Why We Procrastinate and How Coaching Can Help
Sharon Marie Crossett BA Hons IPHM
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Everyone procrastinates at times, it is a common occurrence in life.
We all know the feeling of procrastination striking, the sudden desire to do anything other than the task you are meant to be doing and the belief that everything seems more interesting and urgent than the task at hand.
We put off tasks that feel difficult, boring, or that make us feel anxious.
Those head-in-the-sand moments when you can bury even the most important job and instead sit ideally staring out of the window thinking of absolutely nothing!
What is procrastination and how can we get control of it?
To set the record straight, procrastination isn't because you are lazy, it often stems from stress in your life and negative thoughts you may have about yourself which then get in the way of you taking action.
Some common reasons people procrastinate include:
Procrastination is not a habit you want to acquire.
It is never going to add any value to your life and is going to heap a load of other negative emotions on top such as stress, reduced productivity, damage to personal and professional relationships relationships, and lower self-confidence.
There is good news though, it is possible to overcome procrastination, especially with the help of a coach.
How a Coach Can Help Stop Procrastination
It's not that a coach can wave a magic wand and ta-da.... procrastination has disappeared but they are armed with tools and techniques that can help their clients identify the root causes of their procrastination.
Once identified, they can then aid their clients in taking actionable steps to end the cycle, stop putting off what needs to be done and take back control of their lives.
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Different ways a coach can help;
- Increasing awareness: By asking insightful questions and increasing awareness in their client's life, a coach can help to discover why you are procrastinating.
- Providing accountability: A coach will offer you accountability. You are far more likely to create real and lasting change when you are accountable to someone else.
- Helping prioritize: Your coach can help you to prioritize important tasks from urgent, what you should be doing first and set targets for reaching them
- Teaching time management: Learn to manage your time far more effectively with the help of a coach. Setting out daily, weekly and monthly plans to maximise your time to get the job done and still have the time to do the things you get pleasure from.
- Boosting motivation: When you are motivated you are far more likely to get things done. If you find it difficult to motivate yourself, a life coach can be just the person you need.
- Identifying roadblocks: Those barriers we can all face at times which will prevent us from doing what we need to be doing. Barriers such as perfectionism can affect your belief systems. A life coach can help you to adopt new, helpful belief systems.
- Tracking progress: A life coach can help you to keep the momentum going by tracking your progress and offering support and encouragement if you find it dipping.
Understanding why you are avoiding certain tasks and then making plans to tackle them can be crucial support a life coach can provide.
Coaching can offer you the support you need to break the procrastination cycle for good and replace it with helpful habits and routines.
Every time you have a win, no matter how small, you will build self-efficacy and momentum until, over time, remaining on task becomes a habit.
If procrastination is starting to be detrimental in your life and is getting in the way of your productivity, happiness and success then you should consider working with a coach.
Break the procrastination habit once and for all and take back control of your life.