What You Don’t Know About Procrastination and What You Can Do To Overcome It
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What is procrastination? Procrastination is the thief of time. Or as I like to put it, procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
Everyone has a bad habit. Some people smoke. Others bite their nails. And some people like to wait until the very last minute to get things done, no matter how important those things might be.
If you’re one of those people, you’re struggling with procrastination — the art of putting off stuff that needs to be done today until tomorrow, or maybe next week. We all do it, even the greatest leaders and thinkers have procrastinated at one point or another.
This is a problem that can affect anyone at any time. It’s so common that 90% of people admit to doing it. And you know you’re not alone when you find out that the word “procrastination” was first used in the 16th century — meaning that even 400 years ago, we were already wanting to do anything other than what we needed to be doing.
This bad habit can be difficult to break and it can cost you a lot, from your career to relationships. In fact, it affects us all more than we might realize!
Procrastination has been found in every culture ever studied but still, there are some cultures in which people have very less tendency towards procrastination like South Korea, China, Japan, etc. The key behind this is their hard-working nature and their cultural values which include discipline and patience as core values.
So what is the real reason behind procrastination? Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with laziness or being disorganized.
First things first: if you’ve been putting off an assignment or project for too long, the reason is not that you’re lazy. It’s usually because three things are going on with your brain:
– You’re simply bored (which is why you should learn how to become more self-aware to accommodate your feelings better).
– You feel overwhelmed (which is why you should break down your big task into smaller chunks).
– You think the reward isn’t worth the effort (which is why it’s a good idea to set a hard deadline and think about long-term benefits).
Let’s talk about this…
There are two main ways in which procrastination can be understood: as an emotion regulation problem and as a motivational issue.
The first type of procrastination deals with emotions. People who have trouble regulating their emotions often have problems managing their moods, which can lead them to procrastinate. This kind of procrastination is often caused by a fear of failure or embarrassment.
People usually procrastinate because they are afraid of failing.
This is true for students, employees, and entrepreneurs alike. According to a recent study, researchers found that students who feared failure were more likely to procrastinate.
You might be afraid of completing the task because you may think that it may be harder than you thought and when you don’t know what to do exactly, doing anything else seems more appealing.
Other common reasons are not knowing where to start or having too many distractions around you. In this case, just take a break and think about the first obvious steps that are necessary to start. Focus on your project, visualize yourself doing it – and then start the action despite what you feel. The process will transform your emotional state by itself without you having to worry about what you feel.
The second type of procrastination deals with motivation: people who lack motivation may find themselves delaying tasks until they feel ready to start them, even if that means waiting until the day before they’re due to get started on something important like writing an essay or studying for an exam. This is because of a belief that they don’t care enough about the task at hand, or maybe they’re missing out on something important.
Another thing we need to understand is that what most people call “procrastination” is really just a symptom of something else: perfectionism.
Perfectionism is an extreme form of self-doubt and self-criticism. It means that you are trying so hard to avoid failure that you end up failing anyway. You see, perfectionists often don’t even start projects because they are afraid of failing. They get stuck in the planning phase forever because planning feels safer than actually doing something risky—which could lead to failure.
But here’s the thing: if you’re never taking action on your ideas, then you’re never going to get anywhere!
Some people claim they work better under pressure, but in reality, their performance suffers because they’re unable to think clearly and make good decisions.
What can you do to take control of your life and be more productive?
Well, according to science, something as simple as changing the way you think about your task could help motivate you.
In one study, people who were instructed to focus on the long-term benefits of completing their task were much more likely to jump in and get started than those who focused on the short-term rewards or drawbacks.
Instead of punishing yourself for procrastinating, try taking a moment to understand what motivated you to do it in the first place.
When did you first decide to put it off? What emotions were you experiencing at that moment? How could you have handled those feelings differently?
These are questions that can help you learn more about yourself and why you make certain decisions—and they’re much more productive than calling yourself lazy or stupid!
So maybe next time you’re struggling to start on something new or difficult, try to reframe it as an opportunity for growth instead of a chore—or just come up with a type of reward that you’ll give yourself in case of success, so you’ll feel motivated to finish before the timer goes off.
But the key is to be realistic. Take small steps. If you are unable to tackle a big project in one sitting, divide it into smaller parts.
Set milestones for yourself so you don’t get overwhelmed by all of the work that needs to be done and reward yourself for accomplishing each milestone.
What can you do to go deeper and solve your procrastination problem with concrete steps of action?
If you’d really like to get down to the root of your procrastination problem, because that’s where real change happens, then we’ve found a simple solution that you can try.
It’s called Virtue Map which starts with an initial quiz and can help you identify your core values by creating a plan tailored to your exact needs.
Through our research and user testing, we’ve found that people who use Virtue Map instead of giving in to their procrastination are happier and more successful than those who don’t.
Why? Because Virtue Map helps you understand what makes you tick so you can set your own goals for success.
With Virtue Map, you start by taking a quiz that helps us understand what drives your behavior. Then we’ll create a plan according to your answers and send it to you, helping you make better decisions not just in your career but in every aspect of your life.
Take Virtue Map’s quiz today, and start putting an end to your procrastination.
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