You procrastinate because the thought of taking a particular action causes you to feel bad. There are lots of actions that give us that “Ugh” feeling when we even think about doing them. The unpleasant action might be getting to the gym, doing all of your taxes, making an unpleasant call , or scrubbing the restroom.
So, procrastination isn’t really an issue of laziness. It’s an emotional issue. Your brain predicts that you’re going to experience a negative emotion and does its best to help you avoid it.
However, you don’t need to allow your emotions to guide you. They’re merely suggestions you’ll prefer to follow or reject. It’s tough to require an action that feels uncomfortable, but it is often done. Even if you procrastinate, you’ll eventually feel even worse about not taking the acceptable action! Why not save yourself some time since you have to get stuff done anyway?
Sometimes it’s okay to procrastinate, but there are other times that it would be best to take action immediately.
So, what can you do to mitigate procrastination?
Try these tips to overcome procrastination:
- Focus on the physical sensation. When you think about doing the thing you don’t want to do, it creates a feeling in your body. Notice where you feel that negative sensation. How would you describe it?
● Focus on the area of your body where you feel the sensation and see what happens to that physical sensation. See how long that feeling lasts.
● Once you see how this feeling dissipates in a short time, it will be easier to handle it or even disregard it in the future. - Find an easier way to do the task. Maybe there’s a far better or easier way to doing what must be done. Some tasks are too big they’re intimidating to even consider.
● You can do a small amount every day until it’s done?
● Should I use an organize, track, and manage app?
● Hire someone else to do it?
● Hire an eft tapping coach or master the art of Meditation. - Promise yourself a reward after the task is complete. Maybe all you would like is a frozen dessert cone, a massage, or a replacement book to inspire you to urge busy and take action. A reward can be a powerful motivator.
- Think of how great you’ll feel after completing the task. There are few feelings better than completing a dreaded task. It’s such a relief to place it behind you.
● Instead of focusing on how awful it will be to do it, focus on how awesome you’ll feel when it’s done. - Start small. Plan to work thereon for just five minutes. Promise yourself that’s all you’ve got to try to then you’ll give yourself an opportunity. You might find that it’s easy to continue after you start.
● Getting started can be the most challenging part of accomplishing just about anything. - Get help. Do you know someone that can help you? Having some company can make unpleasant tasks more tolerable. Find a friend to help, and you’ll get done twice as fast. Better yet, find five friends and make a celebration out of it! Unpleasant tasks are less miserable once you have company.
- Be tough. There are some tasks that simply need to be done albeit you don’t want to try to do them. Summon your inner gladiator and overcome your resistance. Just get it done.
Everyone has the urge to procrastinate. One thing that separates successful people from the masses is the ability to beat this urge. We procrastinate because the thought of doing the task is unpleasant. There are ways to get rid of the discomfort of performing a task. Seek out these ways.
Focus on the advantages of taking action, get your work done, and provide yourself a touching reward. You’ll feel great when it’s over.
