What are you not getting around to doing?

We were going to write about procrastination before, but we didn’t get around to it!!  

• Do you often focus on urgent things rather than important things, leaving you with a sense of dissatisfaction?
• Would you love to change your job/career but you haven’t done anything about it? 
• Is there something that you’ve always wanted to do, but STILL not done?  
• Is there something that you know you want, but it feels too big to tackle, so you do nothing?  
  

You are not alone! These things are really common and relate to procrastination. So what is it?  
 
What is procrastination & what causes it?

Procrastination is putting off doing something important and is a common problem. Procrastination is a habit, not a fatal flaw. It takes persistence to change, but you can do it.
 
We all suffer from procrastination at some point, and often many points in our lives. Sometimes we can get completely paralysed when we think of just how much we have to do
 
So, what causes procrastination? Basically, it is fears, but each procrastinator develops and responds to his/her own specific fears. In varying degrees we are all afraid of facing reality- life's challenges, the hard work and frustrations ahead of us.  
 
Procrastination is quite complex. It involves emotions, skills, thoughts or attitudes, and factors we are often unaware of. Also, the causes and dynamics of putting off an important but unpleasant task vary from person to person and from task to task for the same person.  
 
Its purpose seems to be to make our life more pleasant but instead procrastination almost always adds stress, disorganisation, and frequently failure and beating ourselves up.   
 
So the task for the procrastinator becomes 1) correctly identifying your form(s) of procrastination and 2) finding a solution that works for you. Not an easy job, which is why coaching can be useful.  
 
Common causes of procrastination are:  

• Lack of relevance
• Lack of interest  
• Perfectionism: having extremely high standards which are almost unreachable  
• Evaluation anxiety: concern over other's responses to your work  
• Ambiguity: uncertainty of what is expected to complete a task  
• Fear of failure and self-doubt  
• Fear of success: (e.g. if succeed, concern over having to maintain same level of performance; concern over jealousy from others etc.)  
• Inability to handle the task: lack of training or skill necessary to complete the task  
• Lack of information needed to complete the task  
• Environmental conditions: 
  
  • Orderliness of work area
  • Availability of needed materials  
  • Adequate lighting  
  • Distractions  
  • Temperature
• Physical condition e.g. fatigue & stress
• Anxiety over expectations that others have of you e.g. high pressure to succeed; expectations that you will fail 
• All-or-nothing thinking (e.g. seeing one setback as total failure)  
• Feeling overextended, trying to manage too much
  

What are the symptoms of procrastination?

• Waiting until the last minute to do something
• Being reluctant to take risks or try something new 
• Staying at home or in the ‘same old job’ 
• Getting sick when faced with an unpleasant task
• Sleeping alot as an avoidance   
• Avoiding confrontations or decisions 
• Blaming others or the situation ("it's boring") for your unhappiness or to avoid doing something
  

What helps address procrastination?

• Articulate and write down your personal goals. Post them on your door, mirror, and notebook so you'll see them frequently.
• Be sure the task you think you "should" do is one that is really important to you,  
• If you don't know how to manage your time, learn.  
• Break your goal up into small parts. Write out and list the steps you must take to accomplish your goal.  
• Write out a plan for yourself. Make a schedule.  
• Establish a regular time each day to work toward your goal.  
• Organise your environment, complete with the tools you'll need, so it's conducive to working or move yourself to an environment which is conducive to working.  
• Start early. Build procrastination time into your schedule. Call it "creative leisure."  
• Start small and easily. Build gradually.  
• Do you suffer from limiting beliefs and self-doubt? Many people do. These are immobilising, self- defeating, avoidance-producing attitudes and beliefs. Replacing them with positive beliefs and attitudes, especially with the support of coaching to change, can make all the difference.  
• Remind yourself of the emotional and physical consequences of procrastination. Then remind yourself of the consequences of not procrastinating.  
• Concentrate on little bits and pieces of your project; don't think "all or nothing."  
• Know your escapes and avoidances: self-indulgence? socialising? reading? doing it yourself? over-doing it? running away? day dreaming? Rage, complaining, blaming etc? 
• Enlist the help of your friends. Set up a ‘contract’ with someone to get something done.  
• Keep your tasks visible in front of you: set up reminders, signs, slogans, notes, and lists.  
• Use your impulsiveness. When you get going, keep going. Do something when you think of it - don't think about it. Do instant, tiny things.  
• Do something daily. Agree to start a project and stay with it for 5 minutes. Consider another 5 minutes at the end of the first.  
• Establish priorities among tasks according to the degree of unpleasantness. Start with the most unpleasant task and work down until you get to the easier ones.  
• Be sure the rest of your life is in good shape ... so your awful task is less awful  
• Identify what is necessary to accomplish a task in a given amount of time; Get a sense of the entire project and what is required to complete it.  
• Break goals into smaller sub-goals e.g. concentrate on one section of a paper at a time
  

What might work best for you?
 
How does coaching help address procrastination?

• Coaching increases self-awareness so you learn how, why and when you procrastinate and what it gives you
• Coaching is all about creating individual strategies or ‘how to’s’ that work for you 
• Developing your own tailored approach for dealing with and managing procrastination is the best way to deal with it  
• Regular coaching sessions, whether weekly, fortnightly or monthly, provide a deadline & focus for action. For many people, they are more likely to do something for others when they won’t do it for themselves   
• Accountability is optional in coaching – many people like to be held accountable for the actions they set themselves because it helps them address procrastination  
• Coaching is centred around defining and achieving S.M.A.R.T. goals that are important to you and breaking them down into small steps so they become achievable  
  

A client example of procrastination

Coaching revealed that an Energise client had the belief “I am the world’s biggest procrastinator” which gave  us something chunky to address! Their procrastination was in the area of putting off writing proposals until  the last minute.   
 
Probing with incisive questions revealed that:

• The client’s procrastination was being driven by their dislike of writing proposals and fear that they would miss a trick if they created a proposal and structured their thoughts too soon, so procrastination was giving them choice and perceived increased creativity, two things important to them
• Procrastination was resulting in stress from doing things at the last minute and also affecting the quality of their relationship with their partner who was away on business a lot, so time spent together ungazumped by other things was important 
• Questioning uncovered that the client loved speaking compared to writing and were very good at this 
• The strategy identified by the client to manage their procrastination was to purchase a Dictaphone and voice response software, imagine that they were speaking to their audience and creating the proposal structuring their initial thoughts and ideas a lot earlier than they would have done before. They later evolved their thoughts and ideas, editing the proposal, allowing themselves choice and creativity  
• The result? Reduced stress and a better relationship with their partner and more enjoyment of a key task that had previously been a major struggle and chore  
  

10 self-reflective questions to help you reflect on your procrastination

Here are 10 questions to help you make procrastination your friend, not your enemy  

1. What positives does procrastination give you? (all behaviours have a reason or motivation behind them, even if they seem illogical!)
2. How do you know you are procrastinating?
   
3. When & where do you procrastinate? 
4. When and where don’t you procrastinate?  
5. What reduces your procrastination? 
6. What increases your procrastination? 
7. What is your procrastination stopping you from achieving that’s important to you?  
8. How could you start to address procrastination? 
9. What’s the first step to start?  
10. What’s the best question to ask yourself to reflect on your procrastination?  
    

More tips and tools.....

Here’s more tips related to the specific underlying causes of procrastination  

• Fear of Failure:
  
  • Acknowledge strengths & skills
  • Recall previous successes  
  • Work on weaknesses  
  • Take risks  
• Fear of Success:
  
  • Get accurate perspective of what your success will mean
  • Focus on your own needs and expectations rather than those of others.  
• Perfectionism:
• Examine your standards. Are they realistic? Are they set so high that they are causing you distress?  
• Adjust your expectations and set realistic goals.
  

Testimonials from Energise clients relevant to procrastination

“After months & months of procrastination, I decided to resign within just 1 week of my coaching session and several weeks later, I made my plan to go abroad.”
Sales Manager, IT Support

“Coaching ensures that a good intention is converted into commitment of the necessary time and effort. Consequently, self-development actually gets the necessary and well structured space to happen in, rather than getting ‘bumped’ by less important but more competing priorities”  
University Employee Relations Manager

“When Rachel suggested we would be able to achieve my goal of preparing for an interview within a 30 minute session, I was unsure that it was possible, but her succinct and focused style made it possible”   
Marketing Manager, Drinks Industry

“Coaching with Energise has been instrumental in the occurrence and speed of my initiatives because without the coaching session, I could have continued down a more complicated route. Coaching has enabled me to find a quicker path.”  
Marketing manager, Sports Industry

“Coaching has given me the tools to achieve my objectives, and very quickly”
Board Director, Direct Marketing