Of course the argument will always rumble on that before you can focus and concentrate like a razor sharp Olympian you need to actually have the get up and go to get the job started.
Procrastination for me is like a devil chirping away on my shoulder. Sometimes its my friend giving me “super definite guaranteed valid” reasons to put off until tomorrow and other select times when I am not so easily persuaded, it drills down into my soul, searching for any and all bad feelings it can surface to knock me off my stride until its “super definite guaranteed valid” excuses are more persuasive.
Most of us have experienced this and many of us almost accept its a natural part of our make up and even dismiss it as something we just simply do. The problem is that the impact of failing to get things done spins us down paths of regret and unfulfilled promise, creating a harder mess further down the line which we will less motivation to attempt.
Choosing to sit back and have an easy day because it suits us more at the time, than taking on a tougher day generally make things harder later on. I am sure you can relate to this. Pushing the task back and it gathers more tasks like a growing snowball. Adds a bundle of problems that were not there on day if we had just done it at the start.
Of course it’s so much easier to watch TV eating pizza instead of going for that walk or run. But one day when health problems arise from inactivity, ‘the easy way’ all of a sudden reveals itself to have been the hard way all along.
Ill fix that small issue on my car next week, it’ll get me to work a few more days. But one day that little job costing a few pounds becomes a costly job when the car breaks down on the journey and you need a recovery service creating bigger fixes with higher financial and time costs that could have been avoided.
However before we look at ways to master procrastination we do have to consider that not all procrastination is bad. As with many feelings flowing through us daily, we still need to be directed by our emotional GPS. We still need a total awareness and caution in our decision making.
Sometimes you might need to procrastinate. Yes, it’s true! (I can sense you rubbing your hands keen to creates lists of task you’re going to red cross off. Tut tut)
Yet seriously, if you really are reluctant to begin something, it might be that your subconscious mind has spotted some real risk or downside that you haven’t fully consciously thought about yet.
It could well be you are not fully prepared to do that task right now and starting it might be a genuine waste of time and energy until other things are in place. You will know those times because your mind doesn’t need to search for excuses. It knows. Sometimes we do need to listen to our instincts.
However what we are trying to avoid are the habitual excuses to be a non starter. The little devil excuses to take the easy option instead, the easy way that’s actually the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This is how clever the little shoulder devil can be, revealing itself as a friend yet forming the use of many negative emotions surrounding procrastination into habitual behaviour. Without realising, we override any focus, concentration or intention levels we may have with a frustration at ourselves for so easily dismissing any form of creative preparation that is useful to us.
You may think this is procrastination, when really, your mind is genuinely insisting on a pause, a re-evaluation, that now may not be the best time to start this particular task. The balance isn’t always clear without intention and focus. And it’s OK to wait until you feel sure you have everything in place to begin.
For example, I want to write this book and you want to read it. Yet we both find we are not starting. Like we are waiting for the perfect moment to do it, when everything in our life is aligned and tidy, and we will know its now the right time. The day our diary is free to devote the time, the day our heads are clear and ready. The day we need it the most. And then it will be a whirlwind of energy that day we do it! That’s reasoning with very little logic attached to it yet we easily convince ourselves.
I sometimes do that with clothes. Maybe buy a shirt ‘I’ll save for a special occasion, save it for best.’ I know how happy I will be when that day will come and it will be the perfect day to wear it. In reality I have a lot of unworn shirts waiting for a special day to be worn. Bless them.
However, with all that said and done, although we can all smile with the crazy recognition at this way of thinking, we cannot escape the truth of our incredible ability and creativity in making excuses. Imagine your day if you put as much energy into starting a task and overcoming procrastination as you do in creating excuses to avoid a task, creating whole screen plays and back story’s of reasons why not- to a Hollywood big screen level!
We shouldn’t trick ourselves in to thinking that when we are being lazy, fearful or reluctant we are ‘really’ waiting for the stars of our creativity to align. This isn’t a useful resource at all in terms of being being able to give birth to new negative and energy zapping emotions such as guilt and anger at ourselves.
I’ve been a cutting edge Professor using this particular piece of self deceit myself and it’s a real dead end. But thankfully we can easily spot the difference between genuine caution in procrastination and the more common laboured, potential stealing, future crushing variety.
So, how can we really get on with what we need to do? Well for a start we should be aware and careful of how we wish for something.
Research studies often show that visualizing the end result of what we want to achieve (that beach body, the high class education, the high flying business) doesn’t always make it likely that we will actually achieve it. Because we can get so seduced by our vision of the end result, and the attractiveness of that vision, that the perhaps mundane practical steps to get us there start to seem so much less attractive in comparison.
However, the same studies often highlight that visualizing the steps we need to take to pursue our goals, makes us much more likely to carry out those steps – and therefore affect our dreams coming true.
What will help conquer procrastination?
With practice and new habit forming we can apply all these principles of daydreaming, meditation and self hypnosis – using them to get us active, to just do it.
As we practise a self focus of keeping attention mainly on what exactly it is we need to do, to get to where we want to be, we notice how much easier it feels to find a starting point and get a leg up able to focus on what needs doing.
So what are we waiting for? Part two has a useful exercise we can do anywhere at anytime for free and its simple and works.