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What Is Procrastination?
How many times have you felt overwhelmed? How many times have you ended your day telling yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’ll do it next week”?
I’ve been there more than once, and at the end of the day, it was even more frustrating. But now, knowing how procrastination made me feel, I have become much stronger.
If you want to beat your enemy, you have to study him. The secret to beating procrastination is to know what exactly procrastination is and why people procrastinate.
Procrastination is putting off or delaying difficult tasks to do the easiest ones. Some people define it as the unwillingness to act.
So, when you have to do something important but put it off or delay it, you are procrastinating.
Procrastination According to Pressfield
Steven Pressfield, in his book “The War of Art,” talks about a force that prevents people from doing the work. He named it “resistance.”
It appears in people’s lives every time they have to do something new, something challenging.
It distances them from something important for their lives or personal growth, favoring instant gratification.
Pressfield talks about procrastination as one of the most typical manifestations of “Resistance”. Unfortunately, it can become a habit that can determine people’s future.
Neuroscience and Procrastination
Disclaimer: I am not a neuroscientist writing a dissertation about the human brain, but I am passionate about the topic, and in this post my goal is to explain the areas of the human brain involved in procrastination.
Neuroscientist Paul MacLean talked about the “Triune Brain Model” in the 1960s and later, in his book “The Triune Brain in Evolution “ in 1990.
According to MacLean, the human brain can be divided into 3 different areas as a result of brain evolution.
Let’s delve into that…
MacLean's “Triune Brain Model”
Here are the 3 brain areas:
Lizard Brain
Mammal Brain
Human Brain
The Lizard Brain is involved in survival actions.
The Mammal Brain, also known as the Limbic System, is the emotional area.
The Human Brain, or Neocortex area, is the rational area involved in the decision-making process and cognitive functions.
The MacLean model is a simplified version of the brain area classification. Later, some scientists delved into the topic and expanded the classification.
Human Brain and Procrastination
There are 2 areas of the human brain involved in procrastination.
Limbic System ➡ Amygdala
Neocortex ➡ Prefrontal Cortex
The Limbic System, as I have previously said, is the emotional area of the brain, and the “Amygdala” is responsible for procrastination.
The Amygdala is also the region of the brain responsible for feelings like fear, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of not being enough, etc. It prefers tasks with immediate gratification and immediate results.
The Prefrontal Cortex is the rational area that fights with the Limbic System to avoid procrastination, but the amygdala reacts emotionally with feelings like fear, boredom, stress, and negative thinking. The Amygdala beats the Prefrontal Cortex, and procrastination starts.
And the process when the emotional area wins over the rational area is called “Amygdala Hijack”. It was Daniel Goleman who used this term for the first time in his book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ,” published for the first time in 1995.
Now, let’s talk about the reasons why people procrastinate.
Why Do People Procrastinate?
Sometimes procrastination is the result of focusing on the outcome instead of focusing on the process, and when things become difficult, people start procrastinating.
There are many reasons why people procrastinate. Let’s have a look at some of these reasons…
Lack of Motivation
Lack of motivation is one of the reasons why some people procrastinate. Not every task is pleasant, and focusing on something you don’t like sometimes becomes a little bit demanding. So it’s easier to postpone it.
Lack of motivation is also due to a lack of interest. When you don’t like a task or the outcome, you lose interest in it, so you are not motivated enough to work on it, and you start procrastinating.
Lack of Clarity
A similar thing happens when you lack clarity. This may be because you don’t know why a task matters to you and your work, or because you have no clue what you need to do to achieve it.
Lack of Skills
Sometimes people procrastinate because they don’t have the right preparation to do something. When that happens, the task becomes hard, and the easiest way to handle it is to quit and delay.
Lack of Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is the key to achieving anything in life. Nowadays, life is full of countless distractions that feed your need to delay tasks, and without self-discipline, staying focused becomes tough.
Fear of Failure
Many times, the fear of failure when you’re starting a project or when you have deadlines to meet stops you from doing the task you have to do, even if it’s important, and you put everything off for a while.
Low Self-Esteem
Self-esteem plays a very important role in every area of your life, but especially in the productivity area. A low level of self-esteem is one of the most common reasons people procrastinate.
Believing in yourself is essential to committing yourself to something from start to finish, so you can reach your goals and meet deadlines.
Low self-esteem, instead, prevents you from committing. You see the task you have to do as extremely challenging. You start doing it anyway, but you put it aside almost immediately and start another task you consider less demanding. And so, you procrastinate.
Perfectionism
When perfectionism is excessive, it can be an obstacle to living a fulfilled life. “I’m not ready”, “I need more time”, etc., are recurring thoughts that stop you from taking action and growing. Or maybe you have started a project, but you don’t meet deadlines because you don’t like any version of it. Perfectionism leads to procrastination.
Instant Gratification
When the going gets tough…procrastination starts. Why? Because when you’re doing something new or demanding, you can feel under pressure. So, what’s your solution? Instant gratification.
Doing the easy tasks or postponing important projects and wasting your time on other activities, like watching TV or going out, as instant gratification and not thinking about what you didn’t, it’s easier.
Creative Procrastination
Creative Procrastination is good. It’s different from procrastination. It’s a positive version of it. Let me explain.
When you have many tasks to do, and you consider some of them less urgent or not relevant to your work, you can intentionally decide to postpone them without affecting your work. That helps your productivity and avoids negative procrastination.
Types of Procrastinators
There are 6 types of procrastinators:
The Dreamer
The Perfectionist
The Crisis-Maker
The Worrier
The Overdoer
The Defier
The Situational
The Chronic
The Dreamer
It’s the type of procrastinator who escapes tough and worrying tasks and situations. Staying focused becomes almost impossible.
The Perfectionist
He wastes too much time on every task, work, or anything he has to do because he thinks every project is not perfect enough. Fear of failure and fear of making mistakes are the reasons why this kind of person procrastinates.
The Crisis-Maker
It’s the kind of procrastinator who loves to feel under pressure to work on something successfully. He’s almost a “last-minute” person, and he feels motivated by tight deadlines.
The Worrier
Fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of not being enough, fear of what people might think, etc., are typical of this kind of procrastinator.
The Overdoer
He is unable to prioritize. He starts too many projects and ends up feeling overwhelmed, so he alternates between overwork and moments of procrastination.
The Defier
He is a rebel by nature and sometimes avoids tasks he considers boring.
The Situational
He procrastinates only when he has to do a specific task he dislikes, to avoid it.
The Chronic
The Chronic procrastinator procrastinates by nature. He starts more than one task without completing any of them.
Best Practices to Beat Procrastination
What can you do to beat procrastination?
Let’s look at some best practices that can help you…
Do the Hardest Things First
Brian Tracy, in one of his books, “Eat That Frog,” wrote that if you want to avoid procrastination, you have to eat the frog. What does it mean? It means you have to prioritize your tasks to overcome procrastination.
He suggests writing down the tasks to do and putting at the top of your to-do list the most relevant for your work, the hardest (the frog), and starting to do it first.
Focus on that task until it is done. And then you can move on to another task. So you will avoid feeling overwhelmed and putting tasks off for “tomorrow”.
Set daily goals and accomplish them all. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and your tasks will be halfway done with no effort.
Never Stop Learning
One of the best pieces of advice to beat procrastination is “never stop learning”. Knowledge is a powerful tool to boost your self-confidence and your self-esteem, and give you the power to tackle anything with focus, avoiding procrastination.
As I have previously said, procrastination can be the effect of a lack of skills and a lack of experience.
Sometimes, it might not be a real lack but a feeling that causes insecurity, low levels of confidence, and an inclination to avoid tasks or put them off.
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
To avoid procrastination, you have to set “S.M.A.R.T.” goals.
This acronym stands for
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Specific: Clarity is key here. You have to figure out what goals you want to achieve, why you want to achieve them, and how you can achieve them.
Measurable: To avoid procrastination, mainly due to lack of motivation, you have to easily track the results of your goals. So you feel more and more motivated to keep working on them and celebrate even the smallest goals that move you closer to the finish line.
Attainable: Your goals have to be achievable, challenging but not impossible, something you can do.
Relevant: You have to set goals that are relevant to your life or your career. Your goals have to change your life for the better and help you become the best version of yourself.
Time-Bound: Set a deadline for your goals. You will feel more motivated to meet deadlines and achieve the goals you have set.
So start setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and stop procrastinating.
Plan Every Day in Advance
The best way to avoid procrastination is to plan every day the night before, so you don’t have to plan your tasks before starting your working day. That avoids you feeling overwhelmed at the end of the day.
It’s important to break each task into small steps so you can stay focused on each of them and complete them all.
It can help you understand when you are most productive in your working day to better work on demanding tasks.
Apply the 80/20 Principle
Who doesn’t know the 80/20 Principle? It is also known as the “Pareto Principle” and states that 80% of results come from 20% of the effort.
Apply that principle to the productivity field, and you will find that 20% of your tasks will account for 80% of your results. The top 20% are your most important tasks.
To beat procrastination, you must write down your to-do list with this principle in mind. Jot down 10 tasks; the first two of them are the most important but also the most demanding.
Overcome Parkinson’s Law
“The amount of work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
Sometimes you set deadlines too long for work that you can complete in less time than you thought.
And as Parkinson’s Law states, when the time you’ve set to finish a task is longer than the effective time you need to finish it, you tend to work on this project slowly and start procrastinating.
To avoid procrastination, set deadlines by thinking about your real needs. Add urgency to each deadline to be sure you’re going to work on your task and stay focused so you can meet your deadlines.
Take a Day Off
When you feel overwhelmed, tired, or unfocused, procrastinating becomes the easy way. To avoid that, take a day off to recharge your batteries. Then you will see the things to do from a different perspective.
Start Meditation
Meditation is one of the best habits you can master to avoid procrastination.
If your problem is a lack of focus, the most effective type of meditation is doing breathing exercises to relax both mind and body.
If you need to reduce stress, self-negative talk, and fears in the amygdala area, practice mindfulness meditation.
Positive affirmations and motivational talks allow the brain to become relaxed, helping the Prefrontal Cortex to work well.
Practicing meditation is a game changer. The more focused and relaxed you are, the more productive you are, and you will have no procrastination issues.
Apply the ABCDE Method
This method consists of writing down your list of tasks and giving them a letter from A to E. The task with the A letter is the most important.
If you have more than one task that is important for you, you can name it A1, A2, etc., but don’t overdo it.
You don’t have to finish the task from A to E if you have no time. Prioritize the most important tasks on your list and focus on those.
Learn to Say “No”
Learning to say “no” is not being selfish; it’s saying “yes” to your future. Accepting to do more things than you can manage is a huge mistake because you will end up procrastinating without achieving your goals.
Motivate and Reward Yourself
Forgive yourself for every time you procrastinate and motivate yourself even when you feel you can’t handle a task.
Focus on one task at a time so you can complete all tasks you have written on your list.
Reward yourself for every goal achieved, even the smallest one. That’s a powerful habit that makes you feel fulfilled and will motivate you to keep going, avoiding procrastination.
To Sum Up…
Time is the most valuable asset you have. Wasting time is burning opportunities.
And not only that… time is money, and procrastination kills your income, puts your goals off, and distances you from the life you deserve.
The first step to beating procrastination is to understand the reasons why you procrastinate and identify what kind of procrastinator you are.
The question “Why do people procrastinate?” finds an answer in studies on the human brain that identify the areas of the brain involved in procrastination, explaining the process.
Do you want to overcome procrastination once and for all? You can do it by following some best practices.
Choose a moment of your day in which your focus is higher than ever to start and complete the hardest task on your to-do list.
The more you know, the more confident you feel, and if you have a high level of self-confidence, you have a high level of self-esteem, and you don’t feel insecure. Insecurity leads to procrastination. So never stop learning.
Have you ever started something but after a while you ended up procrastinating without crossing the finish line? Well, the solution is to set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Plan every day the night before to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Apply the 80/20 principle to achieve more by doing less.
Overcome Parkinson’s Law by setting deadlines that perfectly match the complexity of the task you have to do. Deadlines that are too wide feed on procrastination.
Do you feel unfocused and need to recharge your batteries? Procrastinating is not the solution. Don’t worry! Take a day off; you will feel better and more creative.
To recover your balance, energy, and focus, and overcome even the idea of procrastinating, you can start meditating.
And when you have too many things to do, how can you organize them to avoid procrastinating? Apply the ABCDE method.
Learn to say “no” to others and start saying “yes” to yourself a little more. Great achievers did it.
Lastly, motivate yourself by thinking you can do anything, so you will do any task without thinking about delaying it and meet deadlines, even for challenging tasks.
Reward yourself for the smallest goal achieved and for each time you overcome even the idea of procrastinating.
That’s it! If you want to beat procrastination, start following some of these best practices. I know at the beginning it can be hard to follow them, but self-discipline and dedication are key to overcoming procrastination once and for all and taking your career to the next level.
Note: This article was originally published on Medium.
Disclosure: The links included are not affiliate links. So if you click on them and make a purchase, I don’t get any commission.
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