"I'll do it later" Is this a trap or success mantra?

Have you ever delayed doing things or kept postponing what's in your plate? Or, have you ever heard yourself saying "Not now, I'll do it later." to any task from your to-do list?

Well I guess, we all may have done this at some or other point in our life & even frequently for many. And, our said or unsaid to-do list keeps on growing. Procrastination is a thief of our time and creativity. This can impact even the most organized among us. But have you ever thought why do we do it? And more importantly, how do we break free ourselves from this spider-web and be a productive professional?

What is the science behind the habit of Procrastination?

Seems like procrastination isn't just about or because of laziness. It is a complex interplay of psychology and brain chemistry.

In the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology's publication, it was mentioned that procrastinators often experience higher levels of anxiety and aversion to negative emotions associated with tasks. In other words, we put things off to avoid feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

But here's the catch. While we think avoiding activities or tasks for now will help us feel less stressed but unfortunately this only increases our pressure and fuels up the negative emotions. Even the Association for Psychological Science also revealed that procrastination often leads to increased stress, guilt, and even lower self-esteem. It's a kind of deadlock cycle that keeps us stuck in a loop of avoidance and anxiety.

Financial Impacts of Procrastination

Procrastination isn't just a personal struggle. It has a significant impact on businesses and organizations and even the economy or nation, if done by political leaders or government. A project management software company did found out in their 2023 analysis that procrastination costs the U.S. economy a staggering $542 billion annually in lost productivity. If you put this as a price tag on procrastination then that's not a small amount, of course.

Strategies to Overcome Procrastination

Now we know that there's a huge financial and psychological impact of Procrastination on individuals & businesses. So, here comes a need to explore strategies that can help individuals and teams to outsmart their inner procrastinator. The list below gives you a few strategies to overcome procrastination that can be applied in both personal & professional life.

Breakdown: This is a better approach if bigger tasks are broken down into smaller ones. The similar approach we used to follow in Agile & WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) sheet where bigger tasks are broken down into smallest possible deliverable units & features that can provide some value to the customers. This approach makes the project and to-do list for that matter into a manageable steps and eases the activity plan & time management. The tasks that are small & easily achievable, becomes less daunting for us and keep us motivated to get started with them by prioritization.

Time Bound Tasks: There's a power in having a defined time slot & duration for completing the activities or tasks in our plate. When we time-bound our tasks & activities, we become more productive and more importantly, able to deliver at max on our to-do list. I, myself, usually define a fixed time slot for the activities I intend to achieve.

For example: To prepare the PPT decks for stakeholders at customer or senior management, usually I fix a time slot of 25-minutes before going on a break in which my focus is on the completion of decks. Then post my break, I do a quick review in 5 minutes and get back to my routine work. This has helped me be more productive and achieve more.

The Pomodoro Technique: In previous example, I used a technique of 25-minute which is actually a time management technique known as Pomodoro technique. This time management method involves working in focused 25-minute intervals with short breaks in between. The structured approach helps maintain focus and prevents procrastination from overpowering us.

Reward Yourself: Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool.

Once I was watching a video in which the speaker shared an amazing technique regarding self-motivation. I extracted an approach from that speech to keep me motivated about completing the tasks on time.

Rewarding yourself is that approach where one should reward themselves on completion of every task or reaching a milestone. This reward can be a self-pat, thanks note for self or anything else. Having a monetary gain can sometimes be a greatest motivation but I am not suggesting that since some may find difficulties in achieving it.

Identify Trigger Points: Self-retrospective on a frequency should be in everyone's habit. This self-retrospection will help in identifying the trigger points for procrastination. Are you more likely to put things off when you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or bored? Asking yourself questions like this will make you understand your trigger points and enable you to develop strategies to address those proactively.

Procrastination is a battle, not a war. There will be setbacks but we learn from our mistakes, incorporate strategies that works and develop a growth mindset. By following the right techniques & strategies one can master the art of managing their to-do list and conquer their procrastination habit.

Feeling stuck? Share your biggest procrastination challenge in the comments below.