Procrastination : keeping up with Yesterday : Part 3
[ 31 Aug 2008 ]In the previous articles we looked at the likely negative consequences of habitual procrastination. Procrastinators almost always feel pressured, frustrated and dissatisfied with their lot. If you can once and for all say goodbye to procrastination, then you will live a more satisfying and accomplished life! There are a number of reasons why people tend to procrastinate and we have already looked at
Reason 1 - You haven't really committed to doing it.
Reason 2 - Your afraid of the Job
Reason 3 - You don't place a high enough priority on the Activity.
Let's explore the some other possible reasons, and finish off by considering how perfectionism and procrastination are linked.
Reason 4 - You Don't Know Enough to Do the Task
Motivational or commitment blocks may well come from the fact that the person procrastinating may simply not know enough to do the job right. They may not have consciously recognised or admitted this to themselves yet. It is likely however at a sub-conscious level that they are aware that this is a primary cause of their inaction, but until this is admitted and faced head on the blocker will stay in place. In such situations it is useful to think about or gather the information you think you need, to get on with the task. This will bring to the fore the likely blocker in terms of necessary information. It is important through to learn to discern between the legitimate need to gather information and a stalling mechanism whereby reading the book or going to talk to the Jim the technical manger, is simply a way to put off confronting the job. If the problem really is a "lack of want to" rather than lack of information, then they'll need a whole different strategy, namely, what to do when...
Reason 5 - You Don't Wanna!
I bet on a preference scale of 1 to 10, cleaning dog poo from your shoe rates a minus 2. It isn't merely unpleasant. It isn't just disgusting. It's downright dangerous. You've got two choices, and you don't need a book on time management to tell you what they are:
- Just do it
- Farm it out
Something just needs to be done. When this is the case, it is important that you appreciate you have a choice, just get on with it (like paperwork!) or find another way of getting it done (hire a PA!). The important this is to deal with it!
What about Perfectionism? Most procrastinators do not think of themselves as perfectionists. "If I'm a perfectionist, I would get things done," they say. Not necessarily. In fact, perfectionism can lead to "starts and spurts" performance, meaning that an individual goes on a cleaning spree, or attacks a task with great energy and then slumps back in exhaustion after having exasperated, irritated, or alienated everyone around. Perfectionism has also been found to be strongly related to depression and an extremely critical spirit (either self or other critical). What is perfectionism, then? Perfectionism is a form of rigidity or inflexibility that is marked by three major characteristics:
- The intense desire to jump in and do things yourself because others just can't do it right;
- the insistent attitude that you wouldn't even start on something if you can't do it well; and
- the profound need for closure, indicated by agitation or discomfort should something be left "hanging".
Each of these characteristics "drives" the perfectionist to procrastinate. For perfectionist procrastinators, the first step in dealing with procrastination is acknowledging and finding reasons to dislike these three basic tendencies! For more information on perfectionism and how to deal with it
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Go back to part 2: procrastination
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