It's Friday afternoon and the clock is ticking. You're working furiously to complete a task before
the five o'clock deadline, while silently cursing yourself for not starting it sooner.
How did this happen? What went wrong? Why did you lose your focus?
Well, there were the hours that you spent re-reading emails and checking social media, the
excessive "preparation," the coffee breaks, and the time spent on other tasks that you could
have safely left for next week.
Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone!
Procrastination is a trap that many of us fall into. In fact, according to researcher and
speaker Piers Steel, 95 percent of us procrastinate to some degree. While it may be comforting
to know that you're not alone, it can be sobering to realize just how much it can hold you back.
Procrastination is often confused with laziness, but they are very different.
Procrastination is an active process – you choose to do something else instead of the task that
you know you should be doing. In contrast, laziness suggests apathy, inactivity and an
unwillingness to act.
Procrastination usually involves ignoring an unpleasant, but likely more important task, in favor
of one that is more enjoyable or easier.
But giving in to this impulse can have serious consequences. For example, even minor episodes
of procrastination can make us feel guilty or ashamed. It can lead to reduced productivity and
cause us to miss out on achieving our goals.
If we procrastinate over a long period of time, we can become demotivated and disillusioned
with our work, which can lead to depression and even job loss, in extreme cases.
As with most habits , it is possible to overcome procrastination. Follow the steps below to help
you to deal with and prevent procrastination:
You might be putting off a task because you've had to re-prioritize your workload. If you're
briefly delaying an important task for a genuinely good reason, then you aren't necessarily
procrastinating. However, if you start to put things off indefinitely, or switch focus because you
want to avoid doing something, then you probably are.
You may also be procrastinating if you:
Procrastination is a habit – a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior. This means that you
probably can't break it overnight. Habits only stop being habits when you avoid practicing
them, so try as many of the strategies, below, as possible to give yourself the best possible
chance of succeeding.
An alternative approach is to embrace "the art of delay." Research shows that "active
procrastination" – that is, deliberately delaying getting started on something so you can focus
on other urgent tasks – can make you feel more challenged and motivated to get things done.
This strategy can work particularly well if you are someone who thrives under pressure.
However, if you do decide to actively procrastinate, be sure to avoid putting your co-workers
under any unnecessary, unpleasant and unwanted pressure!
If you're procrastinating because you find a task unpleasant, try to focus on the "long
game." Research shows that impulsive people are more likely to procrastinate because they are
focused on short-term gain. Combat this by identifying the long-term benefits of completing the
task. For instance, could it affect your annual performance review or end-of-year bonus?
Another way to make a task more enjoyable is to identify the unpleasant consequences of
avoiding it. For instance, what will happen if you don't complete the work? How might it affect
your personal, team or organizational goals?
At the same time, it can be useful to reframe the task by looking at its meaning and relevance .
This will increase its value to you and make your work more worthwhile. It's also important to
acknowledge that we can often overestimate the unpleasantness of a task. So give it a try! You
may find that it's not as bad as you thought, after all!
If you procrastinate because you're disorganized, here are six strategies to help you get
organized:
If you're prone to delaying projects because you find them overwhelming, try breaking them
down into more manageable chunks. Organize your projects into smaller tasks and focus
on starting them, rather than on finishing them.
In his 2011 book, "The Procrastination Cure," Jeffery Combs suggests tackling tasks in 15-
minute bursts of activity. Alternatively, you can create an Action Plan to organize your project.
Start with quick and small tasks first. These "small wins" will give you a sense of achievement,
and will make you feel more positive and less overwhelmed by the larger project or goal that
you are working towards.
Finally, if you think that you are putting something off because you can't decide what action to
take or you find it hard to make decisions, take a look at our range of decision-making tools to
help you to develop your decision-making skills.
Key Points
Procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent,
more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. It is different from laziness, which is the
unwillingness to act.
Procrastination can restrict your potential and undermine your career. It can also disrupt
teamwork, reduce morale, and even lead to depression and job loss. So, it's crucial to take
proactive steps to prevent it.
The first step to overcoming procrastination is to recognize that you're doing it. Then, identify
the reasons behind your behavior and use appropriate strategies to manage and overcome it.