Last week’s blog was all about procrastination, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you finished it and started thinking, “I guess I do procrastinate…so, what am I supposed to do about it?” Recognizing that something is a problem has to be the first step in finding a solution. If you procrastinate in some (or many) areas, we will take a look at another article from Krissy Bradley for some advice on what to do about it. Bradley suggests 9 things to help get procrastination under control.
Step 1* is to triage your tasks. If you like, you can pretend that you’re in an episode of ER (or Grey’s Anatomy if you want a reference that is a little more current). In a real Emergency Room, doctors have to make decisions about who is in desperate need of immediate life-saving care, and who can wait. It might be annoying if you are waiting for someone to check out your ankle, but if you’re having a heart attack, you’ll probably be grateful to be prioritized. If you have a mountain of tasks in front of you that you’ve put off for far too long, go ahead and make a list of them. Bradley suggests placing tasks into the following categories:
Do: These are the most important tasks that need to be completed first.
Defer: This is where you can intentionally delay instead of procrastinating.
Delegate: These should probably be completed by someone else.
Delete: These tasks are not as necessary, and they should just be removed from your list.
Step 2* is choreographing your to-do list. This sounds tricky, but it is actually pretty simple. A huge reason that people procrastinate is because the tasks feel threatening. We can take away the overwhelm by breaking up the tasks into manageable pieces. Do the first part of the task. When that is complete you can move on, but keep your focus on part one instead of the whole task.
Step 3* is to name the feeling. What is the stereotyped counselor question? “How does that make you feel?” It’s almost cliche, but there is a reason we ask that one so often…sometimes people don’t know. Often I’ll ask someone how they feel, and they will respond by telling me their thoughts, but thoughts aren’t feelings. Our feelings are raw, primal, and honest. We feel what we feel, and strong feelings don’t listen to logic. Don’t push your feelings aside. Instead allow yourself to acknowledge what you feel. When you tell yourself that you feel overwhelmed, you shift out of the emotional center of your brain and into higher brain functions, where you are actually able to problem-solve.
Step 4* is to act as though your feelings are in a fixed state. As in, assume that your feelings will remain the same, regardless of your actions. This acknowledges the feelings, like in step 3, and it also shifts you into a mindset where you can start to learn that your feelings and your actions can be different from one-another. In other words, “I feel anxious, and I’m going to do this task anyway.”
Step 5* is to diffuse your anxiety. Anxiety can be reduced by intentionally calming the body. There are a lot of breathing exercises. I recommend taking long slow deep breaths, and making a point to exhale longer than you inhale. Mindfulness exercises and meditation can be helpful for reducing the level of anxiety that you currently carry. By the way, mindfulness does tend to be calming, but its greatest effects come from regular practice, not just a one-time effort.
Step 6* is to act before you think. This sounds weird, right? It actually makes perfect sense, though. Sometimes the things we put off aren’t actually time consuming. If you just do it before you can talk yourself out of it, you may actually finish it before you can justify the reasons why you should play a game of Angry Birds first.
Step 7* is to leave off at the right spot. Procrastinators are famous for having a million incomplete projects, but by specifically stopping at a predetermined place in a task, you might trick yourself into feeling more motivation to pick it up again the next day. Keep in mind, this is different from walking away from a task because it was boring.
Step 8* is temptation bundling, which is really just short for pairing an undesired task with a desired one. An example of this would be doing something tedious while watching your favorite show.
Step 9* is to schedule a consultation with a professional. A counselor can help you with this area of struggle, but Bradley also suggests considering occupational therapy.
As stated last week, the reasons people procrastinate are complicated, and the act of procrastination itself is weirdly responsible for the cycle of procrastination. This isn’t something to feel shame about. It is, however, a significant problem that has the potential to interfere in people’s lives. Getting it under control might feel impossible, but I’ve watched people do it, and the pride that they start to feel in themselves is a wonderful sight to see.
*https://www.livestrong.com/article/13776119-how-to-stop-procrastinating/