If you have ever had the thought that you were wasting time or putting things off, then you have been procrastinating. Most people feel some tension when they think about procrastination. We view it as a bad thing, as something to be avoided. But what if we have been looking at it all wrong?
Let’s talk about some of the ways that we can think about procrastination differently.
The Distraction:
Do you ever pretend to work while playing computer games or watching shows? If you have, then you have noticed that the work takes much longer t complete because you keep getting sucked into the game or show or YouTube or Facebook.
One possible reason that we distract ourselves when we are “supposed” to be working on something else is that we are not interested in the task we need to get done. It is a simple idea, really. We like to do things that we like to do. When we are faced with something that we dislike, we tend to put it off and delay taking part in that thing for as long as possible.
If you find that you are doing everything under the sun, except what you need to get done, then it is a good indication that you need to look at that task a little differently. How will completing this thing benefit you? What parts of this task do you enjoy? What will you be able to do when you finally get this thing done?
Another possibility is that you do not see any value in the task you have to perform. We often think in terms of value. For example, we subconsciously consider the value of each of our activities, and determine whether or not that activity is worth the energy we need to spend on doing it. This logic is rooted in survival instincts, and is difficult, if not impossible, to dismantle.
If this is the case, then you can increase the value of the thing you need to do, so that it seems like a better deal, and more worth the energy it will take to complete it. Start by asking yourself the questions above, and continue to list out the ways that you benefit from completing the task.
It may seem like just another way to procrastinate, but I promise that the few minutes you spend thinking about why you are doing what you are doing will save you hours in the long run.
The Prioritizing:
Do you start to work on something, then remember something else that’s more urgent? You end up dropping the first project midway through and hop onto something else. When you finally return to the first task a couple hours later, find that you are exhausted, and just call it a day.
This is a combination of time management and our wonderful natural ability to be flexible when things come up that need our immediate attention. If you find that this pattern happens a lot, and that it interferes with your ability to get anything done at all, then the answer is fairly simple.
I coach my clients to use a notebook, a bullet journal, or a calendar throughout the day. Write down important things as they come up, then use that information to make a daily schedule of the things that you need to get done.
This satisfies your subconscious mind in a few different ways. First, by writing things down, you are declaring that these things are important to you- and the subconscious mind takes note of this. Then, creating a schedule based on what is most important to you makes it easier to stick to, because you decided what was at the top of the list.
Make sure that when you make your schedule, ,you give yourself plenty of time to complete each task, and allow yourself a time between tasks to transition from one thing to the next. You will find that it is much easier to follow the schedule you created, and that you miss fewer things because you wrote them down.
The Good Things about Procrastination:
Procrastination helps you to make better decisions.
Sometimes you procrastinate on a decision because you're not entirely sure which option is the right choice for you. Your rational mind and your subconscious mind are saying different things, and you can't quite figure out which one to listen to. This is when procrastination becomes an important tool, helping you to avoid jumping into something that might not be right for you. In this way, procrastination buys you time to think about all your options and their pros and cons. Once the deadline arrives, you are ready to make the decision because you have taken the time to think it over, weighed your options, and done your research.
Procrastination leads to better apologies.
If you've done something wrong and you owe someone an apology, it can be more appropriate to give yourself, and that person, time to cool off. Often, you may feel the impulse to blurt out an apology right away, but when you take the time to think about what your role in the misunderstanding was, you are better able to express a more genuine apology that clearly shows your regret and your learnings. Putting off your apology also gives the other party time to reflect on how they have been impacted, so they can communicate more effectively and in a calm manner.
Procrastination shines light on what's most important to you.
You're less likely to procrastinate on things that you love to do, or that really matter to you. If there's something you're struggling to get done, ask yourself why you're doing it in the first place. Is this a sign of a bigger change you want to make in your life? Is this task really necessary? Procrastination can help you gauge whether or not you are heading in the right direction.
Finally:
Sometimes procrastination is your subconscious mind’s way of telling you that you should be focusing your energy somewhere else. It can also be an indication that you are taking on too much, and you need more down-time. Procrastination is also your subconscious minds way of making sure that you take the time to process something before making a rushed decision.
So, stop beating yourself up, and start listening to what your subconscious mind is telling you. What changes do you want to make? What are you already doing right? What habits do you want to eliminate?
For more information on how you can use hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming to make better use of your tie and energy, to eliminate the habits and stresses that are limiting your productivity, contact Karen Gray CH, RN of Green Mountain Hypnosis at the contact information below.∎
Karen Gray is a Registered Nurse, a Certified Hypnotist, and the owner of Green Mountain Hypnosis in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For more information on how you can use hypnosis to change your life, you can visit www.greenmountainhypnosis.com, or contact Karen at karengray@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or call (802) 566-0464.