Ahmadian Counselling

In my work as a counsellor, I’ve noticed that the term procrastination is rarely spoken without a hint of scorn. It is almost always considered a negative quality followed by a stream of self-critical statements. One of which is that I am just lazy. I am here to argue that procrastination in itself is not inherently bad. In fact, it is a coping mechanism. It is our brain’s way of helping us navigate feelings of overwhelm, lack of confidence, and anxiety. It allows us to avoid uncomfortable or unpleasant tasks.

If we continue to view procrastination as being lazy, we fail to understand how it benefits us. The reason that we develop a pattern of behavior and have difficulty changing it, is because it helps us in some way. Recognizing the benefits of procrastination allows us to notice the times when procrastination is beneficial and the times when it is detrimental. My opinion is that procrastination can not only be a helpful coping mechanism but can also provide you with valuable information. It can inform us that we are feeling overwhelmed and under-resourced for a task. In fact, it can be viewed as a way of prioritizing your tasks based on what it thinks is least overwhelming and energy-consuming.

What makes it so hard to stop procrastinating is that it is an effective short-term solution to anxiety. This anxiety could be from having to do a task that we don’t enjoy. It could be because the task is too difficult and we don’t feel like we have the resources that we need to complete the task. It might also stem from a fear of failure. If we are feeling anxious about a task, it makes sense that our brain would tell us to avoid it.

Procrastination by itself is not necessarily bad. We all procrastinate. Sometimes I need to push a task to another day because I don’t have the mental energy to deal with it at the moment. However, chronic procrastination can become a problem. If the only way that we deal with our anxiety is through procrastination, then we are likely avoiding many tasks that are important to us.

The best way to figure out whether procrastination is negatively impacting your life is to reflect on the following questions:

1. Is procrastination getting in the way of achieving the things that I want?
2. Is it preventing me from reaching my goals? Like graduating or taking the next step in my career?
3. Is it causing me additional anxiety because I constantly feel like I need to catch up?

If the answer is yes, then procrastination is not helping you manage your anxiety effectively and it is time to make some changes.

So you’ve noticed that procrastination is negatively impacting your life, what can you do now?

Below, I have outlined a set of steps that might help you cope with procrastination. Please note that these are general steps and they might not address the specific issues that you are dealing with. I recognize that we all have our own unique experiences and that there is no one size fits all solution for procrastination. If you’d like to further explore your issues with procrastination and motivation, I highly recommend that you book a counselling appointment. You can learn more about my services and how to book an appointment here.

1. What Do you Procrastinate? (Be Specific)

I found that statements that include generalizations such as “always” or “never” can be detrimental to progress. It is difficult to change the whole world but you can take a small step. So what is one area of your life where procrastination is getting in your way? Maybe it is the one school assignment that you’ve been meaning to work on but never find the energy to do. Maybe it is a job application that you’ve been meaning to submit but never do it.

2. What Are You Gaining By Procrastinating?

How is procrastinating helping you? Maybe it helps you avoid feeling anxious or it helps you feel more in control of your life. Try to be as detailed as possible when answering this question. It is easy and normal to get derailed by self-critical thoughts. You might notice that these critical thoughts have words such as “always” or “lazy” attached to them. If you notice these thoughts, I would encourage you to acknowledge them, take a deep breath and then continue on your reflection.

3. How Do You Procrastinate?

What are some of the ways that you procrastinate? Do you binge-watch Netflix shows? Do you go on social media platforms? Maybe you hang out with your friends or decide to clean the house? Sometimes we automatically engage in these activities without recognizing that we are using them to avoid a task. Reflecting on this question will help you be able to notice in real time when you are engaging in procrastination.

4. What Excuse Am I Using To Justify Procrastination?

People often try to deal with procrastination by attempting to ignore the part of themselves that is telling them to procrastinate. They try to use willpower to push themselves to do the task. Imagine you had a friend who kept pressuring you to skip school and you kept telling them to go away/leave you alone. This type of argument would feel exhausting. If you were feeling overwhelmed, you might even decide to skip school instead of using the little energy that you have arguing with your friend. I would recommend that instead of fighting, it might be helpful to understand why your friend is constantly pressuring you. It is possible that your friend is feeling lonely or they want to spend some time with you. Once you understand your friend, you can come up with alternative solutions that meet both of your needs. So try asking the part that wants you to procrastinate, why is it pushing you to do that? What is it afraid of?

Here are some common reasons that we might have a desire to avoid a task and some strategies for dealing with them:

I don’t think I have the mental energy to do this task

Why do you feel like you don’t have the mental energy? Has today been exhausting or are there underlying reasons that are draining your battery? Sometimes we might not actually be exhausted but rather the fear of failure and anxiety associated with a task might be draining us. If we are actually drained, then it makes sense to push a task to another time. However, if it is our anxiety that is preventing us from doing it, then it is likely that the next time we try to do the task, we will also be exhausted. The best way to decipher between the two is to do a little experiment: Set a timer on your phone for 5-10 minutes and attempt to do the task for that duration. After the timer rings, you can gain a better understanding of whether you are able to continue the task or not.

You can also reflect on what do you need to be able to recharge your batteries before this task? Do you need a coffee? Or maybe a short self-care activity. If you decide to engage in a self-care activity, it is important to decide ahead of time how long you are going to spend on that activity. I would recommend setting a 10-15 minute timer on your phone to remind you to get back to the task.

Finally, ask yourself if you’ve ever done a task that you didn’t feel like doing? What helped you be able to do the task. Sometimes it can be helpful to remind ourselves why a task is important. Why are we doing such a difficult, energy-consuming task? Why is it important that we finish it?

I have a lot of time. I can do it another day.

Our brain has the capacity to overestimate the amount of time that we have and underestimate the amount of time that we need to complete a task. This happens especially when we view the task as unpleasant. That is why whenever my mind tells me that I have a lot of time, I know to be extra careful and realistically reflect on how much time I have. You can open your calendar and look at when you want/need to have the task completed. Also, reflect on whether there are other tasks that need to be completed around the same time. Remember that having a whole day dedicated to writing a paper might be enough time but it won’t be if you have to also go to work, cook food, do house chores and finish your readings for next week.

I would also recommend reflecting on what are the negative and positive outcomes of completing the task right now. Even if you have a lot of time, why not complete the task anyway? It might be helpful to remind yourself that you will feel relieved at having the task completed. It might make your next few days feel less stressful.

I am going to fail anyway. What is the point?

I actually think this is a great question. Why are you doing this task? Why is it important? Even if you are not able to complete the task perfectly, why is it important to try? It is important to remind yourself of your goal. This could be the ability to graduate or to finally be able to leave a job that’s been making you feel miserable. Similarly, it is helpful to recognize that starting a task earlier might give you more time to revise it and get closer to the perfect product that you desire.

I don’t know how to do this.

Sometimes, we know what we need to do but we are feeling so overwhelmed that we can’t figure out what is our next step. In these circumstances, it can be helpful to break the task into small steps. For example, if you are writing an essay, you can break it down into the following steps: 1) choose a topic, 2) research the topic, 3) write an outline, 4) write the introduction, 5) write the body of the essay 6) write the conclusion. If you imagine writing an essay, that might feel overwhelming but if all you have to do today is choose a topic, it will be much easier to get started.

Other times, we actually don’t know what we need to do. In these circumstances, it might be helpful to reflect on how we can obtain this information. For example, can you speak to your instructor or classmates to brainstorm what are the necessary steps? Or try to speak to a colleague or a friend about specific steps they would recommend when looking for a new job.

Finally, remember that there are always going to be moments when you will feel lost. This is part of life. It is part of moving forward. You have been lost before. Remind yourself that there have been times when you’ve felt afraid or moments when you didn’t know what to do and you were eventually able to figure it out.

5. Remember that changing habits will take time

If you notice that you struggle with procrastination, you’ve probably been using it as a coping mechanism for anxiety for a while. It is going to take time and effort to make the necessary changes. Be patient with yourself as you try to change this habit. If you are interested in expanding your list of resources for coping with procrastination, I highly recommend the Center for Clinical Intervention’s workbook.