Are you lazy or is this just plain old procrastination? In order to answer this complicated question, let’s first examine the definitions of both. Procrastination is defined as the act of delaying or postponing something. Laziness on the other hand is voluntarily choosing not to exert energy to complete something. Even though they sound similar, procrastination & laziness are not one in the same. Do you ever make a to-do list and then feel psychologically paralyzed when it’s time to begin? You are not alone. Many people get caught in a cycle of putting things off, which inevitably results in unwanted procrastination. The old saying goes, too many tomorrows & tomorrow never comes.

When you decide to postpone a task, you will experience a brief period of relief. This relief is what motivates you to procrastinate in the first place. For example, you have a stack of papers that needs to be filed. This is a pretty boring task therefore you decide to put it off for another day. It’s a common scenario, however the more you put tasks off, the harder it is to actually tackle them. Before you know it there will be two stacks of papers that need to be filed & the feeling becomes overwhelming. The bigger, scarier & more complicated a task, the easier it is to push off & ignore. This avoidance results in a continued cycle of short-term feelings of relief.  However, the temporary relief you experience from procrastination is very short lived because you are only delaying the inevitable. The hope is that if you postpone long enough, the task will disappear. As you know, this never actually happens. The task is always waiting for you & is now pretty overwhelming. In order to overcome that overwhelming feeling, you need to break tasks down into small, manageable parts. This will reduce feelings of anxiety & motivate you to get moving. It’s important that tasks feel achievable!

Do you ever feel that you need to complete all of a task at one time? This is a very common cognitive distortion called “All or Nothing.”  It involves viewing the world through a black & white lens, when in reality, life is gray. Maybe your thoughts go something like this - “if I can’t clean the whole house today, I won’t clean anything at all.” This is a thinking error that traps you into believing that you must complete an entire task all in one try, otherwise it is not worth doing. A healthier way to view cleaning the house, is to focus on completing one small task at a time. For example, today you can clean the bathroom & tomorrow you can clean the kitchen. Eventually the entire house will get cleaned if you take this room by room approach. Changing your mindset about how you view these tasks will assist you in completing them & prevent the cycle of procrastination.

Are you a recovering perfectionist that likes things to be a certain way? Striving for perfection is often a detriment to task completion. This type of thinking can cause you to procrastinate because your standards & expectations are too high. Perfection is unattainable & creates goals that are not realistic. Perfectionism is often driven by the fear of making mistakes, which leads to failure since the goals were never feasible in the first place. As a result, this may cause you to feel anxious & depressed .If your self-esteem is poor, your productivity is also low, thus resulting in procrastination. So it’s time to let your perfectionism go! Challenge yourself to complete tasks imperfectly & notice how you feel when doing so. It may feel very uncomfortable in the beginning, however over time completing a task, although imperfectly, will provide a sense of relief & satisfaction.

Maybe you’ve been called lazy by teachers, friends or family members, but in reality you really struggle to complete things. Your brain wants to stop procrastinating, but you don’ t know how. To others it may appear that you don’t really care about the task that needs to be done. However,  in reality, you spend a great deal of time ruminating about it. This eventually causes feelings of shame & guilt, which fuels the cycle of procrastination. When shame & guilt creep in, it becomes impossible to complete tasks. To combat this, start with being kind, encouraging & positive with yourself. Repeat a motivating positive affirmation to psych yourself up. Then, take inventory & ask yourself what are the obstacles to task completion?  If you are able to better understand what barriers are in the way, it will help you find a solution that decreases negative feelings. The result will be task completion & feelings of empowerment!

Tips to Overcome Procrastination

• Break tasks down into small, manageable parts.

• Make realistic goals when creating a to-do list.

• Let go of perfection. It’s okay to make mistakes.

• Take one small step towards achievement. One step is better than no steps.

• Set yourself up for success.

• Manage your time wisely. ex. use the timer on your phone to help.

• Use a paper or digital planner with time blocks built in.

• Ask for help with organization if this is an area that you struggle in.

• Make tasks more enjoyable. ex. listen to music while cleaning.

• Make it hard to procrastinate by removing all distractions.

• Hold yourself accountable.

• Take breaks & recharge when necessary.

• Be positive, encouraging & motivating with yourself.

• Identify any barriers or obstacles.

• Start with the most daunting task first. Get it out of the way!

• Don’t give in to your impulses.

• Reflect on any success & give yourself credit. Don’t discount partial achievements!

You aren’t alone. For more support around navigating tasks and decreasing procrastination, click here.