Season 2 Episode 4 - Why Do We Procrastinate?
Welcome back to the TOUGH LOVE ENERGY podcast. This week, I’m sharing a topic that I’ve been receiving a lot of requests about in recent weeks, and that’s procrastination.
In today’s episode, I address this and consider the question of why some of us will do things today and others will always put them off until tomorrow.
From the offset, I want to say that I consider myself to be one of life’s doers. I’m definitely an action taker. I like having a deadline and something to aim for. I also know that I like to do whatever it is I need to do well ahead of time. But, I have friends who are the complete opposite! And so, I know that for some people, the last-minute pressure of a deadline helps to drive them, and they work best that way.
Whether you thrive on getting things done last minute or like to have it all sorted sooner rather than later, it’s likely you’ve faced procrastination at some point and put off doing something because you simply don’t want to do it. What I want to focus on in this episode are the reasons why we procrastinate in the first place. What is it that drives us to put things off, versus doing them right now?
First of all, let’s take a look at what procrastination means. Procrastination is the ultimate act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. When people procrastinate, they are deferring or delaying priorities and instead choosing to focus on less important, more attractive or simpler duties. Procrastination can be considered as another form of self-sabotage. Your fear of failure, or being seen to fail, your concern of being judged or laughed at, your anxiety of not being good enough may all overpower your desire or need to get things done.
Despite what you might have been told in the past, procrastination is about more than just being lazy or unable to manage your time better, so you can stop feeling bad about your propensity to postpone or put things off! It’s a much more profound problem than we may realise – and yet, the good news is that you can definitely work on it and overcome these tendencies.
During the episode, we’ll explore the three main types of procrastinators that I’ve identified. Listen in and see which one you recognise yourself in the most. I’ll also share some of the reasons why people procrastinate. Some of the most common reasons are around low confidence or self-esteem, or a fear of failure. It’s important to remember that when we resist doing something, there is usually a pretty good reason, even if it doesn’t make any logical sense at first.
The key to overcoming procrastination begins with realising that you are doing it and instead of beating yourself up about what is a very common problem, try and investigate more deeply just what’s causing it and where it began. When you understand the reasons behind your behaviour, you can have a much better chance of uncovering the right strategy to manage and overcome it.
In this episode, I’ll also walk you through my four tips for overcoming procrastination. You’ll find here some strategies that will really help you to take action, and realise where your tendency to procrastinate may be coming from.
I hope that you find this episode useful and that it helps you to understand yourself and your tendencies around procrastination a little better. I’d love to hear from you and what resonated for you from today’s episode.
As I mentioned at the end of the episode, my brand-new self-study programme, The Change Accelerator, is now open for enrolment. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to change, this 5-week programme will help you to do just that, at your own pace. Find out more here.
Until next time, much love,
Niamh x