Everyone has moments of procrastination occasionally, days in which they know that they should be working on a particular task but they put it off. It can be frustrating to have to do everything at the last minute, but ultimately, it’s part of the human experience. For some, however, procrastination is a more constant presence, and one that costs them performance in work or school as well as peace of mind.
People who procrastinate frequently may feel self-critical, believing that their procrastination comes from a sense of laziness. However, there are typically underlying reasons for procrastination. There are also ways to kick the habit, when you understand why you procrastinate in the first place.
Why Do People Procrastinate?
Rarely is procrastination a simple matter of “laziness.” In fact, many people who procrastinate are very ambitious and want to do well in their work…so much so that it sometimes leads to procrastination. In fact, perfection and procrastination often go hand-in-hand, with the need for things to be “perfect” making the task seem much more daunting.
Some other common reasons for procrastination include:
- Poor time management or underestimating the time the project will take
- Feeling overwhelmed and stressed by your current workload
- External stressors such as conflicts in your personal life
- Anxiety about the task and the need to do it “right”
- Fear of how your performance will be perceived
- Boredom or a lack of fulfillment with your work
- Distraction or a difficulty focusing
How Does Procrastination Relate To Mental Health?
The root cause of procrastination is often an emotional one, which makes procrastination a vicious cycle for your mental health. You procrastinate because of your emotional struggles, and procrastinating creates a sense of shame and frustration, which then makes it harder to focus on the work at hand. Procrastination is a common symptom of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, or OCD.
If you are already prone to anxiety, the anxiety that you feel about a particular task can make it difficult to begin the task…and difficult to finish it. You may be consumed with that aforementioned need to “get it right,” or you may worry that you will disappoint someone with the finished product. For many with anxiety, it is easier to simply ignore the task than it is to deal with the anxiety of doing it wrong. Similarly, with OCD, the tendency to obsess over the task may make it easier to avoid entirely.
Focus and motivation is also an issue. With conditions like depression or ADHD, it can be extremely difficult to self-motivate and stay motivated. Even knowing that it will be better for you in the long run isn’t enough to trigger that motivation. And if focus is difficult for you to achieve, then even after you start the project, it can be easy to become distracted.
How To Beat Procrastination
One of the most important things when it comes to overcoming procrastination is to let go of shame and self-judgment. Procrastination does not make you a bad or lazy person. It may take some support in order to separate your opinion of yourself from your procrastination and learn the skills to beat your procrastination. Here are a few tips:
1. Meet With a Mental Health Professional
If your mental health is impacting your productivity, then treating your mental illness will help to reduce your procrastination. Schedule a meeting with a mental health professional and make a treatment plan. This may include therapy or counseling that can teach you coping mechanisms, medication to manage your symptoms, or both. It will also offer you some clarity on where your procrastination comes from, which can help to remove some of the shame.
2. Break a Large Task Into Smaller Tasks
Sure, cleaning up the entire living room may feel like a daunting task. But what about just cleaning the coffee table? That’s much more manageable. Once the coffee table is clean, you can take a break; after an hour, you could dust the entertainment center. By the end of the day, you just might finish the room.
Sometimes in an attempt to be more productive, people overburden themselves with a daunting list of all the things they’ve fallen behind on. Making a mountain out of your to-do list can actually make your procrastination worse. Instead, try to commit to doing one or two things in a day. You’ll feel better that you accomplished your manageable goals and you’ll be more motivated to continue the next day.
3. Reward Yourself
Consider rewarding yourself for finishing tasks on your to-do list. For instance, maybe when you finish a work assignment, you can read a chapter of a book or play the next level of your favorite video game. This way, when you return to work, you’ll have something to look forward to and motivation to complete the task.
4. Find Accountability Buddies
Social pressure can be a great motivator. If you tell yourself that you’re going to finish a task and you don’t, you only have to answer to yourself. But if you tell your friends that you’re going to finish a task and you don’t, you’ll have to explain that to your friends. Ask a few people in your life to gently hold you accountable and check in on you to keep you from procrastinating. You can also post your to-do list for the day on social media and check things off as you accomplish them.
5. Forgive Yourself When You Slip Up
Sometimes you might still fail to finish the thing, or you may still wait until the last minute. This can be discouraging, but again, this does not mean that you’re a failure, a bad person, or lazy. Feel what you need to feel and then let it go. When you forgive yourself for momentary slip ups, you break the cycle of shame that makes it harder to get up and try again the next day. And that’s the real key to breaking procrastination: forming a habit and trying again every day.
Overcoming procrastination is just one way that Rivia Mind can help you on your journey to mental wellness. Contact us today to learn more or to book an appointment with one of our experienced, professional mental health providers.
