Tips to Overcome Procrastination (Right now!)

¨Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.¨

-MARK TWAIN

Procrastination can be a real drag on time, energy, and mood. Someone might procrastinate to avoid feeling discomfort or pain, only to realize that the procrastinating itself causes discomfort or pain!

Why does it happen, and how can it be stopped?

It might start when someone is inevitably faced with doing things they would rather not do. The reasons people procrastinate can differ, but some common reasons people procrastinate include:

- wanting to delay challenging, unappealing tasks so they can do something fun in the moment

-not seeing the purpose in a particular task

-lacking goals or direction

-defaulting to autopilot mode (zoning out)

-challenges in regulating emotions, or dealing with anxiety and depression

-thinking something has to be perfect

What are some things you can do (right now!) to help yourself understand and deal with this frustrating pattern?

-take it seriously. it can be easy to joke about procrastinating (and sometimes that helps and is fine!) but for some people it can really impact their life negatively.

-NOTICE, then PRACTICE changing your pattern. catch yourself in the act of delaying. Aim for growth not perfection.

-set a timer. Sometimes people procrastinate because they unrealistically tell themselves something will be more awful than it is, or take longer. challenge yourself to see how much of a task you can get done in twenty minutes or twenty minute chunks!

-utilize the screen time monitors on your phone to see how much time is wasted on social media, compulsive email checking, game playing, etc. looking at that amount can be a wake up call!

-DONT spend time over-analyzing and beating yourself up over wasted time. instead, use that time to jump into action mode. procrastination loves over-analyzation.

-find the purpose for the tasks that you do. you might not love doing another load of laundry, but if you realize the bigger purpose of providing for your family, and the value behind that, it makes the task a little more appealing

-reward yourself AFTER the hard work. not before.

-catch yourself in negative thoughts that keep you from action mode. thoughts like ¨I wont be able to do it.¨ or ¨this is terrible¨ keep you in a negative mind frame and away from tasks.

-sometimes there is a deeper reason you procrastinate doing something, and might not be aware of why. perhaps you have some inner confusion about your priorities, or think you are supposed to want something but dont. there can be reasons you are not yet aware of that keep you stuck, and it can be useful to talk to a therapist about this.

what has helped you when you procrastinate?