Article first published for Focus-info/org Magazine- Relocation UK
If you are in the UK or the Northern Hemisphere January can be a difficult month to stay in flow and to avoid procrastination. Often at this time of the year we feel demotivated or uninspired despite our new years’s resolutions! But not in 2024. Audrey comes to the rescue, well I will try to inspire you so read on.
Staying in movement means we allow ourselves to slow down but we stay in action.
January and February are difficult winter months, Accepting that your energy levels or you motivation slows down is the first step to remove the pressure we put on ourselves.
I want to keep in flow this winter and beat the blues. How can I do this?
First what needs to happen in 2024?
Boost your productivity
Stay in a action
Stay motivated
Finish what you have started
Trust yourself
Use your time efficiently
How will you feel when you have achieved it? Lighter, liberated, energised, relieved, proud, in control, in movement? What comes up for you? For me, I will feel lighter and energised especially when I will have finished writing this article!
In this article we will focus on what is procrastination, where does it come from, why do we procrastinate and finally how to conquer it once and for all.
- What is procrastination?
It is not about lacking of willpower
It is the action of delaying or postponing something ( Oxford dictionary)
It is the force that prevents you from following through on what you set out to do. (Merriam Webster.com)
We can fill our diary with so many tasks that they will prevent us from doing the most urgent or important task. Our brain likes confort!
Often, we procrastinate with what we don’t like doing or what we are not good at
Why tactics we often use don’t work?
You probably have tried many different techniques already:
7 tactics we often use:
Writing a to do list
Making a schedule
Using a timer
Pushing yourself
being hard on yourself
breaking down tasks.
I have tried a lot of these techniques but when I’m overwhelmed with too many tasks to do, personally I procrastinate. I go into panic mode and I can certainly miss a deadline.
Why tactics we often use don’t work consistently? Because they don’t address the root cause of procrastination.
Before solving procrastination we need to understand where it comes from and why we do it.
– Where does it comes from?
It’s important to identify the source of procrastination:
If you don’t know why any resolution or techniques you apply won’t last as soon as it becomes too difficult. You can feel demotivated or you can lack energy
Your brain often wants the easier route. So it will divert you to immediate satisfaction like an easy but non urgent task, food or social media in order to avoid unpleasant emotions or thoughts.
–Why do we procrastinate?
6 main reason why we procrastinate:
We are a perfectionist
We are confused or dissipated
We can’t make decisions
We are in two minds
We fear failure or judgement
We are simply tired
- How to conquer procrastination?
The real question to conquer procrastination is
What are you missing and what do you need to start taking action?
Procrastination is a symptom.
Know your why
- Create your life vision
- Know how this task or project can serve your vision
- Having the right WHY will help you overcome your fears
We need to be reassured on all the steps. We tend to over estimate what we can do in one day or a week.
Know how
To take action you need to:
- Create a clear and realistic plan
- Learn to decide in uncertainty
- Allow yourself to try, to no be perfect before you start
- Use a positive language towards yourself
Creating a clear and realistic plan will remove a lot of uncertainties and fears. Allowing yourself to be imperfect remove the fear of doing badly. We don’t have 100% of the answers or skills.
The idea is to start when you feel you have 70% .
Become your best friend
- Develop a kinder internal speech
- Your are your own motivator
- Value the process as much as the end goal.
Personally, I like to get out of my confort zone and accept new projects that I don’t fully master. But for me, being confused can trigger procrastination. I remind myself why I accepted this project. How does it serve me to see it through. What will happen to me professionally if I can finish it.
I remind myself of my end goal, my life vision.
Now that we understand the process of procrastination, the 7 tips we talked about at the start of this article can be useful! They are efficient tools once you have gone through all the steps to beat procrastination.
Before you go
Remember it is not about lacking willpower so don’t blame yourself
It’s a complex mechanism and working with a professional can do wonders
Hypnotherapy, coaching, NLP are some tools professionals can use to help you overcome this state of status quo and bring back your motivation and flow
Remembre how you will feel after you performed the dreaded task.
Some extra tips!
Prioritising the night before.
I have a big board Monday to Friday board at home. I write down my tasks and I divide them across the week then In the morning , I select the days tasks and start chunking.
The 3mn tip
Do the task you have been avoiding for 3mn/ The removes the dread feeling and the self critic and the task will feel less daunting.
https://calendly.com/audreyzeitouncoaching/30mn
