Procrastination is the silent killer of dreams. Perhaps you want to learn a new musical instrument, pick up a new hobby or just simply clear your desk. You know you want to do it. Why do you keep putting it off?
Why we procrastinate?
There are 3 main reasons why we procrastinate:
- Fear of failure
- Lack of clarity
- Perfectionism
Fear of Failure
A big reason for procrastination is the fear of failure. The mind gets conditioned over time to avoid failure. This conditioning occurs because it associates failure with negative feelings. Why? Society and individuals condition us to think that failure is bad. As a result, every time we fail, we feel bad. Instead of viewing it as an experience from which we can learn, we wrap it up with self-criticism and self-loathing. But the road to success is paved by failure. The next time, you find yourself experiencing these feelings, remind yourself that it’s feedback, not failure.
Lack of Clarity
Another big reason for failure is a lack of clarity. We have all had this experience. We may put off doing a simple task like clearing the desk imagining that it will take a lot of time and effort. But when we get started, it only takes a few minutes. When you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself if you are doing it because of a lack of clarity. If that’s the case, break down the task into smaller sub-tasks. Breaking down the task makes it feel much more manageable.
Perfectionism
When we set unrealistic standards for ourselves, it is very difficult to get started on a project. For example, let’s say you have to create a presentation for work. If you are too focused on what others will think of it, it creates anxiety. The mind realizes that this task is giving you anxiety. It does the the easiest thing so it can avoid the anxiety – avoid the task.
In reality, the fear of failure is also a symptom of perfectionism. We fear failure because we don’t give ourselves permission to fail.
How to Stop Procrastinating
- The first step is to identify that you are procrastinating. Believe it or not, just identifying this can be difficult. For bigger tasks, the world will tell us. But for creative tasks or for our passion projects, it is very easy to procrastinate without realizing. A periodic review of life can be helpful in uncovering this form of hidden procrastination.
- Next, contemplate why you might be procrastinating. Something that can happen at this stage is that self-criticism starts as soon as we realize we are procrastinating. “Why do I always procrastinate?”, “Why am I lazy?” etc. Notice this tendency and gently remind yourself to look deeper and be solution oriented.
- As you contemplate, you might realize that the root is due to perfectionism or a lack of clarity.
- Once you realize this, try to identify the smallest next step that can move the project or task along. For example, let’s say you are putting of working on a presentation. As a small step, you could just resolve to work on it for 15 minutes. Just get started and build momentum.
- Repeat this recipe every time you find yourself procrastinating. Over time, you will find yourself naturally adopting the attitude of “Progress, not perfection”. Eventually, this will lead to consistency. Once you become consistent, you will achieve big things.