Procrastination - triggers that cause it.
Have you ever put off a task you’ve been asked to do until the last minute?
Maybe you’ve put off calling key stakeholders for their input on a project, completing a report for your manager, or pulling together a spreadsheet of data for a report.
Maybe you’ve put off doing that wardrobe clean out at home
I have a business coach and a little while ago we agreed on a course of action that I needed to take before my next session, and this week I realised that I hadn’t started it, AND I was putting it off.
When I recognised this – it brought back a flood of memories (and guilt) of years of putting off tasks that I’d been asked to do in previous roles. Sometimes I’d put things off until the last possible minute – meaning that I’d scramble to get it done on time; and sometimes I’d put it off until my boss, or whoever asked for the task to be done, chased me for it (after it was due) or until they hopefully forgot about it.
If you – like me - have been guilty of procrastinating and beating yourself up about being lazy, incompetent, not good with time, etc – you can stop now. For many of us procrastination is NOT a time-management problem – it’s a coping mechanism.
The Psychological Factors Behind Procrastination
According to science, there are a number of other factors that cause many of us to procrastinate. The next time you find yourself avoiding a task, consider if any of these might be an underlying reason.
1. Fear and worry: Sometimes we just don’t understand the big picture of the task we need to perform. We might feel like we are missing some of the key information or don’t know how to get started. I remember when my boss at the time asked me to pull together a plan on how we were going to move ahead with a key project. He was using language I wasn’t familiar with, and I experienced major anxiety because I had no idea what he was actually after and he kept getting frustrated when I kept asking questions about the task.
When we are anxious about the results of our work or the steps necessary to achieve a task it can cause us to be paralysed with fear. This leads to us not being able to finish a task – or procrastination.
2. No motivation. We all seek fulfilment and enjoyment and if a task provides this reward then we’ll want to do it. If the task we are working on doesn’t give us satisfaction or reward, we often don’t want to do it.
When we dislike or don’t enjoy a task then we experience a lack of motivation. When this happens, it can be really common to put off work on the task. That’s saying we procrastinate.
3. Perfectionism. Sometimes the drive to do our best can be motivating and push us to achieve success. But it can also make us so focused on avoiding failure that it affects our ability to start and complete work. When we have overly high standards and an ‘inner voice’ telling us that we aren’t good enough it makes it really difficult to move forward in our work.
If they aren’t clear on a task or there is chance they won’t complete something ‘perfectly’, a perfectionist won’t settle for doing the best they can. They can see this as ‘Failing’ to meet their own expectations and rather than “fail” at whatever task they need to complete; they will postpone actual work on the task.
Often they will problem solve the best way to complete the task to meet their standards.
4. No structure or organisation. Some people struggle with poor organisation and do not have the skill to coordinate their workload and tasks. They have difficulty planning the actions to complete a task and then fail on giving the time required to the task.
If they aren’t able to order their past, present and future tasks – they can’t manage their time. So, they lose focus and put off tasks. When you create a habit of delaying tasks, you become a procrastinator.
I’d love to know if you recognise any of these factors in your own procrastination behaviours. Let me know in the Comments below which one you relate to and how you deal with procrastination now.
If you want some strategies for overcoming procrastination – I’ve got a great tip sheet ‘Seven ways to Motivate Yourself to do the Things You don’t want to Do’.