Stop Procrastinating! S. 2 E. 29

Check out this episode to get a handle on procrastination and strategies to stop procrastinating. 

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

Do you ever procrastinate? Based on our own experiences, we’re going to guess that the answer is yes. Procrastination is an almost universal experience. Why do we procrastinate? What forms does our procrastination take? And most importantly, what are some steps we can take to tackle procrastination? In this episode, we’re talking about our old nemesis, procrastination.

In this episode:

Today we’re going to start our discussion of procrastination with the famous and funny words of Ellen Degeneres: “ Procrastinate now. Don’t put it off.” We can’t put this off.  We’d all like to avoid things, but we need to discuss procrastination.

Michele: At the risk of making me feel ineffective or even unprofessional, I am going to go ahead and admit that I have been known to procrastinate. Thinking about procrastination made me wonder about when I most procrastinate and why I might be procrastinating. I am definitely a person who has goals and agendas and scheduling skills and I can get things done. On the other hand, there are things in my life I have procrastinated on, sometimes even for years.

Paula: I can 100% relate and I’m sure some of our listeners can too. In some tasks I am super efficient. I can even surprise myself sometimes with how quickly I can work through a to do list. But there are other tasks I have been putting off for weeks, months or even years.

Michele: As I was digging into this topic, I was curious about when and why I procrastinate. So I thought I would look into it. I made a list of a few of the things that I procrastinate over. Some are small, and others are bigger. For example, I procrastinate with grading papers when I know they are longer, that I will have to give a lot of feedback, or when I know it will be very time consuming. I procrastinate when I work on a podcast outline when I am not inspired by a topic and I want it to be both useful and inspiring to our listeners. When I feel like I don’t have something to say, I won’t start. A third example is that I have a family heirloom, a chair that was handmade by my husband’s great grandfather. It is in desperate need of a makeover and is not useful as it is. It is currently deteriorating even further in our basement. I know I can sand it and refinish it and give it a new fabric cover. I have procrastinated on this for years because it is an important family piece and I am afraid I won’t get it right.

Paula: I am amazed that though we always come up with our examples separately, we always come up with similar things. I also avoid correcting long papers or when they are not electronic, those that are stacked up really high. I often avoid tasks that can’t be completed in a day like cleaning out a closet, sorting through old clothes that no longer fit me or my kids and then making the 20 minutes trip across town to Goodwill to donate them. Like you, Michele, I have family heirloom that needs to be framed in a shadowbox. It’s an outfit worn by my grandmother and my mother and me. It can no longer be worn. I know it will involve specialty framing, and I have been avoiding that particular task for two years and counting.

So now that we have opened up some of the things we procrastinate on, let’s dig in to why we procrastinate.

Why do we procrastinate?

Let’s look at some of the most common reasons we procrastinate.

One of the most common reasons is fear. What if it doesn’t work? What will people think? What if I mess up?

Perfectionism- this is another form of fear. You’re afraid of failure or doing something wrong.

Sometimes you procrastinate because you don’t know the next steps. You can’t move forward because you need information or help. Who could help you?

Another reasons is that you’re not inspired. This often relates to creative activities.

It could be that you’re waiting for the right time. Or, you’re waiting for someone else.

Many reasons for procrastination are connected to time. You feel like you don’t have enough time. Or, you might be time challenged and overestimate the amount of time something takes. Or, you underestimate the amount of time a task will take so you will do in later, and as we know, sometimes later never comes.

And lastly, a big reason for procrastination is that a task feels very large and very overwhelming. Once again, we compare this to the idea of washing dishes. Done regularly, it is a quick job. But if you put it off, the dishes build up higher and higher until you feel like you just want to burn the whole kitchen down.

What forms does procrastination take? 

What does procrastination look like? At its very basic level, it looks like not getting things done. The problem is bigger than that.

Procrastination is sneaky, and it can take many forms. Sometimes it even disguises itself to look as if you are taking productive and sensible measures.

Michele: For example, procrastination might also look like you are waiting for more time. I thought I needed more time to move my fall and winter clothes out of my closet and get my spring and summer things out and then get everything organized. I needed a half a day to do it right. I never had a half a day. All my summer things got jammed in with all my winter things and my closet was a mess. I lived with it that way all summer, digging through the sweaters to find the t-shirts. The good news is that now I can just remove the summer things. It would have been better to get a couple of tubs out and just get them out of the closet and out of the way. I could have done it in 20 minutes. Is it going to be perfect? No, but done is sometimes better than perfect.

Paula: Because I like to keep busy and don’t do so well with sitting, for me, procrastination looks like doing anything and everything except what I am procrastinating about. I might paint a room, organize dresser drawers, or revamp a good lesson plan to make it great. My student’s deserve it! When I am procrastinating I can convince myself how important and time sensitive all of these other tasks are. I will do anything rather than what I am supposed to be doing.

Here are some other ways procrastination might show up:

You are waiting for the right time to do something. The right time might never actually come. You might say, “ I’ll start tomorrow, or next week, or as soon as we go back to school”. You’re waiting for the right time.

You wait to do something because you need more knowledge, or experience or wisdom. You are waiting until you are ready. This form of procrastination is self-doubt, and it can keep you learning forever. Sometimes, you learn best in the process of doing something. Self-doubt turns to confidence with positive experience.

Paula gives an example of learning to crochet from her grandmother and inheriting her crochet needles.  She wants to crochet, but only knows one stitch so she she doesn’t start.

Procrastination might also look like endlessly scrolling social media. Before you know it, you’ve spent way too much time watching reels about things you probably don’t even care much about. Or it might look like watching television shows mindlessly, or scrolling while you’re mindlessly watching TV.

It might also look like online shopping. It is more fun to buy more clothes than clean out your closet or buy kitchen gadgets rather than clean the kitchen.

Michele: Or in my case, to buy more books than finish all the ones I have already bought. I sometimes get overwhelmed by all the books I have and then don’t know where to start. That is another form of procrastination- you don’t know where to start so you just don’t start.

Paula: We both do this! We should compare our stacks of books!  I recently had a pile so high that I had to create two separate piles!

Procrastination might show up as boredom. It might show up as restlessness, or not feeling like doing anything. Resisting taking action makes us feel unsettled and uncomfortable. That is often followed by general unhappiness or guilt that we didn’t do something.

Procrastination can also show up in more serious forms. An aspiring singer gets laryngitis the night of the big competition. The speaker is so afraid of speaking in public that they become physical ill and has to cancel. There are connections between our minds and our bodies which can cause many forms of illness. This is a much more serious form of procrastination.

Now that we know what procrastination looks like, how do we stop procrastinating?

How to stop procrastinating.

We don’t like to procrastinate, but how do we stop it?

1. Just get started. Michele: I  find this works with things like grading papers. It isn’t my favorite job, but I have to do it. Usually, once I get started I don’t mind it so much and can almost always stay focused until I am finished.
2. Ask for help, then go do it.
3. If the task is large or overwhelming, just take the next step. Author Anne Lamott tells a great story in her book Bird By Bird. Her brother is sitting at the kitchen table trying to write a report about birds that he has put off until the last possible minute. He shares his frustration with his father, who tells him, “Bird by bird, Buddy, just take it bird by bird.”  Bird by bird has become a great analogy for breaking things down into smaller parts that are more easily finished.
4. As yourself, how would a professional handle this?  Then do that. When Beyonce is nervous and afraid to go on stage, she brings out her alter ego, “Sasha Fierce”, who is never afraid!
5. Ask your self- why do you want to do whatever it is you are putting off? Sometimes you don’t need to do it, if so, let it go. Maybe someone else can do it better or someone else enjoys that task.
6. Compete only against yourself. Comparison will stop you from trying. You are not in this world to be other people, you are in this world to be the best and most unique version of yourself. Your way might be different, and that is okay. Show up as yourself and for yourself. For example, if you are putting off starting a new exercise routine, track the minutes you walk or the number of yoga poses you know. In Paula’s example she should not compare herself to her grandmother, who was far more experienced with crochet. She needs to just make a pot holder, rather than try to crochet an entire blanket. As a side note, we will share the photo of the potholder when she finishes it!

Recap: 

We’ve all experienced procrastination. Procrastination is a form of self-sabotage. It will slow you down, weaken your power, and stop you from living your best life. When you recognize why you procrastinate and see the many forms it takes when it shows up, you can begin to take steps to overcome it.

Quote: 

“ Procrastinate now. Don’t put it off.”

Ellen Degeneres

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

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