Procrastination

What it is? Why we do it? What can we do about it?

When it comes to procrastination, we often term it as the absence of an activity which though planned but otherwise doesn't come to execution. But it may come to our surprise that in fact we are very much busy doing something else. Irrespective of the fact that whatever else we find ourselves engaged in, be it productive or not productive, in service of our goals or be it not, it's taking up our energy and time which we might be better off spending on our planned activity when we know not doing so may carry undesirable consequences. Poorly executed plans also lead to decrease in well-being. We can for sake of simplicity define such an activity as NOT working on the desired/planned activity.

To each one of us, NOT working on the desired/planned activity may vary according to who we are, what we do or not do in place of the planned activity and also in part to the missed activity. Interestingly when we procrastinate we aren't aware that it's meeting our human needs and we are actually very motivated to not stick to our plans. The lack of motivation for a desired/planned activity means our availability of motivation for the unplanned activity.

Motivation is polymorphic in nature. Whatever we do or engage in satisfies our need for pleasure, safety, salience, love, connection, variety, freedom, growth, and meaning. We don't lack motivation when an activity meets the afore-mentioned needs. In case of a competing activity, we assign priority to the activity which meets more needs.

Question arises: how can we make the shift from NOT working on the desired/planned activity to actually execute our planned activity? This is possible when we make our planned activity more rewarding/motivating. How?

In case we have perfectionist tendencies, we may be meeting our needs of safety and salience by avoiding the desired/planned activity. Seeing an imperfect situation (such as limited time, limited energy), we may not be willing to engage in the planned activity as it may threaten our status. What will my imperfect work say about me? In such scenarios, valuing completion over perfection and focusing on the effort process rather results springs us into action. After all, in order for something to be perfect, it needs to be completed first.

In case we get anxious before embarking on the desired activity, we may feel threatened by the planned activity as we may fail. We may have low self esteem and the planned activity might be bringing challenges and difficulties even before going into execution which is rationally not possible. Breaking the planned activity into smaller chunks and scheduling them helps in such scenarios. Not to mention other anxiety/fear busting methods are of great benefit as well. Once we lean into execution with a mindset for self-improvement, we may counter our fear and anxiety. After all, how can we get better by not committing to the planned activity?

In case we find ourselves very motivated to dream lofty goals and how we nail them instead of putting effort into attaining them, we may be doing so for our need of freedom and variety. The best anti-dote to such dreaming is setting realistic goals as without effort, we can't increase our ability. Ramping up a system of accountability may steer us back on track to execute our planned activity. Focusing on the effort process rather than results helps as well.

In case we question the reason behind pursuing a goal or executing an activity we may be seeking reasons to pursue an activity if it atleast doesn't go against our identity or values. Questioning here meets our need for salience. Listing Pros/Cons of the activity may motivate us in such scenarios.

In case we get bored easily and are chasing the next new flashy thing, we might be seeking stimulation (variety) and may have a very low threshold of boredom. In scenarios such as these, it helps to forgo less important activities and learn to embrace boredom. Gradually we may find motivation for "boring" but planned activity. Yoga/Meditation can help too.

In case we can't say NO to any incoming activity or we fail to delegate it, we may be motivated by our need for meaning. How? Suppose instead of executing the planned activity, we are always helping others out. Great for social connection and meaningful too, but results in activity avoidance. The Eisenhower Matrix can be effective here.

Procrastination happens when our emotional selves are not congruent to our thinking selves. Emotionally it makes sense to procrastinate on an activity because it may be boring, complex, difficult, or for any other reason in the short term. But in the long term deferring or putting off planned activities becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that it brings to life the very same reasons we avoid them for.