Does this sound familiar? ’I can’t stop procrastinating. Why can’t I be more productive”?

I hear this a lot from clients, colleagues, friends and family. It can seem the drive to do more and more ends up causing you to do less and less as the urge to procrastinate kicks in.

At some time, most of us have felt overwhelmed by the almost impossible to achieve to do lists we set ourselves. Or we may have work loads that just can’t be done well in the time we have available. Having an ever increasing list of tasks to do makes it difficult to focus on and find the time to do them. This can lead to frustration and judging yourself and your performance. You may start to criticise yourself for not making enough progress.  Then, you may find it hard to set aside time for rest and relaxation, or don’t get around to exercising or eating well.

The pull to procrastinate is common. I know I’ve delayed getting down to tasks I don’t enjoy, such as doing my accounts. And I’ve been known to take extra time to make decisions, even when I know they’re important. If this happens from time to time, it doesn’t really matter. But if procrastinating is becoming a way of life, it may be stopping you from feeling happy and fulfilled.

What is procrastination?

Procrastination is the voluntary delay of taking action even when you know that it could have a negative impact. It’s a familiar practice for many people and often leads to frustration, stress, guilt, and a sense of failure. Research has shown that about 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators, regularly putting off tasks in a way that adversely impacts their daily lives. This rises to 50% for studentsi.

Persistent procrastination can affect your performance and work and can also make you feel bad about yourself.

If you struggle with procrastinating, you may experience:

• Consistently putting off tasks, even when they are important to you, you have deadlines or there’s consequences from getting them done.

• Finding it difficult to start new tasks. It often feels as if something is stopping you from beginning things. To avoid these uncomfortable feelings, you may stop looking at the reminders you’ve set yourself or the tasks you need to do. Instead, you spend time trying not to think about them.

• Distracting yourself by finding other things to do with your time. Even when you know you need to complete a task, you find yourself scrolling on your phone suddenly needing to tidy or clean, or going in search of something to eat.

• Lacking motivation. You find it hard to find the energy or motivation to complete tasks even though you know they’re important. When tasks don’t fit in with your interests or values, it’s easy to put them off. You’re more likely to procrastinate when the job that needs doing  feels boring, repetitive or pointless.  For more on motivation, and how to improve it, click here

• Increased stress and anxiety. You experience stress, anxiety, frustration, guilt or shame as tasks remain unfinished. The more you procrastinate, the more you feel like this. The pressure increases as you’re trying to get things done in less time.

• Finding it difficult to make decisions. Overthinking or worrying about making the wrong decision eats up your time It stops you from starting or completing things and puts you under more pressure.  Check out these blogs to find out more on overcoming worry and overthinking.

What causes procrastination?

• Focusing on doing things perfectly. If you tend to be a perfectionist, worrying about making mistakes can stop you in your tracks. Tasks are put off and off as you worry you won’t be able to do them well enough. This impossibly high standard may be one you have set for yourself . The worry means you keep putting off the task. This results is a cycle of delaying tasks until the “perfect” moment comes along. Unfortunately, this moment is rare, if it happens at all. You end up with less time left to complete the task, only reinforcing your worriesii.

• Being caught up in people pleasing. If you have a strong need to please others, you can end up procrastinating on your tasks as you prioritise helping them. You may take on too many commitments to avoid disappointing other people. This leaves little time or energy for your own work or personal life. As a result, you may end up feeling overwhelmed and overstretched. These feelings often lead to procrastination as it feels harder and harder to complete your own tasksiii.

Find out more about how to let go of people pleasing here.

• Productivity anxiety often leads to procrastination. The pressure to always be productive can result in anxiety about doing enough or being efficient. It can make you feel as if you’re being left behind as everyone else is being so productive. You can end up feeling as if you can never catch up or do as well as others and blame yourself for not doing enough. This anxiety can stop you in your tracks and makes it hard to start or complete tasksiv.

• Human beings care more about the present than the future. Known as temporal discounting, it means you’re more concerned with what’s happening here and now, rather than with what may happen in the future. For instance, the enjoyment you get from watching tv now often outweighs the long-term costs or benefits of doing (or not doing) your work. It’s easy to believe that you’ll do it tomorrow and that it will be different tomorrow. Added to this, when you put off a task, you feel a sense of relief. That sense of relief leads you to continue to procrastinate and so the cycle continues.

  When you’re trying to work on a task that comes with feelings of anxiety or insecurity, the threat detector part of the brain (called the amygdala), responds to the task as it would to danger. So, you may understand putting off the task will create more stress in the future, but your brain is still wired to be more concerned with getting rid of the threat now. And procrastination does just that.

Find out more about how your body reacts to stress here.

Breaking free from procrastination

It’s possible to break free from procrastination.  When I work with clients who struggle with procrastination, we work together to change the thoughts, feelings and behaviour that are holding them back. We always work at your pace. I take time to support you to develop the skills you need to make changes. Together, we find ways to manage anxiety and other feelings so you can complete tasks. We work together to develop strategies to overcome fear of failing, perfectionism and people pleasing.  I aim to help you to become confident in your own ability to take action and to do the things that are important to you.