The importance of motivation in tackling procrastination

Unlike many other self-sabotaging behaviors, procrastination is one in particular that is not taken as seriously as it should be. Procrastination should not be taken lightly and should be resolved as early as it begins. Procrastinating can be devastating and can ruin your career for you little by little as you let yourself be controlled by this immensely damaging behavior. Take a moment to think about procrastination in its simplest form. You get a little less done than you need to each day. The amount you fall behind on any one day many not be very much but it is the cumulative effect which causes carnage. If you lose a little more than 10 minutes in every working hour to procrastination; you are effectively losing one whole working day per week. Procrastination should not be taken as a light problem or a minor bad habit. It must be put to an end before it harms your career.

Motivation is one of the many things that keep us going and let us continue to strive for our dreams. It comes in many forms and can be made out of anything that we wish. The key thing is that it motivates you; as what motivates one person may not necessarily motivate another. Motivation can also be a major weapon we can arm ourselves with to battle procrastination and overcome it for good.

The Absence of Motivation

Here's a short description of how procrastination happens and how you could prevent it from being the disease that deprives you of the things you could have accomplished:

As people are by nature, driven creatures, the absence of motivation within us can be disastrous. Procrastination occurs when we are less urged to do things that are necessary. Just like office work or pretty much anything that needs to be done at home. It's easy to create motivation but it is equally easy to lose it. One of the biggest reasons that people fail to achieve their goals is that while they have the initial motivation to get started; they lose motivation quickly as they have not put in place any measures to ensure that they are continuously replenishing their motivation levels.

Once you are no longer motivated, it's easy to fall into the state whereby procrastination becomes second nature. The desire to make a change has faded as you have taken some action and made some changes. Many changes are motivated by pain (physical, mental or emotional) where you fell that you simply cannot tolerate the status quo any longer. The desire to eliminate the pain motivates you tp take action but as the pain reduces so too does your motivation. The lack of motivation gives way to the build-up of procrastination as there is no longer a burning pain feeding your desire for change. As with all problems, it has to be stopped before it can get any worse.

Two Types Of Motivation

​Essentially, there are two different types of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic. Everybody will experience both and be motivated by both forms; however, the extent to which they are motivated by each will differ.

Intrinsic motivation

​Intrinsic motivation comes from within. Your own thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions motivate you. For example, a sportsman who is intrinsically motivated would place more value on their own assessment of their performance than they would place on the assessment of somebody else. Important forms of intrinsic motivation include:

Purpose

Each of us has a purpose in life, whether we know it or not. Our purpose is what we wish to contribute to the world or, how we wish to serve the world. Many people think that purpose is the same as profession but it is so much more than that e.g. it is rare that someone becomes a doctor simply to be a doctor. They usually have a greater purpose such as inspiring others to live healthy lives or reducing the pain and suffering of those less fortunate than themselves.

When you are clear on your purpose and you keep it at the forefront of your mind, it can motivate you to make the right decisions and the take necessary actions.

To discover your purpose, check out the Living Purposefully Workbook.

Values

Values are like rules for life. They help you to decide what is right and what is wrong. Each person has different values and, they prioritise their values in different ways. Your values help to give you subtle little reminders to help nudge you back on track whenever you fall off e.g. if you value hard work, you won’t slack for very long before you begin to feel bad about it. If you value integrity, you will want to keep your word every time that you make a commitment therefore if you have promised to have work done by a certain time, you are more likely to meet that deadline.

Taking the time to become clearer on your values will give you a greater chance to stay motivated and take the necessary action.​

Goals

The most important goals in your life will come from within. The majority of these goals will help you to bring your purpose to life. Many people think that goal setting is about listing all of the things that they would like but it is far more than that. Effective goal setting involves the creation of plans which will help you to get from goal creation to goal achievement. Within those plans you also factor in the need for regular motivation.​

Extrinsic motivation

The other type is the extrinsic motivation. Unlike intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation sparks from the external factors governed and controlled by other people. Examples of these things are:

• ​Praise,
• ​Salary,
• Reputation

There is nothing wrong with valuing extrinsic motivation but there is a major problem with depending on extrinsic motivation i.e. you cannot control it. For example, if you really desire praise from your boss; there is no way that you can guarantee it. Even if you do the best job possible, in everything that you do, there is no guarantee that your boss will praise you for it.

Another example of extrinsic motivation that may be beyond your control is salary. While you may do a wonderful job, your company may decide not to give you the salary that you desire. There may not be any company who is willing to do so, especially during tough economic times.

I am not trying to be completely negative about extrinsic motivation. It is important and it should always be acknowledged and appreciated. You can always give your best and influence others to reward you with extrinsic motivation such as praise or a pay rise. However, it is important that you are not dependent on it as when it is in short supply you are likely to end up demotivated. Instead, whenever you have a project or goal to complete, make plans which include opportunities to replenish your intrinsic motivation and give your best in everything that you do to improve your chances of receiving extrinsic motivation.​

​Conclusion

​Motivation, in theory, is similar to a reward system wherein meeting goals brings about benefits. This is even more effective when we can experience those rewards first hand. To beat procrastination, you must motivate yourself to do things on time at all time. With small projects or goals, it may be enough just to have enough motivation to get started as momentum will carry you the rest of the way. However, most of our work consists of larger projects. For larger projects and goals, you need to consider motivation from the outset and factor in opportunities to boost your motivation on a consistent basis.