Procrastination
Studies show that 20% of us are what can be described as procrastinators. We wait to buy tickets to our favourite band’s show until it has passed, and pay our electricity bills too late. It is a common misconception that procrastinators only put off the things they do not particularly want to do.
As a guilty-as-charged procrastinator myself, I once nearly missed the opportunity to go on an exchange year to the United States (an opportunity I had dreamed about for years), simply because I couldn’t get around to filling out the paperwork. I wasn’t busy, nor was I tired or blue — I was simply procrastinating. In the end it was the persistence of a non-procrastinating friend who sat me down and forced me to complete the necessary steps that allowed me to go.
“When we procrastinate on our goals, we are basically putting off our lives.”
— Tim Pychyl, procrastination researcher.
According to Psychology Today, procrastination leads to deterioration of health, insomnia and resentment in the workplace, as responsibilities shift from the procrastinator to those around them.
Why is it then, that 20% of us keep doing this to ourselves? Is it that we particularly enjoy seeing the disappointment in people’s eyes as we are once again too late, or forgot to do the one thing they asked of us, or failed to reach the goals we have set for ourselves? I know I sure don’t. Perhaps more important than the why, is the how.
How can procrastinators break the cycle, perhaps not all at once, but in the places that matters the most?
First of all, if you are working from your laptop, get offline. No really. Get. Offline. Procrastinators are scarily good at checking the news, their email, Facebook and every other page of their fancy (hey maybe the weather forecast for the weekend has changed in the last five minutes).
Even if your work require you to be online, there are magical tools such as ColdTurkey and SelfControl which will block you from any webpage you ask them to, for as long as you wish. It’s the extreme measure for the extreme procrastinator. Be smart and block all your time-hogging websites for a less distracting work environment.
According to procrastination researcher Tim Pychyl, we tend to overestimate how much motivation we require to begin, or complete a task. We put off our taxes or spring cleaning because we believe we need to be motivated to complete the whole job in one go. Moreover, we tell ourselves that we will find that motivation… but later. Well that’s not true, and very rarely do people feel such motivation. We only really require motivation to begin, and the rest follows.
In Norway there’s a word for that dreaded feeling of beginning a task. It’s called “dørstokkmila,” meaning the “doorstep mile.” Stepping over the doorstep to go for a run (or even simply putting on ones running clothes), or beginning to tidy the garage can mentally feel like the biggest step, but in reality it’s such a small action. Rather than putting things off, step over that doorstep and watch how the elusive motivation suddenly appears.
As procrastinators tend to be more optimistic with time (the ‘it once took me 15 minutes to walk to work, therefore it will always take me 15 minutes,’ mindset), we tend to reassure ourselves while putting off work that it is because it won’t take that long to complete, anyways. A 1500 word essay? It once took me a day, so I can do it in a day. The blood-flow altering, dry-mouthed panic I experience in the face of a fast-approaching deadline is something I wouldn’t want for my worst enemy, yet I frequently place them in my own lap.
Tim Pychyl has a trick up his sleeve for this procrastination roadblock as well. Set a time limit on how long you are ‘allowed’ to work on the task ahead at a time. If there’s a presentation needed to be made, only give yourself 20 minutes to work on it at a time. Not only will this make the doorstep mile feel infinitely smaller, but studies have shown that people tend to not only work harder and more efficient, but they also enjoy themselves more while doing it. Pretty neat, huh?
Now there are many other tactics to curb urges to procrastinate, but if you find yourself endlessly procrastinating in certain aspects of life (especially in the work place), perhaps it is a sign that you ought to reconsider your priorities. Procrastination can be a symptom of living a life that does not match with one’s interests.
Just make sure you don’t use that as another excuse to procrastinate.
