How do you battle procrastination?

Day in, day out, you are confronted with dilemmas or situations where a decision has to be made. Do I really want to go to the gym after work, or would I rather lie down on my comfy sofa and continue to eat crisps? Do I need to get up early, or shall I hit snooze one more time? Shall I reply to these emails and WhatsApp messages that I’ve been leaving for too long, or shall I watch one more episode on the telly instead?

Hmmm... Tricky. What should you do?

Do you recognise this inner dialogue that goes on inside your head? Two parties, each actively trying to voice their opinions, arguments and rationalisations, aiming to tip the scales in their favour.

One party usually represents what you know will be good for you in the long run, whereas the other is far more concerned with what feels better, easier or more fun right now. Who usually wins the fight in your case?

Procrastination involves delaying something, often despite knowing that the delay could make matters more difficult. It may offer some immediate relief, but when it becomes a regular pattern, it can lead to missed opportunities, frustration, regret, dissatisfaction and the feeling that you are not being true to yourself.

Delaying something is not always a bad decision. Sometimes pausing gives you time to think, gather information or decide whether something is genuinely important. The difficulty arises when avoidance repeatedly gets in the way of something you want or need to do.

A short exercise

Let’s stop for a moment and take a few minutes to think about how procrastination relates to your personal situation.

Set a timer on your smartphone for one, two or even five minutes. Go on, then—we don’t want to avoid these questions now, do we?

Ask yourself:

• What am I currently procrastinating over?
• How does that make me feel?
• Why might I be procrastinating?
• What reasons do I keep giving myself?

Scribble your answers down.

Why do you lose the fight against procrastination so often?

There are many reasons why you might procrastinate, and every situation is different. I know that’s probably not exactly the answer you’ve been waiting to hear, so let me give you a few examples you might be able to relate to. Recognising these situations could help you do something about them.

First of all, a very common reason for failing to start or complete certain jobs is that the effort involved feels like too much. It’s overwhelming, making you not want to tackle the task at all.

If you perceive a job as daunting or simply don’t know where to start, avoidance may feel like the easiest response. You might put the task off because even thinking about it makes you feel anxious or uncomfortable.

Secondly, many examples of lifestyle procrastination, such as improving your health, switching careers or addressing a relationship that isn’t working, involve situations where there is no specific deadline. Without a deadline, there may be little sense of urgency, making it easier to keep putting the issue off.

There can also be more complex reasons for procrastination, connected to how we think, feel and respond to pressure. Coaching may help you examine these patterns and consider practical ways forward. They may include:

• Perfectionism – Delaying something because you have unrealistically high standards or expectations of yourself.
• Avoidance – Trying to reduce discomfort by walking away from situations rather than dealing with them directly.
• Fear of failure – Avoiding action to protect yourself from the possibility of failing, without fully acknowledging the consequences of doing nothing.
• Difficulty being assertive – Putting other people’s needs before your own or becoming too overcommitted to complete the task.

Potential solutions

What might help you hold off procrastination? Here are three suggestions that could work for you.

1. Make the task less daunting

Making things smaller can enable quicker progress. It becomes easier to maintain momentum because you may find it difficult to create an excuse for avoiding such a tiny action.

When you take a step, however small, in the direction of your desired ‘big-picture goal’, it can reduce the resistance you feel taking further steps. The size of your first step matters less than the direction you are heading in.

If the task at hand feels too big, break it into smaller subtasks. Make sure you know when each task has been completed. What will success look like for you?

When you get the hang of it, up your game by making the task more challenging. Add some extra effort so you don’t lose motivation because it has become too easy and boring to do.

2. Introduce a real sense of urgency

Without any real urgency, you may have difficulty starting the job. Without a deadline, a finish line that you have to pass within a certain amount of time, the challenge you’ve set yourself may not feel particularly pressing.

Stop using words such as ‘someday’ or ‘tomorrow’. Instead, put a realistic date on it and go for it.

Make sure you’re reminded regularly so that you don’t lose track of your plans and goals. Set a timer, scribble your goal down in your notes or put it in your calendar. Keep your calendar somewhere visible or stick a reminder on the fridge. Do whatever works for you and feels motivating.

3. Create accountability

Accountability can create an environment that helps keep you on the journey when your mind begins resisting and trying to talk you out of it.

Ask yourself: What could I do to increase my sense of responsibility and accountability? What would personally work for me?

You could look for someone who can hold you accountable, perhaps a friend, relative or coach. You might agree to check in with each other regularly, join a study or fitness group, or create a simple reward for following through.

Concluding thoughts

The moral of the story is that overcoming procrastination can be difficult. What looks appealing in the short term can appear very different when viewed over a longer time frame, but we don’t always stop to do that.

Try to resist temptation by purposefully designing your environment, your house, workplace or car- in a way that makes it less convenient to choose the quickest option. At the same time, make it easier and more enjoyable to work towards your longer-term goals.

See which ingredients work for you. Introduce accountability, make the challenge easier or, when appropriate, make it harder. Look at your notes from earlier and see whether they offer a clue about where to begin.

Experiment and discover what works best for you.