Procrastination and How to Stop It!
Avoiding doing something or saying something when we know it is important is called procrastination. We do this in our life with things like ending relationships, quitting a job we are not happy and it is making us ill, doing household cleaning, washing our clothes and a numerous amount of other matters we avoid and do not take action on because we are either scared, overwhelmed, overloaded or simply lazy.
It is the things that are not exciting to do that we avoid. In fact these things are usually things we are scared of or find boring. We avoid them because we are not ready to deal with them or we are simply the type of person that waits and waits until something hits us or something bad happens. It is like when we avoid a hospital bill and it gets turned over to a collection agency or when we avoid washing the slipcovers on our sofa and they get to dirty the stains cannot be removed. Many times we literally wait until it is too late. The fear or the feeling of being overwhelmed stops us from doing what we should be doing right now.
How do we stop procrastination? Let me count the ways:
1. Start doing things as soon as you have the time. Talk to yourself and ask yourself why you are avoiding something and release the reasons or the fears around it.
2. Make a written plan with a couple of things you need to do ASAP. Set a date and time that you will complete each one.
3. Have a plan of action and in it write a step by step of how you will complete the task.
4. See the task as something you can easily accomplish or do.
5. Get support from someone: a close friend, a family member, a counselor, a therapist or a life coach. Ask this person to hold you accountable and does so in a loving and kind manner.
6. Make a list of the tasks you have been avoiding and select two of them to begin to address/complete.
7. Think about and plan a reward for completing a task that you know you have been avoiding.
8. Post the first thing you are going to do in a place where you will see it each day as a reminder and a nudge to get you to do it. Use large letters and decorate it with colors or patterns that will get your attention. When you complete that task write and post the next thing you will do. Consider placing the date of completion on the display.
9. Allow yourself forgiveness for not doing what it is you knew you had to do and move on from the guilt. Say it: "I forgive myself for judging myself for not completing things I know are important." Then make a statment like: "The truth is that I am not perfect and that I can do things with ease and grace."
10. If you are overwhelmed with a long list of things and situations you have to address, think about which of them you could hire someone to do. Be legitimate in your evaluation that you must have help and do not assign everything. There are legitimate reasons to hire a housekeeper or an organizer.
Procrastination can cost us emotionally and financially. Often times procrastination puts us in a situation that would have been fine had we addressed it on time. Not paying our mortgage or rent will eventually place us in a financial predicament. Staying in a bad relationship will cost us emotionally and in fact make us sick. Procrastination can be and is serious. It is an issue or disorder that many people suffer from, most of the time with an underlying fear. We can not do what we chose not to do but we must understand that there are consequences to leaving things go too long. There is likely not many people who have not avoiding taking care of an issue or doing a task that is important. As I often say, it is not unusual for people to be in avoidance. Talking over the reasons why you are in avoidance is helpful but what matters most is that you commit to doing what needs to be done and letting go of the fear.
It is the things that are not exciting to do that we avoid. In fact these things are usually things we are scared of or find boring. We avoid them because we are not ready to deal with them or we are simply the type of person that waits and waits until something hits us or something bad happens. It is like when we avoid a hospital bill and it gets turned over to a collection agency or when we avoid washing the slipcovers on our sofa and they get to dirty the stains cannot be removed. Many times we literally wait until it is too late. The fear or the feeling of being overwhelmed stops us from doing what we should be doing right now.
How do we stop procrastination? Let me count the ways:
1. Start doing things as soon as you have the time. Talk to yourself and ask yourself why you are avoiding something and release the reasons or the fears around it.
2. Make a written plan with a couple of things you need to do ASAP. Set a date and time that you will complete each one.
3. Have a plan of action and in it write a step by step of how you will complete the task.
4. See the task as something you can easily accomplish or do.
5. Get support from someone: a close friend, a family member, a counselor, a therapist or a life coach. Ask this person to hold you accountable and does so in a loving and kind manner.
6. Make a list of the tasks you have been avoiding and select two of them to begin to address/complete.
7. Think about and plan a reward for completing a task that you know you have been avoiding.
8. Post the first thing you are going to do in a place where you will see it each day as a reminder and a nudge to get you to do it. Use large letters and decorate it with colors or patterns that will get your attention. When you complete that task write and post the next thing you will do. Consider placing the date of completion on the display.
9. Allow yourself forgiveness for not doing what it is you knew you had to do and move on from the guilt. Say it: "I forgive myself for judging myself for not completing things I know are important." Then make a statment like: "The truth is that I am not perfect and that I can do things with ease and grace."
10. If you are overwhelmed with a long list of things and situations you have to address, think about which of them you could hire someone to do. Be legitimate in your evaluation that you must have help and do not assign everything. There are legitimate reasons to hire a housekeeper or an organizer.
Procrastination can cost us emotionally and financially. Often times procrastination puts us in a situation that would have been fine had we addressed it on time. Not paying our mortgage or rent will eventually place us in a financial predicament. Staying in a bad relationship will cost us emotionally and in fact make us sick. Procrastination can be and is serious. It is an issue or disorder that many people suffer from, most of the time with an underlying fear. We can not do what we chose not to do but we must understand that there are consequences to leaving things go too long. There is likely not many people who have not avoiding taking care of an issue or doing a task that is important. As I often say, it is not unusual for people to be in avoidance. Talking over the reasons why you are in avoidance is helpful but what matters most is that you commit to doing what needs to be done and letting go of the fear.
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