Engagement

Overcoming procrastination

Procrastinating important and sometimes urgent tasks can erode our resilience by creating the opportunity for something to always be nagging away at the back of our mind as undone or unfinished. Those of us with the tendency to procrastinate are also aware of the relief, joy and delight of getting something finished. We need to work out how to harness the good feelings of completion compared to the nagging irritations of the voice in our heads that shouts
“YOU SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE!”

Is there a particular work-related task that you find difficult? It is very rare that we procrastinate EVERYTHING and sometimes we find that we procrastinate one form of work, replacing it with another form of less important/less urgent work instead. Getting to the bottom of what we are procrastinating about, and why, can help us pick it apart and find and build habits to tackle it.

Often we are not consciously procrastinating anything at all. Sometimes we are distracted by the needs of others; by a seemingly simple task taking longer than anticipated; by a quick email; or an internet search.