How To Beat Procrastination?
What is procrastination and why do we keep doing it even knowing it will stop us from getting what we want?
Procrastination or as I like to call it: “Why do it now when you can do it later behavior?” is a common behavior that makes people feel bad for not doing something that they knew they should have done.
Procrastination is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary: “to keep delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring.”
So we know we have to do it, but we keep delaying it. We don’t want to do it right now. We know that not doing it will be bad for us, but we keep finding reasons why not to do it, at least not now.
Often we relate doing that task with some immediate pain that it will cause us. Sure there will also be the pain of the negative consequences of not doing it, but for some reason, at that moment, we choose that pain over the pain of doing it.
It’s not always a very conscientious choice but is always a voluntary one, which means that we choose not to do it, we convince ourselves not to do it.
Workout? Not today! Not now! We have no time; we have more important things to do; maybe later; maybe tomorrow; it’s cold; it’s warm….
Make that call? Not ready; maybe another time; still need to figure out better what to say; maybe it’s not a good time for the receiver; maybe the receiver is not available now, maybe busy, maybe not happy to hear us, maybe not ready for what we have to say…
Write a book? Need better ideas; need more time; not sure how to start; I cannot concentrate…
Start your own company? What if it doesn’t work; what if nobody will buy from me; what if I cannot make any money; what if I’m not good at it…
Lose some weight? I’m not starting a diet now; I have that event, maybe after; I don’t know how to do it; I have to get some help; I am too depressed; too stressed; too sad; too happy; I need to eat; I get weak when I lose weight; I just feel like eating a pizza right now…
Does any of this sound familiar? Well, it happens to all of us at some point.
Most of the time we procrastinate because we are afraid of failing at what we have to do and that becomes a habit. You have to break that habit, it’s as simple as that.
One of the reasons why I procrastinate has many times to do with perfectionism. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I plan it and I want to make sure that things will be done perfectly. This has given me many times a reason to not do something, at least not at that moment. And the truth is, it will never be perfect.
But also the thing is that when you don’t do it, you will feel worse after and that will be another reason why not to do it, so it might never happen. And it could have been so good for you if done then, even if not done perfectly.
I break the procrastination habit by not overthinking it and just doing it, after all, what’s the worst thing that could happen, if I just do it now? Even if it’s not the right moment, even if the outcome will not be as good as I would like it to be, what’s the worst thing that could happen? So, I just do it and I hope for the best. And you know what? As expected, most of the time I feel amazing for doing it even if the outcome is not that great. I get a great feeling of accomplishment just for doing it and my confidence rises.
When you plan to do something and there is a good reason to do it, and especially when there’s a good reason to do it now, then you plan it and when the time comes to do it, you just do it without overthinking it.
That is the key: Stop overthinking it!
So, Now You Know!
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