Procrastination is the symptom, not the problem.

Procrastination is not a personal failing, a ding on your character, or otherwise a reflection of who you are.

Procrastination can be a response to anxiety, feeling overwhelmed or fearing that something you have to do is going to be deeply unpleasant. It can be tied to fear, low self-confidence, or perfectionism. For those of us who have a history of trauma: procrastination can be a trauma response.

I keep seeing well-known-leaders in the Wild West of Online Course Marketing, taking aim at their potential clients and shaming them for their procrastination … Nope. Not on my watch.

What really raised my hackles is repeatedly seeing an ad from one of the Big-Name-Course-Coaches with the text, You just need to START.???

If we boil procrastination down to the lowest common denominator and ignore all nuance: then I guess that’s accurate.

But every time I see that ad, I start having feelings.???????

Has anyone ever told you to get out of your own way? I have. And every time I’d think: How? Don’t you think I would if I could? How exactly do I do that?

When you are feeling stuck or overwhelmed, being told to just START is annoying because the task seems insurmountable.?Again, I come back to, How? Tell me how.

Here’s the thing: for those of us who are neurodivergent or have a history of trauma, procrastination can feel like our body is talking to us. There is something visceral going on that we need to understand.

Telling us to just start is really saying: ignore what your body is telling you + sacrifice your inner knowing for what someone else thinks you should be doing right now.

And that, my friends, is asking us to fawn. It is a recipe for sacrificing ourselves to avoid disappointment and please others. It often leads to a shame spiral.

Because what I hear is someone dismissing my real + valid response and suggesting that I am defective or broken.

And shame is the least effective motivator I’ve ever met.?

What would be helpful is recognizing that procrastination is a signal that something deeper is going on.

If you have a history of trauma, it is going to be really important that you are grounded and feeling secure BEFORE you attempt to understand what is behind your hesitation

So, What are some reasons we procrastinate + how do we overcome them?

1. The fear of failure. Instead of getting stuck in the loop of catastrophizing,?I create an affirmation that lovingly challenges those thoughts. Something like: I am strong + resilient and embrace mistakes as a chance to learn + grow. (There are a list of 100 affirmations here that you can try on for size.)
2. The expectation or desire for perfection. I call my first draft (of everything), The Sh*tty First Draft. I know going in that it’s going to be bad. This makes the page feel less pristine - I don’t have to worry about getting it right the first time because I know I’m going back later to polish + edit.?
3. Feeling overwhelmed by the totality of a project. Sometimes focusing on the big picture is too much, so I love a small to-do list. I limit myself to 3-5 tasks that will bring me closer to my eventual goal, no matter how small. This lets me make progress while keeping things manageable.?
4. Trouble with focusing. Focus and concentration disruption are really common in folks who are neurodivergent or have a history of trauma. When I’m struggling, I set myself tiny goals. This could look like a timer for 15 minutes to attempt a task and then a 30-45 minute break before I start again. I give myself permission to pace and move slowly.
5. Brain Fog. Brain fog feels like not all of my synapses are firing. Like my brain is a web browser with 100 tabs open, none of them are loading, and I have no working memory left to do anything else. It’s the combination of not being able to think clearly + feeling super fatigued. On these days, I have to shift my gears and accept that I am not mentally where I need to be to work and instead focus on rest.
6. Overcommitted and lacking bandwidth. I can backburner this priority until I have more capacity. Or I have to figure out what can be taken off my plate. Where can I respectfully decline invitations that I don’t want to and am not obligated to do? What resources + support do I have available to delegate tasks and responsibilities?

For me, procrastination is a frequent occurrence.

Instead of trying to muscle through and speed past it, I try to take a minute to listen to the message procrastination is sending. If I can dig a little deeper, then I often am able to excavate what is fueling the stuck feeling.

In the comments, let me know ... What do you think? Is this something you’re willing to try the next time you recognize you’re procrastinating? Do you have other skills that help you overcome procrastination?

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Hi, I’m Strategic Leigh, a trauma-informed strategist + consultant. I’ve been living with + navigating trauma most of my life, which is why I’m committed to building businesses + courses that nourish our nervous systems.