Self-Handicapping Procrastination Mechanisms: 7 Ways Procrastinators Avoid Solving The Procrastination Problem and How to Solve it

"At least I handed in 2 assignments this week"

"Everyone procrastinates"

"Let me watch an episode of You then I'll finish up on that blog post tomorrow."

Sounds familiar, right?

As humans, our brains are wired to seek immediate gratification. We don't like to wait for delayed rewards. That's why even if we set goals for ourselves today, we still find ourselves falling into the procrastination trap.

We want to feel good in the short term. We reduce stress by delaying important tasks. Instead of seeking to solve our procrastination problems, we indulge in negative and avoidant ways to ride on highs.

Blaming 

This is a negative coping response whereby, we blame external factors for making us procrastinate. In reality, it's we who haven't designed our environment the right way.

For example, we can blame our noisy neighborhood. We can blame the stringent rules that have been put in place.

Measures you can adapt to stop blaming 

Design your environment for future success.

If you live in a noisy neighborhood, writing your blog post before the noise starts might be a good option.

The goal here is to make it difficult to procrastinate by changing the rules to be in your favor.

Avoidance 

When we practice avoidance, we avoid the place or situation where the task is to take place. This is because we don't want to experience negative emotions associated with the tasks. 

It could be stressful because the task requires plenty of time. It could be anxiety or the fear of failure because we don't know the outcome of the task. It could be fear of failure due to insufficient preparation.

For example, You have a 2000-word blog post to write. Because you didn't outline the previous night, you keep avoiding writing the blog post. You even avoid sitting near your desk. The pain of not writing it is killing you from the inside. Therefore, you procrastinate.

Solution 

You can place a motivational ritual or a starting ritual to make it easier to start your task.

Distraction 

Do you sometimes feel you're anxious about your tasks?

Do you numb that anxiety with distraction tools like social media?

Well, you're not the only one. We all like to feel good all the time. Luckily, there is a remedy to numb the pain that stops us from feeling good. Should I say there are many highs to ride on.

When we feel overwhelmed by the assignment we were given, why not substitute it for our favorite shows, right?

Solution 

Dopamine-induced principle.

This is how it goes. After completing a task without being distracted reward yourself. Dopamine is a reward-seeking hormone. This will boost your motivation to act. Every time you complete a task distraction-free, you get a reward.

Valorization 

This is a coping mechanism that makes us feel good about procrastinating by making a comparison between our past and present achievements. This is mainly a result of overthinking or self-doubt. It reaches a point you doubt your capabilities. You think you're not good enough.

If I have been procrastinating writing a blog post for some time now, I might think to myself: "At least I wrote 4 blog posts last week."

Solution

Start focusing on being consistent than being good enough. It's also good to realize that fear in your head trying to make you back off.

Descending counter factuality 

This is a negative coping mechanism, whereby, we see that our procrastination behavior is better than someone's worse behavior.

For Example, You may see your behavior of procrastinating to decluttering your closet as better than your neighbor's behavior of not cleaning the house once a month.

Solution 

You should realize that feeling good about your problems in the short run is a temporary solution to your problems.

Denial 

This is a negative procrastination response, whereby, we procrastinate by doing a different task when we should be doing some other task. 

We justify our procrastinatory behavior by saying that the tasks we are doing, are more important than the task we should be doing.

This is often due to poor prioritization of tasks, fear of failure, perfectionism, and poor organization.

If you were to write a blog post, you spend that time reading articles on how to write good blog posts. By doing this, you're defending your actions and at the same time procrastinating.

Solution 

Apply the do something principle.

The reason we often procrastinate is that we haven't started doing something. It could be due to fear or several other reasons. By starting, we are crossing the action line. As a result, we are overcoming procrastination. We are reducing the pain associated with not taking action.

Mocking 

This is a coping mechanism, whereby we use humor to mock our procrastination behavior. We do this because we want to justify that we are procrastinating for the right reason.

For example, if you procrastinate on your workout, you say to yourself: "After all, everyone procrastinated. I am not the only one."

Solution 

To avoid using mocking as a coping mechanism, we need to realize that everyone's situation is different. You might be procrastinating because you're tired. I might be procrastinating because I am bored.

In conclusion,

We like to procrastinate to avoid stressful events in our lives. There 7 negative ways we cope with procrastination. They include:

1. Distraction.
2.  Descending counterfactuality.
3. Blaming.
4. Mocking.
5. Valorization.
6. Denial.
7. Avoidance.