photo credit: Wayne_Parrack

Have you ever had a problem with procrastination?  Do you have any helpful suggestions for curing the problem?

In my last two posts I touched on a couple of ways that we postpone doing things: procrastinating pleasure and agreeing to do something at a future date.  In this post I’m going to explore why we procrastinate (and offer a seemingly simple solution) and in my next post I’ll examine how I personally am wrestling with my procrastination quandary.

Sing along with Annie and me. (She can carry a tune. I can’t.)

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I’ll do it Tomorrow!

Ok, Ok, depending upon how well you enunciate “I’ll”, I may have paraphrased one vowel too many, but help me out here:

What’s the problem with my I’ll do-it-tomorrow plan?

Well… much as we “love ya Tomorrow,” we apparently mind-blip past the fact that Tomorrow is: “Always a day away!”   In fact – it’s not just ALWAYS, it’s also ONLY a day away.  How is it we think that what we don’t want to do today, what we can’t bring ourselves to do today, will somehow automagically get done tomorrow?  Do we really think that the rotation of the earth from dusk to dawn will miraculously change our inclinations to tackle the dreaded task – whatever that task might be???

Why Not Just “Git-R-Done”??

In many ways, procrastinating just prolongs our misery – the things-not-done weigh heavy on our minds and drag down our energy. So why do we procrastinate???  And how do we stop procrastinating?

The internet is filled with expert opinions on the topic.  Organizational coach, Nigel Griffiths says this about procrastinators:

Procrastinators work as many hours in the day as other people (and often work longer hours), but they invest their time in the wrong tasks. Sometimes this is simply because they don’t understand the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks, and jump straight into getting on with urgent tasks that aren’t actually important…

Another common cause of procrastination is feeling overwhelmed by the task. You may not know where to begin. Or you may doubt that you have the skills or resources you think you need. So you seek comfort in doing tasks you know you’re capable of completing…

Other causes of procrastination include:

• Waiting for the right mood or the right time to tackle the important task at hand
• A fear of failure or success
• Underdeveloped decision making skills
• Poor organizational skills
• Perfectionism – “I don’t have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won’t do it at all”

Overcoming Procrastination

Nigel Griffths of course, has a solution for procrastination.  He offers a three-step prescription:

• First Step: Recognise that you are procrastinating
• Second Step: Work out why you’re procrastinating
• [Ellie says, TA-DA, wait for it…]
• 
  
• Third Step: Get over it!

Well I think I’ll follow his advice and then I’ll Get-R-Done.  But, if you don’t mind, how about I do it tomorrow? Because like Annie…

Just thinkin’ about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
’Til there’s none!

The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
’Til tomorrow
Come what may

So for now, let’s recognize that procrastination only makes us miserable.  And agree that figuring out why we procrastinate will help us move forward.  Add to that — anything we can do to Git-R-Done will more than likely help us feel better!  Do take Nigel Griffiths’ advice if you can, and just GET OVER IT!  And might I add, GET ON WITH IT!  Simple, basic, and pragmatic… if it works for you, Hooray!

BTW, I usually do get things done on time, I just have to pedal fast in the last lap.  And I’ll bet that’s often the case for you too.  I know this for sure:

If it weren’t for the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done.

— Unknown

More on Git-R-Done in my next post.

Have you ever had a problem with procrastination?  Do you have any helpful suggestions for curing the problem?