By Bruno Logreco
Everyone procrastinates. It is a common fact, with more than 95% of the population freely admitting they will put off some task or challenge today that they feel they have time to complete tomorrow. The number of people who continually put off that exact same task for a second or even third day is a whopping 20%, making one-fifth of the population chronic procrastinators. If you are one of this large percentage, you probably have tons of good excuses why things can wait – whether it be how much time you actually have to how creative you feel, to how much motivation you can drum up. You put things off and you always have a good excuse.
Studies have been conducted for years on procrastination and the results of those individuals who repeatedly put off important tasks in their lives. Some studies go so far as to correlate procrastination to a person’s innate fear of success, using it as a coping mechanism to combat anxiety that comes with starting any new task.
What happens is that, when faced with a challenging task, a procrastinator will look at their skillset, their confidence in their skillset, and their general measurement of success in completing the task. Many times, they find they have little or no confidence that they can be successful in completing the task at hand and they then proceed to put the task off for a number of days. A prime example is the annual New Year’s Resolution – a challenging goal set by millions every year in an attempt to improve their quality of life. Subsequently, millions break their resolutions because they just can’t make themselves complete the task.
Many times, individuals will simply make decisions without thinking ahead. Procrastinators are not afraid of becoming involved – they want to be part of multiple tasks, proving to themselves and those around them that they can be successful. But, this impulse to constantly be involved more often than not only makes things worse as they start putting things off, building upon their fears and doubts and dealing blow after blow to their confidence.
At this point, it takes very little in the way of distractions to trigger a procrastinator’s innate response to a challenging task. Their anxiety continues to grow and they look for any excuse to put off their task and convince themselves it just isn’t time to complete it yet.
With all of this negative self-talk, fear of failure, and complete lack of confidence, many people lose inspiration and motivation to do much of anything. They hope that the next day will be a better day and that they will feel what they think they need to be successful then instead of today. All that happens is that the cycle picks back up again where it left off and procrastination continues.
Are you born with the procrastination gene or is procrastination a learned behavior?
There are multiple theories on why so many people become chronic procrastinators and the truth could go either way. Regardless of whether you grew up in an environment where you were constantly controlled and not allowed to develop necessary life skills, or whether your family just puts things off a lot, you must learn to overcome procrastination. Below you will find 6 key steps to doing just that:
6 Steps To Overcome Procrastination:
1. Write out all of the challenges and tasks you’ve been putting off – this might include everything from projects at work, to losing weight, or work around the house. Write them all down.
2. For everything you’re afraid to complete, ask yourself three quests: What am I afraid of? What outcome do I fear the most? What can I do to change the outcomes so that they will be in my favor?
3. Create a plan that will work – Break down all of the tasks you have to small chunks you can manage and then break them down even smaller into easily completable steps.
4. Think positively and ignore your negative self-talk.
5. Finish one task each day – Check off everything as you complete and don’t expect too much of yourself.
6. Monitor your progress and continue building on your plans – Look for three keys to success here: Motivation, Confidence, and Self-Esteem.
When you break down your procrastination and approach it one step at a time, you can start to overcome the factors that have been making your life that much harder for so many years.
Take the first step towards breaking your procrastination habit while you build confidence and self esteem. Visit http://www.brunologreco.com today to learn how Master Life Coach, Toronto (http://www.brunologreco.com )native Bruno LoGreco could hep you with your procrastination.
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For more information and support for creating more time for yourself and what’s important to you, visit http://www.GalileoLS.com/consult.html for a free coaching consultation.
