A different approach to managing procrastination
You may have tried other approaches to deal with procrastination. But this toolkit o!ers something very di!erent. Rather than targeting time management or motivation, it targets the root cause of procrastination: emotions. And it uses science-backed strategies to do so.
- Researchers estimate that between 15% to 25% of adults regularly procrastinate
- Between 80% and 95% of students procrastinate during their studies
Many people think procrastination is due to laziness, lack of willpower or poor time management. But procrastination is not a character flaw. It’s something many of us do at some point. Problems with managing mood is the core reason why people procrastinate. We procrastinate tasks that are unpleasant or uncomfortable, not those that are fun or enjoyable.
Remember, everyone has negative feelings about a task from time to time. It’s what we do in response to those emotions that really matters. If we turn away from them rather than accepting and ‘taming’ them, we can create new problems. If we turn towards them with curiosity and acceptance, we can start to understand and address them and reduce procrastination. e.g.
- boredom
- fear
- uncertainty
- anxiety/stress
- anger,
- resentment
- frustration
- shame
- guilt
- overwhelm
When you notice and acknowledge negative emotions, you begin to weaken their power to hold you back. You tame them. If you are struggling to identify the emotions, describe the thought and translate that into an emotion e.g. I don’t know what I am doing’ = anxiety or uncertainty
Six common sources of negative emotions
There are at least six common sources of negative emotions that can increase vulnerability for procrastination.
- What's in it for me? Often, we can lose sight of WHY we have to do certain tasks. When we don’t feel ownership over a task or forget why we are doing it, negative feelings such as boredom, frustration and stress can creep in and prompt procrastination
- The perfectionism storm: Expecting yourself to reach the perfect outcome is a sure-fire path to procrastination.
- Being your own worst enemy For many people, responding with kindness, acceptance and mindfulness to their procrastination doesn’t come naturally. It’s often easier to be compassionate to others than to ourselves. Imagine that your friend has been procrastinating and is being hard on themselves rather than the normal internal critic dialogue of:
- What’s wrong with me?
- Why can’t I get going?
- Why am I procrastinating again?
- I’ll never get this done!
- Is it just me? We mistakenly believe that other people are doing just fine and not procrastinating
- Making emotional mountains out of molehills When facing a dicult task we often mentally time travel to when we will be working on it and imagine how we will feel: The problem with this is that we tend to not be very accurate in our emotional predictions. We overestimate how stressed, frustrated, anxious or uncomfortable we will feel about future events. Also, we aren’t very good at predicting how long those unpleasant feelings will last.
- Tame the task, tame your emotions ask yourself:
- Do I understand the steps involved in completing the task?
- Do I have all the information and details I need to start?
- Do I have all the necessary resources to complete the task
If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, then seek out the information you need, and/or talk to someone who can help clarify any unknown elements of your task. This will reduce feelings of uncertainty.
You have learned
- How emotions play a central role in procrastination
- How to identify the emotions (and their sources) that drive your procrastination
- Evidence-based strategies to tame these emotions compassionately
- How to prepare your environment to support rather than thwart your efforts to reduce procrastination
More resources
A different approach to managing procrastination
When you notice and acknowledge negative emotions, you begin to weaken their power to hold you back. You tame them. If you are struggling to identify the emotions, describe the thought and translate that into an emotion e.g.
I don’t know what I am doing’ = anxiety or uncertaintySix common sources of negative emotions
There are at least six common sources of negative emotions that can increase vulnerability for procrastination.
If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, then seek out the information you need, and/or talk to someone who can help clarify any unknown elements of your task. This will reduce feelings of uncertainty.
You have learned
More resources