Do you ever find yourself waiting until the last possible minute to complete a task that needs done? Do you find yourself inviting people over for a party so that you have a reason to clean? Do you find it hard to say “no”? Do you have too many things on your “to do” list? Do you find yourself avoiding things that really could easily be done?
Let me be the first to say, “Welcome to my club!” My name is Jami, and I am a procrastinator. Procrastination is defined as “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done”. I can’t say that I intentionally put off doing what should be done, but I can say that I enjoy reading a book more than many items on my to do lists. And yes, I said, lists, plural. I have them everywhere.
Procrastination is a complex, psychological phenomenon. Some of us are habitual procrastinators, while others may never engage in this behavior. For many of us, procrastinating can help us feel like we are focusing more intently on whatever we are doing. I am learning that my tunnel vision and working until the last possible minute on a deadline does not make me the best co-worker, wife, mother, or friend.
Four reasons have been identified for why a person procrastinates:
- The belief that a task is too hard to achieve.
- The task appears too time consuming.
- The fear of making a mistake while completing the task.
- The lack of knowledge about the task.
Identifying why you procrastinate is very important to changing your behavior. Ask yourself are there negative consequences to procrastinating? Many times, it is easy to say “I work best under pressure”. Yet, procrastination oftentimes causes unwanted stress that we could have avoided with a little planning.
The McGraw Center at Princeton University shares that breaking down bigger tasks into smaller tasks is a good approach for getting started when you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. One strategy I learned from my mom has always helped me to get started. Set a timer for ten minutes and work on whatever the task is. Once you have completed those ten minutes, take a ten minute break if you need to. Then start again (either the same task or another one). I have always found that starting the task is the most difficult part, and after those ten minutes, I was too involved to actually stop and take a break.
There is no time like now to start whatever task you have been putting aside. What are you waiting for?
