I know this one personally and I imagine you do too. I spent years not understanding it and beat myself up for tasks I wasn’t taking care of. I’m a procrastinator. I’ve concluded it is a part of my life, so I’d need to find ways to manage it. It is less intense than it used to be since I know myself better and developed a stronger emotional connection with myself.
Breaking apart the various underlying reasons is a helpful starting point and moves us away from heavy, unmotivating feelings of embarrassment and shame, or the burdensome energy of the phrase I should. Here is a list of common reasons of why we procrastinate:
When using a list like this one, home in on the strong ones that are a clear Yes or No so you can concentrate on what you know and narrow the focus. Skip the maybes and partials. Just having this list can alleviate some of the mental pressure you put on yourself. For the more embedded forms of procrastination, it’s helpful to find what’s underneath it, or the why.
Coaching or self-help books focus on tools which have a place; however, your best coaching or self-help books are the ones that link your emotional state to the work and combine them with the tools to improve, otherwise we tend to slip back into old patterns that don’t feel good. Developing emotional fluency is key.
In the next blog, Part 2, I’ll share the various drivers of procrastination.
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