Why so many workers procrastinate even though it makes them anxious.
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You’re behind on a deadline, and your boss has been breathing down your neck. You’re anxious, yet, instead of planting your bottom in front of your computer, you watch yourself stack pencils in front of the screen, play online solitaire or clean your desk for the umpteenth time. What’s up with that?
We Procrastinate Even Though It Makes Us Anxious
You have ambition and drive, but you find yourself stalling or postponing action on an urgent work project. Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior most of us do at some point. In fact, evidence suggests that 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators. The team at Solitaired surveyed Americans in every state and asked various questions regarding their procrastination habits. Here are the key findings:
During procrastination, 78% of respondents say they feel anxious.
Americans are most likely to procrastinate household chores, exercise, and medical appointments.
Overall, 99% of Americans admit to procrastinating tasks.
Nearly two in five Americans say they would procrastinate less if social media didn’t exist.
A lack of motivation is the most common reason Americans procrastinate.
Residents in Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho are the most likely to procrastinate.
Residents in Arizona, Missouri and Kentucky are the least likely to procrastinate.
What Purpose Does Procrastination Serve?
Why do many of us put work tasks off that we know have to be completed? It’s not rational or logical. Chronic procrastination has productivity and career and mental health costs. And if you’re a remote worker, living and working under the same roof, it’s easy to get sidetracked. There’s chocolate cake in the fridge, and the pooch needs walking. Perhaps the most interesting finding from the Solitaired study was that when procrastinating, 78% of respondents say they feel anxious. Call it a friend without benefits because it helps you avoid completing a work task, but the avoidance builds anxiety and sabotages your performance.
The irony is that it takes effort and energy to procrastinate, but your efforts are going in the wrong direction. You’re not really a couch potato because you’re being productive. You know you’re not focused on your priorities and that you’re doing something against your “thinking brain’s” awareness, but you stall anyway. The avoidance of stress actually amplifies anxiety the closer you get to the deadline. So, why do we put ourselves through such torture?
Experts suggest that procrastination is often associated with emotional self-regulation. It’s common for negative feelings linked to certain tasks to keep us from completing the tasks on our to-do lists. In the absence of anxiety, we typically jump at the opportunity to do the things we are excited about. If you dread responding to your inbox of emails, you’re more likely to put it off until later. But if you look forward to a day at the beach, you’ll want to do it as soon as possible.
Postponing is a way to reduce the stress of perfection. When we pressure ourselves to do a task perfectly, it causes us to set unattainable goals and puts a roadblock in t way. “It has to be perfect so my boss likes the outcome” Or “I have to be a perfect example for my team.”
Avoiding work temporarily relieves the fear of judgment, failure and self-doubt in the short term while undermining our peace of mind and success in the long run. The job might not be the most dangerous thing in the world, but our mind’s natural hard-wired response is to avoid any threat or source of fear, including the avoidance of a work task when fear of judgment or failure is involved. In other words, “If I don’t try, I won’t fail.”
How To Outsmart Procrastination
Ponder the long-term benefits of the dreaded work task. When a project feels like an uphill climb, focus on the positive aspects of what it will feel like when you finish it, so you can enjoy the weekend off. Considering the long-term benefits moves you closer and quicker to the finish line.
Avoid calling yourself a procrastinator because it gives you tacit permission to act as a person worthy of the label, and you’re likely to continue the habit. Instead, think of your procrastinator as a part of you, not as you. And refer to it in the third person as he or she and talk to it to get separation from it. When you step back and observe this part with an impartial eye, it lessens your self-judgment, keeps you from clobbering yourself and diminishes the procrastination, giving you a heightened ability to scale the obstacle.
Don’t bow to that voice in your head that bludgeons you with oppressive self-talk such as must and have to that demotivate you. Using self-talk that reflects choice such as I can, I get to, or I want to lifts you out of the dread and enables you to proceed with the task.
Sidestep perfectionism that causes you to set unrealistic goals, try too hard or focus on your mistakes. Out-of-reach expectations cause you to see failure even in your triumphs. You’re less likely to procrastinate when you see goals as doable and reachable. Permit yourself to perform a task imperfectly. It tricks the emotional brain and reduces the resistance to complete the task.
Accomplish one item from your to-do list that you can complete quickly to get a head-start on lifting the procrastination. When you have several items on your list, you can distinguish between essentials and non-essentials and work through the tasks that need immediate completion one at a time.
Break down a work task into short time chunks of five minutes to keep the big picture from overwhelming you. Usually, when you take doable micro-steps, you break through postponement because you realize the task isn’t as difficult as you thought.
Reward yourself after, not before, you complete a small portion of a task to get a payoff. Your brain is hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain, and it loves a reward. Instead of watching your favorite television show before completing a portion of the task, plan to view it after finishing a part of it.
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