When I was twenty, I had surgery that required a local anesthetic. The surgeon told me that if the pain ever got too bad, I could tell him to stop.
Stop?! Why would I want to prolong the pain? I didn’t want any breaks; I wanted it over as quickly as possible. Why would I want to endure the painful situation longer than necessary?
I wonder this same thing about people who procrastinate. They avoid writing content for their web site, filing taxes, or scheduling appointments. They even seem to cling to their procrastinatory habits like an honor badge.
Prolonging the pain and choosing to live in a state of suffering doesn’t make sense to me. Why would anyone want to bear an undone task like a constant weight?
Trade your burden for freedom
If I have bookkeeping on my to-do list, and I avoid it, I’m choosing to allow the weight of this non-fun task to burden my entire day and rob me of peace of mind.
If I do the bookkeeping right away, not only do I release the stress of the onerous task, I feel empowered and free to work on what I really want.
I’ve just traded eight hours of burden for eight hours of freedom.
The release is palpable and allows me to complete my creative projects with more ease.
This is just how I am
I can hear you now. “But I’ve always been a procrastinator. I’ve always done everything at the last minute.” You shrug, proud to bear this burden. “It works for me.”
But does it really work? Do you feel peaceful and energetic? Or burdened and sluggish? Check in with yourself – do your days feel good to you, carrying around this weighty procrastination?
Creative noodling isn’t procrastination
I can hear your objections. “But I need that noodling time. It helps me create.”
I assert that there’s a recognizable difference between procrastination and creative noodling time. I also assert that you know the difference, if you pause to feel it.
One way to see the difference is to assess whether you’ve put some attention on the project. For instance, if I have to write a new About page for my blog, I’ll make some notes, do some research, and I’ll hack out a rough first draft.
Then I’ll let that sit while I do other work, take a walk, and allow new ideas to surface. Inspiration will come and I’ll return to the page to keep working.
Throughout this whole experience I’ll feel creatively engaged and empowered.
Contrast that to procrastination. I see About page on my to-do list. I don’t know what I am going to write, so I do my usual procrastination tactics: cruise Facebook, do easier work, surf the internet pretending I’m researching others’ About pages.
The weeks go by and the About page on my list adds to my stress. My confidence gradually erodes as my deadlines come and go.
Which do you want? I’ll take the lighter version, thank you. Some tasks are still onerous, but at least I am not adding to the weight by avoiding them.
Procrastination = unnecessary stress
If you’re committed to your style of procrastination, rushing to finish things at the last minute, know that you are also committed to a life of stress and disempowerment.
You may think that the rush of adrenaline you get from last minute work is worth it. But I don’t think it is worth the burden of avoidance.
You can change. You can choose to complete things with less stress. Lose the weight of procrastination.
Try this:
- Do difficult things first. Often we avoid what we anticipate to be painful.
- Break big jobs into smaller tasks. ‘Taxes’ is an onerous thing – but the steps you need to file your taxes can be broken down and made easier.
- Delegate – what’s on your list that will never get done if you’re the one to do it? See who can help you with it.
- Practice committing to less so you have enough time and space to take care of your obligations.
- Let go of your proud identity as a procrastinator. There’s nothing noble about it.
Bottom line: Procrastination is a heavy weight to bear, and may be holding you back.
Coach’s inquiry: What is the cost of your procrastination?
What can you test my theory on? What are you procrastinating on that you can do sooner rather than later? Share how you’ve shed procrastination in a comment below, or argue for your avoiding ways!
One of your best posts – and that’s saying a lot!
Wow, thanks Claudia. It wasn’t easy to come up with something new about procrastination, and I’m not 100% sure this is a new perspective.
I wrote this whole article in a tiny notebook on the train from Paris to the airport right before my Curious Paris Excursion. I was creatively afire that morning and was pleased to come home and only need a little bit of revising.
I appreciate your comment; it’s good to know when something hits the mark.
I got about halfway through reading this…. it’s good so far, but I’m gonna have to finish the rest later- I got shit to do!
Cynthia, I agree with Claudia–this is awesome! Procrastination has been a friend that I’ve visited often. Last year, I messed up a good client relationship due to distraction and procrastination. Having been since dissed because of it, I’m learning from the experience. I’ve tried to really blast through it and find out my true motivators. New motto: Just do it–Now!
Toni,
Yes, often doing it now is better than having it hanging over your head. People often ask me how I get so much done – maybe that’s it – I’d rather do it than have it on my list to do forever.
Go get that shit done, Chris! In the meantime, I will continue to try to shorten my articles.
Great post Cynthia! Definitely a good reminder for me. I procrastinate but am not happy about it. I feel exactly how you describe it totally stressed out about it. Not a good feeling. I much rather get things done and be over with it. Working with you has definitely help…I do much better. But…not as good as I wish.
I will send this post to Heidi who is also a good procrastinator.
Thank you for this!!!
Thanks, Dora. I hope this helps you to procrastinate less. I really just want people to enjoy their time more, and it’s painful to see others suffer at their own hand. Maybe you and Heidi can play with this together!
I’m a procrastinator who’s learned a few ways to ‘trick’ my procrastinating tendencies- at least some of the time.
I have a blog post on some of the reasons people procrastinate here: http://eclectopedia.com/10-reasons-to-procrastinate/
I admit that procrastination can make me miserable at times– on the other hand, there are times when it’s saved me. It’s kept me from spending lots of time on things that later turned out to be useless or moot. It’s also helped me discover and respect my own boundaries: gradually I’m learning to recognize when I’m simply NOT going to do something – and not commit myself to doing it in the first place.
When I decide I simply HAVE to do something here are a few of my ‘tricks’:
– Pretend I’m not really going to do something- just take a look at it, or find my papers, or locate a phone number. If I want to, I can always stop there. But often I’ll end up doing it – just because I’ve already got stuff sitting out…
– Jump in at the deep end. This is sort of a version of the above– except, without letting myself think about it, or plan it, I’ll make an appointment or dial a phone number connected with what I have to do. No way to back out, then! I’m already in over my head and have to swim.
– My favorite way- make it a party. Arrange to call fellow-procrastinators at agreed upon times. Each checks in and to say what they’re going to do within the agreed upon time- then check back in at the end of the time to report progress.
Sarah,
I love your methods for getting over procrastination. Especially the sidling into it by just getting the thing in front of you. That works for me, too.
Thanks for pointing us toward your article about why we procrastinate. They’re all true. I think it boils down to fear and fear of the unknown. We prefer to stay safe than to plunge toward our limitations.
The party method is great. That’s why I have a job as a coach – the accountability helps people procrastinate less and enjoy life more!
Thanks for reading and sharing your strategies to overcome procrastination!
Sarah,
I also have to say that the scenario you described doesn’t sound like procrastination to me. It sounds more like intuition. On the face of it, it appears that you’re avoiding something. In reality, it’s a wiser part of you saying, no, don’t go there.
This just happened to me. I asked myself, Why is that thing still on my list? What’s stopping me from doing it. I realized I didn’t really want to do it. It became very clear to me why and it had nothing to do with fear but instead with what felt right to me.
So, procrastination, intuition, creative noodling, not the same thing.
LOL: http://www.freelanceapple.com/stop-procrastinating-get-things-done/
Once I was watching daytime TV in bed when I should have been doing lots of other things. There was a show on where celebrities “acted out” certain phrases and their team-mates had to guess what they were. I got totally engrossed in this completely time-zapping show and laughed like a drain when one of the phrases turned out to be: “Procrastination is the thief of time”.
My mum always says, “do the thing you least want to do first” – this WORKS!
Thanks Cynthia – you are a wise owl!
Jx
Jenny,
I’d love to see how they acted out that procrastination phrase!
Hoot!
True story!!!!
This is so important I linked to it on my blog. THANK YOU for articulating it so beautifully!
Thanks for the link, Joy!
Dear Cynthia, Your thoughts on procrastination are so timely. As a former great procrastinator, I whole-heartedly agree with you! Just a couple of weeks ago I heard someone being interviewed on the radio about this very subject and they said although we may feel that our last minute adrenaline rush aids us in getting things done, studies have shown that if we continue to work on something a little bit every day, our thoughts on that subject becomes more clearer and well-defined. It’s like our ideas need to mature like a fine wine over time. I post on my blog once a week, like you, if I draft out my blog entry at the beginning of the week and devote a little bit of time every day to refining it, by the time I’m ready to post I’m happy with the results – OTOH, if I haven’t I feel so insecure about the entry for weeks. Ideas even in making art take time to reveal themselves to the fullest; procrastinating and putting a task off until the last minute doesn’t allow for work to mature and develop to its full potential. Thanks again for your insightful discussion on this subject. Michelle Casey
Michelle,
Thanks for sharing that perspective. It seems like a more mature and enjoyable way to create, a little at a time. By mature I don’t mean to imply that procrastination is immature, just that one has probably evolved to a more settled and empowered relationship with creating when procrastinating isn’t such a bugaboo.
You are very welcome, and thanks for reading and commenting!
Last year I procrastinated on 2010 bookwork so bad I had to file an extension and it took until October to finish it. That was rock bottom for me. No more. Not this year. I got a large wall calender, wrote a daily office to-do list on it and it’s been working. Like Michelle, I’m doing a little bit every day and 2010 will be finished by the end of Feb. I also have a schedule to keep up with 2011 bookwork. Man, does it feel good. I have more enthusiasm for other things in the office as well.
Tip: Get some gold star stickers (or whatever makes you happy) and place them on your calender when a task is completed. It’s like smiles all over your accomplishments. I use a metallic marker on the little daily things and stickers for a full project completed.
Lanie,
Wow, nothing like an extended relationship with the IRS to get you on task! I’m happy to hear this year is different for you.
I love the gold star idea. This is great visual mini-celebration that works because it’s so simple!
You nailed it with this blog. I think it is the best post i have seen on your site. This one is really going to help me. I am taking to heart your suggestions starting…….NoW? I mean…starting NOW!
You fly!
Thanks, Trupti! I am so glad! I was on fire when I wrote this on the train from Paris. Then, at home, I almost censored myself, thinking, this is YOUR way, Cynthia, remember to allow for others to have THEIR way.
But I believe this and have felt so much lighter when I just get the whatever over with…work on the novel, sending a card, taxes…it’s not just the onerous stuff, it’s stuff we want to do, too.
I have just reminded myself to send my tax stuff to my accountant. Gotta go…and you’re already flying!
Thanks for commenting.
Hi Cynthia,
Great posting and very insightful; it reminds me why procrastination disempowers, as you say. (By the way, I’m not reading this posting because I’m procrastinating on doing my own work.)
I do not procrastinate. In fact, I cannot bear putting off difficult tasks, and I’m very deadline-driven. If I can do my projects sooner than later, I’m a very happy camper. However, my problem is the reverse: I put very high expectations on myself (the drill sargeant) and expect to get everything done sooner than they can be done.
Well, I’d better start writing; otherwise, I’ll feel like I’ve procrastinated.
Hi! This was very interesting reading, I’m very much a procrastinator but I think it may be partly due to my poor memory. Chores don’t hang over my head because I forget about them! If you’re reading this and are interested in creativity and how this interacts with different aspects of your behaviour, it would be fantastic if you could fill out my survey for my university dissertation. Just click on this link:
http://nclpsych.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5psPFoW3aEnPA1u Or, if this doesn’t work, copy and paste it into your address bar. If you know anyone else/any other forums that are interested in this kind of thing it would be great if you could pass it on to them. Thank you so much! 🙂
Great article, just received the link this morning. I am a procrastinator extrordinaire and I hate it. All of what you say is true and I keep trying to dig out of the hole of my bad habit. My mom used to call me “Last Minute Annie”.
I can relate to Kirsty….tho I sometimes conveniently ‘forget’ about my projects it has alot to do with not being a linear thinker: going from Project A to B to C to D, etc. I go from A to G to part of D, then B catches my attention….and next thing you know there’s no time for C,E and F, which of course all happen to be my least favorite tasks. Aside from this there are the very typical fears and avoidances of the procrastinating kind. All the comments and thoughts on being able to put more creativity into a project if you start earlier are so true and I often am cursing myself when I am rushing at the last minute, wishing I had more time on a project that was not half as dreadful as I thought it was going to be and I have left myself no room for any perspective at the end (the ‘mature’ thing you were talking about_I get it). Figure it out, Susan!!
Thank you for the great article, very inspiring for me to keep trying to overcome it! All the other comments and suggestions are also much help. I realize that even as I try to change I always have to be diligent: just because I manage to jump on one onerous project and complete it doesn’t mean I am “cured”. It is too easy to slide back into my ususal ways. The perspectives and techniques I’ve learned here will be a great help. Many thanks…. and back to work 🙂
Susan,
It sounds like a little bit of schedule management is in order for you! Just a few tweaks and I bet you’d feel a lot more empowered around your choices.
Glad the article gave you some ideas and that the comments were helpful too!
I like this article a lot. I am a procrastinator but I really dont know why, I just seem to stall when I get close to actually doing something, even something I really want to do. You are right completely it is not worth the adrenaline, not creatively helpful,not good for my life at all.
I am an artist, I have great ideas and do a lot of work, Im very busy being very busy but somehow seem to avoid the most important work of getting my work out, writing for the grant, applying to the gallery, doing the really big work I think and plan about.
Thanks for a great article
Kate,
Glad you liked this! I hope it sparks you to make real change, even just tiny tweaks to help do things with less struggle.
I love that you call yourself on being so busy. We all know we do that to ourselves and it’s up to us to regulate our lives so we have space to create.
Make a list of those things you want to give priority to. Assign deadlines for them, break the projects into small action steps and sooner rather than later your procrastination will be a thing of the past. Specificity will help.
My main line of reasoning when I’m procrastinating is that I can do a better job when I’ve more information or I’d better wait till I’m sure it’s going to turn out perfectly.
This post couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Being a chronic procrastinator trying to reform myself often, I have read many posts elsewhere on this subject. But, they were just posts. This one’s a gem (I am all fired up to do something I’ve been avoiding for months). Thank you for this :)))
Akshata,
Wow, I’m glad you came upon this post! I do hope this perspective helps you.
While you’re turning things around, pay attention to how you feel – your mood, your energy. Notice on this level how procrastination really works in your system. Often reasoning is merely masquerading as your gremlin or inner critic. It sounds like your procrastination gremlin and your perfectionist gremlin are co-horts!
Enjoy the process of trying something new. It am guessing it will feel great!
I think I am new to this blog. I do a lot of blog reading and arrived here from a link in a newsletter from Fine Art Views.
I once did a paper on procrastination for my psych class. I learned a bit about procrastination, mostly that it is a huge subject and different people procrastinate for different reasons. Most people who are not procrastinators seem to think it is laziness and I picked up a bit of that vibe from your post. As one who has procrastinated more often than I would care to recall, I can tell you that I have some personal experience with this problem.
In your first paragraph, I picked up the definite impression that you would not be able to provide much insight into procrastination because you were very clear that you do not procrastinate. I found that the rest of your post contained pretty much the same trite advice I have found elsewhere.
I don’t know anyone who is proud to be procrastinating about anything. As you point out, it creates stress and no one likes that. People who procrastinate usually do so because the doing is perceived as more stressful than the not doing. Procrastinators are frequently rewarded for not doing, because they do eventually get the job done, although not always as well as they would like to have done it and they succeeded in putting off the perceived unpleasant task for the longest possible time. Because the motivations for procrastination are varied, there is no one size fits all way to correct the problem in those who find themselves constantly procrastinating. Behavior modification has been shown to be helpful.
Nothing I have read or experienced shows that being scolded by non procrastinators helps procrastinators repent the error of their ways. I wonder how many of the self-identified procrastinators who have commented on this article have actually changed anything about what they are doing. While I have a blog and a website, I am not providing those links. My purpose in commenting here was not to obtain any SEO juice but to respond to what you have written.
Marguerite,
Thank you for your comment. This is a complex subject. Procrastination is different for everyone who experiences it.
I did not say nor imply that people who procrastinate are lazy, and if you misread that, my apologies. I would never call someone lazy and I think procrastination is more complex than that.
In my writing and coaching, I seek to offer new perspectives so people can reframe common problems.
I have encountered a lot of people who hold dearly to their procrastinating ways, and yes, they do seem proud, or stubbornly attached to it. My hope is to offer a way for them to live with their creativity in a way that empowers them, rather than disempowering them.
It seems you have a lot to say about this subject and I’d love to see a blog post from you about it. It might be interesting for you to share what you’ve learned and experienced firsthand.
Finally, I do not scold nor leave mean comments on others’ blogs. I write with the intention to offer new points of view. What may seem like ‘trite advice found elsewhere’ could be really valuable for someone who hasn’t heard that ‘trite advice’.
I, too, wonder how many people change as a result of what I share. I know that bringing the subject up in new ways – and as many have said – in timely ways – is a great first step toward change.
Thanks for contributing to the conversation, even though I don’t appreciate the unkind nature of your comments.
I reread your article and my comment. My remark about your advice being trite was mean and I apologize.
I am not going to blog about procrastination. I have read a lot about the subject and the best advice that can be given about it is advice most people won’t take. Do the hardest stuff first. The hard stuff is usually the most important stuff and the stuff no one wants to do.
I know a lot about diets, too. I don’t write about that stuff or give advice about it any more for pretty much the same reason. No one wants to hear that to succeed you have to do the hard stuff. You pay attention to what you eat and how much activity you engage in. Less of the former, more of the latter. It’s the only thing that works.
There is nothing you get in life that is worthwhile that is easy. Do the hard stuff.