Procrastination

by Valerie Dansereau

Procrastination is the tendency to postpone doing what you know you need to do, and it’s a problem most people have. A simple rule of thumb most of us have heard from our parents is “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” That unfortunately is easier said than done.

The problem is we only have 24 hours in a day. By the time we allow time for sleeping, eating, meal preparation, making a living, caring for our homes and our children, there is probably a whole list of things left to be done. Then we are faced with choices: should we go to bed early or watch a movie? Should we balance the checkbook or scrub the bathroom? Should we work out or answer our emails?

A lot of people have a tendency to leave the most distasteful things on their to-do list for last, kind of like eating dessert before dinner. That then leads to the probability that some items are continually being put off. But most of these things can’t be ignored. They are still there, hanging over our heads.

We have to live with our choices. If we procrastinate about shopping for birthdays or Christmas or Mother’s Day and have to spend hours in line at the last minute, we have to recognize that we have done this to ourselves. Procrastination causes stress. We may think we’re avoiding stress by avoiding unpleasant things, but ultimately, we have to face the music.

Procrastination is a habit. All habits have been learned, which means they can also be unlearned. Recognizing that procrastination is causing you stress is the first step.

It is important to prioritize. We need to think through the things that are continually left undone and decide which are the most important. One thing that may work is to tackle the most unpleasant thing on your list first. Or you can try working with your body clock. In other words, tackle the thing you least want to do when you have the most energy. Personally I have more energy at 6 a.m. than any other time of the day. My college roommate used to spring to life at 10 p.m. For me, a tough task needs to be tackled very soon after arising; for her, she would have to wait for the energy to kick in much later. She couldn’t force herself to be productive early in the morning any more than I could accomplish anything late at night.

Is it possible to delegate any of the things that you are avoiding? A teenager may be happy to clean out the garage or wash the car for a little spending money.

Big jobs can be tackled in small pieces. If cleaning out a closet is too overwhelming to think about, plan to tackle one drawer today. Still too big a project? How about half a drawer? Putting off a task often makes it seem bigger than it really is.

You may find that setting a schedule to address certain things will help you to avoid procrastinating. For instance, plan to spend a block of time every Wednesday evening planning the meals for the following week or paying bills.

In trying to break any bad habit, it is important to give ourselves pats on the back for small successes. Find a way to reward yourself for completing tasks you’ve been avoiding, whether it’s a bubble bath, an ice cream sundae or taking a night off to watch a movie.

You have learned to procrastinate, and you can unlearn this habit. Life is made up of minutes, and we waste a lot of them inventing excuses to avoid doing things we don’t want to do. Face your demons and take back your life.

Quote

“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.” - Mason Cooley

Valerie Dansereau is the webmaster of http://www.work-at-home-parenting.com. After a lot of procrastination, she was able to complete this article.

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