#1 - Become Aware of your Procrastination

By Armaan Athwal

Today's Overview:

• Understanding procrastination

• Cultivate self-awareness

• Holding yourself accountable

• Actionable Tip

• Quote of the day

What is behind Procrastination?

There are so many factors that lead to procrastination. However, the lack of focus is always present in every case. It is crucial to analyze and question whether diverting your attention from your task for momentary gratification was truly warranted.

In my case, I've found myself midway through working on something and all the sudden I get the urge to check my phone. From that point on, it is over. I get sucked in and waste so much more time than I should have. It has became muscle memory to divert my focus to something else without even realizing.

In fact, while writing this newsletter. I've repeatedly found myself momentarily losing focus, on the brink of opening my phone up. This is something I still struggle with, but I am increasingly becoming better at fighting the urge and focusing.

Reasons we procrastinate:

• Psychological Factors: Procrastination is often linked to various psychological factors such as fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, and low self-esteem.

• Temporary gratification: We have a tendency to prioritize immediate rewards over long-term benefits. The want of getting constant dopamine hits interferes with our concentration.

• Task Avoidance: Procrastination involves avoiding tasks that are perceived as difficult, unpleasant, or overwhelming. This avoidance behavior is often driven by a desire to escape negative emotions associated with the task, such as anxiety, boredom, or frustration.

• Poor Time Management: Procrastination can also be attributed to poor time management skills, where we underestimate the time needed to complete a task or fail to prioritize tasks effectively. This leads to a cycle of delaying tasks until they become urgent, resulting in increased stress and pressure.

• Self-Regulation Failure: Procrastination is ultimately a failure of self-regulation, where we struggle to manage our impulses and stay focused on our goals. This can occur with a set of bad decisions, that stray you away from your path.

There are many more reasons for one to procrastinate, but comprehending the root cause and its triggers is essential to recognizing and addressing it before it becomes habitual.

Awareness is Key 🗝️ 

Recognizing subtle signs and understanding its impact on your behavior and productivity is key.

Practice mindfulness techniques to observe thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without judgment. Pay attention to moments when you feel the urge to procrastinate and explore the underlying reasons behind it. Take notice when you diverge from your path. Most of the time, procrastination will be tasks that have no benefit to you at that moment. For example, scrolling through social media, laying down, playing games, etc. This is a huge giveaway that you are procrastinating!

Whenever you catch yourself procrastinating, make a conscious effort to identify the specific behavior or activity you're engaging in, as this will probably be a consistent bad habit of yours.

Establish clear, achievable goals for tasks and projects. Breaking down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps can make them less daunting and reduce the likelihood of procrastination. This way there is a level of understanding of what needs to get done.

Overcoming procrastination is a gradual process that requires persistence and patience. Stay committed to practicing new habits and techniques, even if progress is slow at first. With time and effort, you can break the muscle memory of procrastination and cultivate a more proactive approach to tasks. With repetition new positive habits will form and overtake the bad habits.

Accountability

At the end of this all, nothing will happen if you don’t take accountability.

Accountability is the ultimate weapon in the battle against procrastination. It's the unwavering commitment to hold yourself answerable for your actions, pushing you beyond your limits and excuses. When you declare your intentions you are holding yourself to your word. You need to light a fire within yourself. By focusing and staying concentrated you keep that fire alive.

Have that fire stay lit within you at all times!

When we take ownership of our actions and decisions, we empower ourselves to break free from the cycle of delay and excuses.

Share your goals with a friend, family member, or colleague who can provide accountability and support. Knowing that someone else is aware of your intentions can help you stay committed to breaking the cycle of procrastination. If you find yourself without someone to share your goal with, grab a piece of paper and write it down boldly. Place the paper somewhere visible in your environment. Tape it to your computer screen, your favorite book, or at the top of your stack of papers. Keep it in sight as a constant reminder of your commitment.

Implement an accountability tactic

Personally, one of my favorite methods of holding myself accountable for procrastination is the simple tally mark method.

Grab a piece of paper or create a note on your phone. This is the part where you got to be completely honest with yourself, so you can actually benefit from this. For each time you catch yourself procrastinating draw out a tally. Take a quick moment and physically draw out the tally. Count these tallies up on either a daily or weekly basis.

Physically making tallies for each instance of procrastination adds a tactile element to the process, reinforcing the awareness of the behavior. This action creates a more impactful reminder of the procrastination instances, making them more salient in your mind. The act of physically tallying can also serve as a moment of pause and reflection, allowing you to acknowledge the behavior and reaffirm your commitment to overcoming it.

Associate each tally with a meaningful and intense consequence to maximize its impact and reinforce the connection in your mind. By keeping the consequence significant, you enhance its effectiveness in motivating you to break the habit of procrastination.

Examples of beneficial consequences for each tally:

• Run a mile

• Put $100 towards saving

• Read 20 pages

• Volunteer for 30 minutes

• Meditate for 10 minutes

These examples are a bit more intense, so adjust them to your capabilities, but keeping them intense will be the ultimate motivator. That way you can associate procrastination with something impactful, reinforcing the importance of breaking the habit.

Quote of the day

"Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the 'someday I'll' philosophy." - Denis Waitley

Procrastination is a choice of taking the easy route. Don’t let that choice make you miss out on your ambitions.