend listening to Ali Abdaal’s podcast.
Be Kind to Yourself
Once you become aware of your feelings and the emotions that trigger procrastination, it becomes easier to find solutions that actually work.
Start by eliminating negative self-talk. You are not broken or lazy. Instead, you’re probably not digging deep enough to understand the emotions that trigger that “I’ll do it later” response.
Professor Fuschia M. Sirois recommends reframing the icky tasks in a way that reduces the unpleasantness.
For instance, you could find some humor in the activity and make it fun. She also found that simply writing down why the task is important can change your point of view. Even something as simple as “This task is important to me because I want to improve” or “I want to be able to apply for a better position” is enough to shift things around in your brain.
Overall, if your task feels like a wall, try to find the meaning behind it, and you may be able to see a way to break through.
Of course, there’s also the old tip of breaking a big task into small and simple steps. This helps you visualize the entire project and its time allocation, which should make it easier to start. Once you’ve started and got into some sort of momentum, it will be more difficult to stop.
When nothing seems to work, simply allow yourself the space to procrastinate. Just don’t do anything else.
We tend to procrastinate with other activities, like cleaning, social media, watching TV, or Netflix. So, if you’re not working on what you should be doing, don’t allow yourself to do anything else either. You’ll end up getting bored and doing what you were supposed to do in the first place.
Key Takeaways
In summary, procrastination can be triggered by a wide range of things, such as anxiety, fear, sadness, boredom, or a lack of forward thinking. However, if we know our own triggers and learn to recognize them, there are various methods that can help us improve.
So, take a step back, analyze your patterns, and learn what makes you say, “I’ll do it later.”
