We’re have our own unique way of procrastinating; the type of things that put us in procrastination mode, the ways we distract ourselves, and the thoughts and feeling that are brought up.
This month in the community, we’re talking all about procrastination and I thought I’d share some of that with you here.
So, why do we procrastinate…?
❓Fear – tasks that make us feel anxious or fearful can trigger a fear response in our brain.
This fear response is a protection mechanism that helps keep us safe from physical or psychological harm. As much as we know that making a phone call (or whatever you’re avoiding) isn’t the same as a tiger bounding towards us, our brain reacts in the same way.
Take a deep breath, and see if you can you can get a sense for what the fear is. What can you do to make it more easeful?
❓Overwhelm – tasks that seem too big or complex can overwhelm our normal thinking processes.
When it feels too complex to know where to start on a task, it can kick off our fear response and make it hard to break it down the task into smaller, more manageable steps.
If you’ve got too many things to do, or maybe it’s a really challenging task, then the simplest thing is to find something to get started. It doesn’t matter what it is, so maybe choose a quick, easy win. The important thing is that you just do something – this helps you understand better which step to take next and start making the task less overwhelming.
❓Perfection – aiming for perfection can keep us stuck in planning mode and delay the doing.
When you’re setting the bar too high, we get stuck in loops of overthinking, planning and future tripping. Some people get SO bogged down in wanting to be perfect that they feel like it’s not worth doing at all.
What is driving your need for perfection? Are you comparing yourself to someone else, or maybe you have stories around what it would mean to complete the task perfectly?
Think of the task as an iterative approach, and start with just a rough attempt. Then you can assess how much time or energy you have to improve it (if it really needs it!). The best advice I got for perfectionism was to aim for a B-. Make it just good enough, done not perfect.
❓Distractions – our brains are wired to seek out pleasure so if a task doesn’t feel fun enough to do compared with something else in our immediate environment, then we’re unlikely to do it.
If there are other things around that are distracting you, or feel more fun to do then you can bet that your brain will be pushing you towards that instead! Our phones are an endless source of quick dopamine hits, so cause a massive distraction when we have other things to do.
Can you remove your phone (and any other distractions) from your space while you work on another task? Or give yourself a time limit to focus on the task?
Think about how to make the task more fun, or gamify it somehow. Break it down into smaller steps so you get immediate rewards, which our brain favours over larger, delayed rewards.
The combination of hypnotherapy and coaching offers a powerful toolset to overcome procrastination by overcoming fears and anxieties, reducing overwhelm, growing self-belief, and enhancing motivation.
If you’d like more help with overcoming procrastination, then you can:
Join my free community (I’m in there most days to answer all your questions), or
Book a free call to chat about joining me for 1:1 sessions.
If you’d like support with procrastination or anything else that’s holding you back, please get in touch and we can arrange a free introductory call.
