Procrastination is quite a common occurrence for many of us, simply because we don’t have sufficient self-control, or motivation and drive when we need it most. Even a highly motivated person will still make time to procrastinate!
Of course, other factors can hinder your self-control and demotivate you, prompting you to put off things until tomorrow (or who knows when). These include physical and emotional exhaustion.
If you procrastinate you are holding yourself back from reaching your goals. Your forward movement is put on hold temporarily. Therefore you need to look at why you are procrastinating so that you can stop yourself when necessary. If you want to develop your success skills, then removing a bad habit is a good start.
Let’s take a look at some of the major reasons why you may be procrastinating.
Fear of Failure or Fear of Success
Some people procrastinate because they are afraid of failing. Maybe you have failed a few times and so you have developed a massive fear of failing again. Fear of failure can prevent you from finishing a project or from starting a task at all.
Fear of success is just as harmful. Some people find it hard to imagine being afraid of success, however, what awaits you if you succeed? How are things going to change? Will it be for the better or end up being not what you wanted?
The uncertainties of what’s going to happen next in the event of achieving success may be causing you to procrastinate.
Perfectionism
Maybe you like everything to be perfect. You want the outcome to exceed even your own expectations. It needs to be excellent and there is no room for the slightest mistake. Unfortunately, this is what can be causing you to procrastinate. You might be putting off the release of a final project, or even starting a new one, all because you want to check everything one more time to satisfy the perfectionist in you.
Task Aversion
We all encounter that task we dislike doing, such as having to attend a meeting or making an appointment, or making a call we don’t want to make. If the task looks unappealing to you, you tend to delay doing it as long as you can.
Aversion can also be due to the nature of the task. When you judge it as boring or tedious, you begin to procrastinate. You may also experience task aversion if you feel anxious about having to do it. However, you know that not doing it now won’t solve it, and only delays the inevitable. Put your worry and anxiousness behind you and tackle it immediately.
One of the things that might make you tackle the task is a reward when you have done it! However, if the reward is one you can’t have until way off into the future, then it still won’t entice you. Distant rewards are not motivating enough, so procrastination can set in.
Lack of Energy
Have you been feeling physically tired and mentally drained? You’re probably running low on energy, and that’s a contributing factor to why you are procrastinating. It’s not that you don’t want to do the task, but you just don’t have enough mental or physical energy to carry on.
Negative Emotions
Your mood also has a major role in your ability to practice self-control and motivate you. If you are in a bad mood and dealing with negative emotions, these can make you delay doing a task until you’ve managed to get into a good mood.
People often equate procrastination to laziness, but it’s so much more than that. Understanding the factors that affect your self-control and motivation is essential so that you can figure out a solution. When you know your tendency to put things off until tomorrow, you can work on your mindset so that you’ll get the tasks done sooner rather than later.
