Do you leave some jobs to the last minute? Do you find excuses to avoid a particular task? You wouldn’t be alone.
A recent survey on the habits of Australians ranked procrastination as our worst habit, ahead of eating too much junk food, swearing and spending too much time online.
Although respondents to the survey were quick to label procrastination as a “bad habit”, executive coach Helen Ebdon doesn’t believe it’s helpful to think of it that way.
“It’s normal to find ourselves distracted by Facebook, by a Tedx Talk, by Twitter, especially if it’s seen to be doing research,” she explains.
Ebdon adds that in some circumstances procrastinating can be a positive thing, especially if it gives you some time to reflect or take a step back. But at certain points, it can become a problem.
“If you’ve been procrastinating for an extended period of time or if you’re feeling stuck, unmotivated and unable to achieve what you want then it’s time to do something about it,” she says.
Polly Bernard is a project manager at a large finnacial services firm. She describes herself as a “serial procrasinator”.
“I do it all the time!,” she says. “particularly when I’m not comfortable or confident with what I’m trying to do.”
Bernard says her tendency to procrastinate is at its worst when she is faced with a task that pushes her out of her comfort zone.
“If I have to produce a presentation pack, which is not a key strength, I will do anything other than that pack. Tidy my desk, read the news, check my phone, annoy other people around me, go and make a drink, or write emails. Anything to avoid doing what I should be.”
It’s a perfectly normal response to such tasks. Brain trainer Divya Hemnani says we often procrastinate when we are feeling overwhelemed by the enormity of a task and don’t know where to begin.
“If you wanted to write a book and you had never written so much as an article before, this would seem like a massive task. However, if I asked you to write one sentence per day that would seem more manageable,” she says.
So how can we stop procrastinating?
Hemnani says to try linking the task in question to our value system. “Once a strong neuronal network has been built linking the person’s highest values with what they want to accomplish, people stop procrastinating and begin taking action,” she explains.
She suggests a three-step process for getting over the habit:
Step one: Get clear on what needs to be done and how to do it. Break down each task into its smallest possible components.
Step two: Link the task to your highest value. Ask yourself, ‘how will doing this task get me more of what I value most in the world?’
Step three: Figure out when you’ll complete each task, and schedule them like appointments in your calendar.