Just take it easy on yourself. Other things can cause you to procrastinate. In this article, I'll deal with that.
Low energy
Let's say you planned to start eating healthily from next month. Instead, work has something else planned.
You've had a packed schedule at work. You were doing chores back to back. You come home very tired to the point you can't prepare your dinner.
Your unconscious mind is pushing you to make an order. You procrastinate cooking by ordering food outside. You procrastinate eating healthily.
This is what you can do instead.
Make all your healthy meals on a weekend evening. This is because that's when you're free. When you come home from work on weekdays, warming your food will be your only task. Easy-peasy, right?
Low self-efficacy
Sometimes procrastination stems from a lack of belief in our abilities. We have done a task several times but we still doubt our abilities. We shy from it because we think it requires new solutions. We shy from it when we see people who we think can do it better.
Let's say this,
You're a student who has been studying and performing well in their exam.
Low motivation
How many times do you let low motivation delay your drive to act?
I do it almost all the time. Why finish this project when I'll only be paid on the 5th of next month? Why not procrastinate writing until you have a better or best idea?
What we forget all the time is this: Action drives motivation not the other way around. Taking the first step( initiating the task), we created a high motivation to act.
Comparing yourself to others
Let's say you're saving up some money to buy yourself a computer. While doing your research, the only computers that seem common are Apple ones. Immediately, you find yourself going to the same brand. Looking back at your savings you have a budget lower than that. What do you do?
If you're like me, you might start using the money for something else. After all, saving up for that brand of computer takes ages! As humans, our brains are wired to desire to measure up to other humans. We believe it's a means to survival.
Setting unrealistic goals
This is one of the common ways we unconsciously create a recipe for procrastination. We aim for long to-do lists with chores taking not less than two and half hours. The goals are seriously unrealistic.
This is because that's how productivity has been defined for us. Working throughout. Sparing time for leisure is equated to laziness. It's equated to being idle. It's equated to designing your future for failure.
This might be the reason you've been working the whole day, but you still feel like you haven't achieved anything. Heck, it might be the reason you find it hard to relax without feeling guilty.
Setting goals instead of establishing systems
Do you sometimes set a goal of decluttering your closet?
How many days after doing it, do you still have to go and redo it?
Does it feel annoying every time you redo it to the extent you decide to procrastinate?
If your answer to these three questions is a yes, it's because you're setting goals instead of establishing systems. And here is the funny thing about goals; they are dead once they've been achieved. The motivation to act no longer exists.
In short, they have a short life span. It's like studying for an exam. When the exam is over, you no longer see the need to study. The purpose of studying no longer exists.
Depleted will power
Self-control is exaggerated.
"Just wake up early today and study because you'll have more sleep time later on"
This is what someone once told me. But what they forgot to say was this: willpower isn't immortal. It dies.
When it dies, reviving it takes a lot of work. When it does, our motivation to act also dies. As a result, we procrastinate.
Find it hard to say no
I know. I know. It can be hard to refuse those tasks being thrown your way.
"send this email"
"write a proposal"
"Send an invitation"
But did you know by committing to these tasks, you're saying no to your tasks? You are indirectly procrastinating.
Did you know that you can make it easy to say no by doing it respectfully?
How do you view time
Some of us are trained to do a task to perfection before handing it in. Some of us are trained to work with strict deadlines. That's why if we find ourselves in situations where the former is required, our chances of procrastinating are 99.9%. This is because it's not the kind of training we're accustomed to.
Other causes include:
- Lack of an accountability partner
- Chaotic work environment
- Poor organization
The next time you find yourself procrastinating, don't be too harsh on yourself. Will you?
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