Why Do I Procrastinate?

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Do you ever find yourself procrastinating on things that are important to you? You tell yourself today is the day you are going to start writing your book, or research what it takes to become a certified yoga teacher, or schedule your well visit with your physician, but then somehow at the end of the day the task still isn’t done.

If so, I encourage you to watch this 4 minute video where I talk about two reasons why you might find yourself procrastinating.

Why Do I Procrastinate?

Let’s face it, nobody feels good when they are procrastinating. You are not procrastinating because you want to. Something is holding you back.

Only you know what that something is. And figuring out what it is will either help you get around it or reframe what is happening as something other than procrastination.

What if you take time to get quiet and tune into your specific procrastination situation and you still aren’t sure what is getting in the way of your taking action? Then what?

Try An Experiment

You could either decide to force yourself to take one small baby step toward completing the item you are procrastinating or you could decide to wait a few hours or a few days and check in with yourself again.

But before taking action or setting the task aside for a time, notice how you feel about whichever decision you made. The feelings resulting from the decision may give you more insight into the root cause of your procrastination.

Additionally, if you decide to take action, pay attention to how the action feels. Does it bring up feelings of fear or anxiety? Do you find it difficult to start but easier than you expected once you get going? Do you feel relief at finally moving forward? All of these things are clues to help answer the question “Why do I procrastinate?”

You can also pay attention to the results of your action. If the task took much longer than expected and every part of it was a struggle and then the results didn’t line up with the effort you put in, that may mean that the timing wasn’t right.

It’s okay if you make the wrong decision either by moving forward or setting the task aside. Even wrong decisions will help you learn how to listen more closely next time and to decide what is causing your procrastination and how you should proceed.

Your Assignment

The best way to stop procrastinating is to know the root cause of your procrastination. Knowing the source of your procrastination requires being attuned to your inner wisdom. So even if there is nothing on your “To Do” list that you are currently putting off, take time to sit quietly today.

You can sit in prayer or meditation or simply sit in the sun and listen to the birds, but make sure you do nothing for at least 5 minutes and during that time let go of your thoughts. Try to let your thoughts float by without attaching to them. Sitting and spinning in your mind for the whole time will not get you any closer to hearing your inner wisdom. The same is true if you are sitting there the whole time mentally beating yourself up for whatever it is that you are not doing.

If there is something you are currently procrastinating, feel free to share what it is in the comments below. Let us know if it feels like fear is stopping you or if the time is simply not right and tell us how we can support you in moving forward when the time is right.

Warmly,
Stacy and Dave

  • Virginia Reeves March 9, 2016, 11:58 am

    I have been procrastinating for a year on getting a series of eBooks published. Lots of excuses – mainly I ‘should’ be able to learn how to format. Kept trying – kept not getting it right. I was told several times – go to Fiverr. Yesterday – I finally did. Then I completed my covers, descriptions, categories, and keywords to put into Kindle. As soon as I get the book back all pretty, it’s going into the que. Then more will follow. What happened? I finally got so disgusted with myself for not taking action that I totally focused and got it done – quickly. Plus I used a major motivator – at the end of this year my husband and I plan on traveling for a few months. I need to get these done now.

    Reply
    • Stacy Rowan March 18, 2016, 1:51 pm

      Virginia, I am so happy that you are finally publishing your eBooks! Congratulations!!

      And yes, knowing what things motivate you – like giving yourself a reward for work done or being accountable to a firm deadline – can definitely help move you forward. But instead of having you feel disgusted with yourself, I’d rather have you consider that maybe this is the right time for you to publish your work and that is why the motivators worked so well. 🙂

      Reply

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