Why we really procrastinate

My most hated chore is cleaning our goldfish’s tank.

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Bubbles the Undying, as he is known, (9 years old and counting) gets the full-service treatment.

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I scrape slimy algae off the sides of his tank and then drain the fetid water from the bottom.

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It’s pretty gross.

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I’ll avoid it for weeks, sometimes months, before I finally crack.

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You probably have tasks you put off too, right? ?

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Maybe it’s doing your tax return or washing your bins…

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But there are other types of tasks we procrastinate with too.

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Tasks that don’t seem, at least on the surface, to be so bad. ?Things like phoning a friend or writing a report. ?

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But instead of tackling them, we waste time watching videos of cats falling off shelves or find the urgent need to rearrange our sock drawer.

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We just can’t seem to get these tasks done.

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But there’s good news. ?It turns out that procrastination has nothing to do with being lazy.

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Phew!

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According to Dr. Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa:

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“Procrastination is an emotion regulation?problem, not a?time management problem.”

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He says that by procrastinating we’re just trying to avoid stress.

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That’s because there’s often a deeper emotion attached to tasks we delay – for example we might put off calling that friend because they’re so successful and make us feel insecure. ?

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Or we postpone writing that report because we’re secretly afraid we’re not knowledgeable enough to do it justice.

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Understanding the root cause?of procrastination can help spur you, and other people, into action.

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So, if someone hasn’t got back to you or isn’t doing what you’ve requested, ask yourself:

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• Did I make the task sound easy and/or appealing???If not, is there anything I can do to change that – maybe reducing the size of the task or breaking it down into chunks?
• Could my recipient have a deeper emotion attached to the task???Is there anything I can do to help them overcome that barrier, like building their self-esteem or reducing areas of anxiety?

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It’s likely they’re not being lazy. ?They’re just stressed. ?And you can be the one to help.

I'm a marketing and brand consultant and communication coach. To get your business off that comfy old couch and out there winning business, visit kimarnold.co.uk or drop me a line at [email protected].

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