Episode description

This week I want to talk to you about procrastination. 

• Why we do it…
• How to be onto our brain when it happens…
• Why procrastinating on purpose might be a solution…
• …and a few things you can do that can help you work through the procrastination!

When I looked up the word ‘procrastinate’, the definition Google gave me was: “To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness”.

I believe that procrastination it the act of putting something off and can be become a habitual behavior. I’m not sure I think it is from being lazy as much as it might be a lack of prioritizing. If procrastination is the act of putting something off, then that act is something that therefore requires to be done. 

Take for example, taxes. Someone can put off taxes because they agree they must be done by a certain time. 

So the question is why do we put things off?

• Maybe it is because it isn’t a priority…
• Maybe there are more pressing tasks that need to be completed first…
• Maybe the task at hand feels daunting. In which it may be worth revisiting the task and see if you can break it down into smaller bite sized tasks so that you can easily take action…
• Maybe there is perfectionism at play. I know that I have procrastinated at creating copy whether it be for podcast, courses, events because I thought that by waiting until the last minute and there would be no time left to edit/change or modify, it would matter because it would be done…
• Maybe you’ve simply created a habit out of procrastinating…

The key is to bring awareness as to why you’re procrastinating so that you can decide ahead of time how you want to plan for it.

Let’s say you sit down to work one day and you’ve got your calendar blocked out with various tasks. You come upon a task that you’re not terribly excited about but know that it needs to get done.

In that moment you may find your brain trying to re-negotiate with yourself thinking ‘I’m wanting to move it to another day/time’. Did you know that procrastinating provides a dopamine hit which makes it more desirable to push off? Which, in turn, is what can make procrastination a habit.

Follow me over on Instagram @attentionaudit to hear more about procrastination and what you can do to overcome it.

See you next week, friends!