The Ultimate Guide: How To Finally Stop Procrastinating
You have things you want to accomplish. That feeling we get from completing something, the pride, is one of my favorite feelings. We all love the feeling of accomplishment. And yet, procrastination is the mean monster keeping us from that feeling.
Procrastination is Sabotage
Often, we procrastinate the things we want the most. But this makes no sense. Why would a smart, capable person do this? Especially when procrastination leaves you feeling badly about yourself.
Procrastination feels like shit.
When I have writing deadlines, suddenly the laundry seems incredibly appealing. But that avoidance leaves me disappointed in myself.
This is self-sabotage. We are subconsciously creating obstructions to reaching our goals.
Why You Procrastinate
Our brain never does anything without reason. Usually, it's some form of protection.
In the case of procrastination, it's protection from doing something you perceive as painful.
We get to avoid something by procrastinating. Or the potential of something, like criticism.
Your subconscious is causing you to avoid pain in some way. If you can bring awareness to what you are avoiding, then you can start to overcome it.
Three Breakthrough Questions to Ask Yourself
1. What is the benefit of NOT accomplishing the task?
You may be avoiding some sort of potential judgement, like getting a bad grade. Also, by not doing it, you are getting time to yourself.
2. What is the downside of getting the task done?
It may feel hard to have to figure this thing out. People might judge you. Or you could lose time for yourself. I struggle with the thought, "I don't know what to write about" and if I don't know what to write about then I feel like I can't write. Then suddenly scrolling Instagram becomes my bestie.
3. When you think about doing the task, what obstacles come up for you?
You might have thoughts like, "I don't want to do this," or "I'm not going to do a good job," or "I don't know how."
Bringing In Awareness
By asking yourself those questions you will start to gain awareness. You can start to shed light on the inner workings of your subconscious mind, which you had no control over. This brings it to your conscious mind, which you will then be able to make powerful decisions about. If I have awareness that I don't feel like I know what to write about then I can take steps to find inspiration.
Instead of sitting in self-loathing because you aren't accomplishing your goals, you can have control over your behavior and you will be able to make progress.
If you’d like to work on the questions above, I made you a handy dandy worksheet you can work off of. You can get it below.