Procrastination is one of the most common obstacles to personal empowerment. It is something that most people struggle with at one time or another, and it literally stops many people completely in their tracks. It is easy to underestimate how damaging procrastination can be. We will see exactly what procrastination is, why it can be so harmful and what you can do to overcome it.
The Habit of Procrastination
Procrastination is the habit of putting off tasks indefinitely into the future. I say “indefinitely,” because if you plan to do Task X on Monday and decide to put it off until Tuesday, and then actually do it on Tuesday, that isn’t really procrastination. Procrastination is when you keep putting it off until “manana” and tomorrow, of course, never arrives or when its too late.
The reason this is such a potentially harmful habit is because it can seem innocuous. After all, you are only putting off your task for an hour or a day. The worst thing about procrastination is that it is the refusal to make a real decision. If you simply said, “I don’t feel like doing Task X, so I’m not going to do it,” you would no longer be procrastinating. The habitual procrastinator never makes that decision. He or she neither gets the task done or permanently shelves it, but simply keeps putting it off. This leaves them, and their work, in a state of perpetual limbo.
What Causes Procrastination
The obvious cause of procrastination is laziness, but this does not really explain it.
The real cause is usually something deeper. It involves an unwillingness to set priorities in your life. If you find yourself constantly putting things off, that means your intentions and actions are seldom in accord. You say you will do something, and at some level you want to do it, but you never actually do it. Or you do everything at the very last minute, or maybe even later than you promised, and usually the quality suffers as a result. In addition to facing the consequences of not getting something done on time, you probably feel guilt or shame about it, which only reinforces the cycle.
How To Overcome Procrastination
To overcome procrastination, the first step is to be clear about what you want to do and why. In some cases, you would be better off simply refusing to take on certain responsibilities in the first place. This is not always possible, but sometimes it is. For those tasks that you cannot refuse, write down how they fit into your long term goals. For example, if it’s an unpleasant project at work, remind yourself, in writing, how doing this project will help you eventually get a promotion, or keep you at this job until you get a better one.
The next step in overcoming procrastination is to develop a habit of setting a schedule and sticking to it. So there are three main steps to overcoming procrastination:
- Recognize it, and don’t underestimate how harmful it can be.
- Clarify your goals for doing what you do and write them down.
- Set a schedule for those tasks you decide you really want to do –and stick to it!
Remember, putting things off is a habit, and habits can be changed. This takes a certain amount of self-discipline, and will probably require you to write down a schedule that you adhere to.
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