The truth about procrastination. What you need to know

Most people are intelligent. They have the capacity to overcome just about any problem that they face so, why do they struggle to overcome a seemingly small problem like procrastination? Procrastination is an issue that many people face yet few of them ever really overcome the issue. That suggests that it is not a lack of intelligence that stops people from overcoming procrastination. The reason that most people fail to overcome the issue of procrastination is that they start too late in the process. It is not that they cannot solve the problem; it is that they are trying to solve the wrong problem. Overcoming procrastination begins with understanding the truth about procrastination. If you’re like a lot of people, the question of how to overcome your procrastination has probably haunted you for a long time. Among the most frustrating things about procrastination is that it appears like it would be the simplest issue in the world to resolve. Actually, it's among the hardest. Any issue is difficult to solve, if you’re not really trying to solve it. You may think that you are trying your hardest to overcome your procrastination but you are probably focusing on the wrong issue. If you want to overcome your procrastination; you must understand the truth about procrastination i.e. why it actually occurs.

Some truth about procrastination

The main problem with tackling procrastination is that most people fail to diagnose the real cause. You likely believe the root issue causing your procrastination is one of the following:

• laziness,
• lack of discipline,
• lack of self-control,
• immaturity,
• lack of commitment,
• or some similar character defect

But guess what? It’s probably none of those.

Mistakes due to not recognising the truth about procrastination

When you don’t know the truth about procrastination, you are likely to make the following mistakes.

1. You think you are lazy or undisciplined

We tend to assume that people who fail to complete their most important tasks are inherently lazy but this is rarely true. Most procrastinators put in the time and complete a lot of work. In many areas of their life, they are incredibly productive. Unfortunately, they often do not know the difference between working hard and working smart.

If you treat yourself as though you are lazy, you are failing to deal with the actual issues and so, have little chance of successfully overcoming your procrastination. Of course it is possible that you are not putting in the effort but that is rarely the case. In most circumstances, you need to learn the finer points of time management and productivity so that you can get your most important tasks completed.

2. Labels are harmful

Applying damaging labels like “lazy” or “undisciplined” to yourself is, from a problem-solving standpoint, worse than worthless.  As discussed above, these labels misidentify the issue. Just as importantly, they are an attack on yourself, your confidence and your self-esteem. Take a moment to think about this; ‘If you are destroying your own confidence, what chance have you got of overcoming your procrastination?’ These labels are little more than self sabotage which predispose you to failure. If you must be critical, criticise your behaviour/performance rather than your character.

Moreover, these labels quickly become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you tell yourself often enough that you are lazy, you soon come to believe that it is true. After a while, you just accept yourself as being lazy and make little or no effort to behave differently.

The simple truth about procrastination

More often than not, solving, or resolving, an issue is a rather trivial exercise when we understand what the problem and what is causing it. Treating procrastination as a symptom of laziness or a lack of discipline doesn’t work, as those are not the causes of your procrastination. Instead, they're symptoms, just like procrastination itself is a symptom, of a deeper issue. That issue is commonly one of the following:

1. You were never taught the habits of productive work. As we live in a vacuum, this likely means you’ve rather learned the “default” habits of low productivity or non-productivity. This results in what I call behaviour based procrastination.

2. Low frustration tolerance. This is where you find it difficult to stay focused on tasks you find boring, mundane or uninteresting. This is another form of  behaviour based procrastination

3. Fear: of change, success, failure, etc. This results in what I call dread based procrastination.

4. Rebellion. This is a form of passive aggressive behaviour whereby you withhold your cooperation and support as a means of expressing your anger or disapproval. You want to punish someone but rather than be assertive; you use rebellion as a means to get your own back. This is usually dealt with as a passive aggressive behaviour issue rather than a procrastination issue.

Frequently, individuals suffer from more than one of these forms of procrastination. Behaviour based procrastination is a comparatively easy issue to define and solve. You will find some great strategies in Stop Procrastinating. Dread based procrastination is more complex. Unlike behaviour based procrastination, which is commonly caused by a lack of data or  training, dread based procrastination is caused by, as its name implies, concern. Dread is unfortunately a major force in a lot of people’s lives: it’s frequently a rational, if not optimal, reaction to the troubles and stresses of life and an ambitious path. Procrastination can seem like a small issue when you first encounter it. You are not doing the things you need to do so; you would naturally assume that with a little coercion, you can get yourself to take the necessary action. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the truth about procrastination. They treat it as though is an issue of laziness or self discipline. However, this is failing to grasp the truth about procrastination, causing them to tackle the problem using strategies designed to deal with a different problem. Unsurprisingly, their efforts bring little success. Procrastination is not the most complex problem to solve but as with all problems, if you want to solve the problem, you must first understand what is causing it. When you understand the truth about procrastination, you can begin to take corrective action and experience the benefits of a productive life.