I'm Working On It.
pro·cras·ti·nate
/pr??krast??nāt/
Verb
???? Delay or postpone action; put off doing something – Oxford Dictionary
??
That is a good start.? I like that.? Maybe I should find a second definition.? Maybe from a different source?
?No, this is fine.?
?Okay.? Let’s get writing!
?Hmmm.?
?My tea is kind of cold.? I should warm it up, then I can start.
?Yes, that is much better.
?I should have grabbed a cookie while I was in the kitchen.
?Okay, let’s go.?
?Does that picture look crooked?? I think it’s crooked.? Yup, definitely.? That’s better.
?Wow, I never noticed that the ticking of the clock is so loud in here.? Is that the right time?? I think it’s a couple of minutes slow.? How do you change this thing?
?I can’t believe I didn’t see this before; those books should be alphabetized by author…
??
/////////
?
Why do we procrastinate?
?Are we just lazy?? Well, probably not if we are finding all kinds of other things to do instead of completing our actual task.?
?Are we simply putting off doing things we really don’t want to do? ?I had a co-worker once whose job included weekly follow up on “problem” invoices.? This could be missing paperwork, or errors on the invoice itself.? She kept them in a folder and once a week or so would go through the folder and call the companies to resolve the issues.? I noticed that when she went through the folder, she would cycle some to the back and basically pretend she didn’t see them. ?When I asked her about it, she explained that these were companies she didn’t like calling for one reason or another, so she just kept moving these to the back and ignored them.?? This of course, was a problem.? In this case, she was willing to deal with feeling bad later (when she got in trouble for not doing her job), in order to push off the feelings of anxiety she had in the present moment.? ?This kind of procrastination in your job will almost always lead to bigger issues.?
If we are putting things off because we just don’t want to do them, wouldn’t it make more sense to just get them done as soon as we can so we can move on to something more enjoyable?
?So why don’t we??
?According to Dr. Piers Steel, a professor of motivation psychology at the University of Calgary, procrastination might really be a form self harm.? Often, we are fully aware of the effects of procrastination (like my co-worker above), including potentially severe consequences, yet we do it anyway.?
?Certain tasks create certain feelings…anxiety, frustration, self doubt…and because we don’t want to deal with that, we procrastinate which of course only makes things worse.?
?Dr. Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology at Carleton University says procrastination is an “emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem”.?
?Procrastination may often stem from fear:? fear of failure and feeling that you are just not up to the task. Anyone who has ever sat and stared at a blank page knows this feeling too well.?
?It can be the result of depression.? Depression can cause feelings of hopelessness, a lack of energy, and the inability to make decisions and take action.? Procrastination can also be a symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or ADHD.?
?It can stem from feeling overwhelmed by a large task.? The saying attributed most often to Desmond Tutu, “There is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time” can be great advice when faced with a large and overwhelming job.? Start with one thing.? And then another, and another.?
?Almost everyone procrastinates now and then, but if you are a chronic procrastinator, and it is having a negative impact on your life, your job or your family, then you need to figure out the why.? Don't judge yourself for your behaviour, try to understand it.?
?