Our Mindset Coach Jet Xavier says that it’s time to stop putting off the tough tasks – identifying what type of procrastinator you are and why it happens is the first step to finding a solution.
What is Procrastination?
Procrastination is putting off something we need to do now until a later time. It is avoiding a task that we know is important and needs to get done now; or, as the great Napoleon Hill puts it “Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”
Procrastination costs you money and impacts dramatically on your success. It puts pressure on others around you and can make you very unhealthy. It results in you focusing on unimportant, low-value tasks rather than high-value important tasks. It sabotages your efforts to move forward and creates self-defeating habits that in the end impact on how much you earn as an agent.
In stopping procrastination it is important to know what type you are. Dr Joseph Ferrari PhD, a leading global expert on procrastination, says there are three types of procrastinators:
- The arousal types who put off tasks to wait for the last minute rush
- The avoiders who fear failure or success. These people put off tasks because they are worried what people might think of them if they fail or the potential responsibility if they succeed. This is also linked to a lack of self-belief and confidence
- The decisional procrastinator who by nature are indecisive and have trouble making decisions. They absolve responsibility by not making a choice and moving forward.
Why do People Procrastinate?
Most people say it is because they are bad at time management, or they do not know how to organise themselves or prioritise tasks effectively. However, this is not widely accepted as true, because most people can be organised if they really want or need to.
Distractions are another key reason why people procrastinate. Studies show a third of the day
is taken up in distractions. And procrastination is at the heart of these distractions.
Often procrastination happens because a task appears daunting and there is a fear of failure attached to it. This is linked to confidence. The confidence to take on a task or get down to it is challenged because we are worried hat others might think, or we feel we might fail at it, and the result is nothing gets done. There is an overwhelming feeling of anxiety that sets in which causes you to put the task to the side.
It can also be a fear of succes. I love the Denis Waitley quote: “Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy”. It is true: while success is what we want, it also comes with a sacrifice, a price that some do not want to pay, so it is easier to procrastinate.
Indecision is another reason. It is easier not to make a decision about doing something. This puts off having to decide what to do. It can also be that the task is unpleasant and not something you like to do or it is not your strength, so you gravitate towards the tasks you love to do instead, which most often are not as important.
At the neuroscience level, it can also be lack of pre-frontal cortex functioning that leads to procrastinating because of short attention spans, poor judgement, impulsivity and disorganisation.
Five Ways to Stop Procrastination
- Know what type of procrastinator you are and create awareness for improvement.
- Every morning, before doing anything, make a shortlist of the three things that have the highest value or impact for that day and achieve these by 12 pm. Prioritise by using lists; successful people use lists every day. The difference is these lists have a specific focus on a few key things they need to achieve without fail. Use a chunk style approach to your tasks by allowing a certain amount of time for a task. Once the time is up you move on. Focus on what is important, not what is urgent. In Brain Tracey’s ‘Eat That Frog’ he says to do the hardest thing on your list first. Then the rest becomes easy.
- Set up your workspace to avoid distractions. Answer your email and phone and return messages only at certain times during the day. Work in a quiet closed off area on certain tasks. Turn off your Internet connection and inform people you are not available until certain times. Learn to say no to people.
- Build confidence to overcome fear and avoidance. One way to do this is to create a list of all the success you have achieved in life and look at it a number of times daily. This helps your brain to associate you and success together, and over time conditions a success response. When we focus on success it expands. Studies show that the more success you have, the more successful you will be.
- Develop new habits in line with what you love to do or do well. Delegate the unpleasant tasks or tasks that are not in your strength zone to others and focus on the tasks you enjoy and are the best at. When you are focusing only on what you are good at, you tend not to procrastinate.
