Seven Ways to Get Past Procrastination


Some people don’t believe there’s any such thing as procrastination. tbot logo 150x150Some believe it has a life of its own waiting to ambush everything you ever wanted to do. Whatever your beliefs, there are days when you know there are things that could help you to build your practice, or help it to run more smoothly, but you just couldn’t be bothered. You revert instead to your activity of choice. In my case, that might be checking my email or facebook, it might be doing household chores, or watching reruns of old TV shows.

My belief about procrastination is that at its heart it’s an inner conflict between the part of me that wants to, and the part that doesn’t. Now, if I have something I want to do in my practice, for example, bring the bookkeeping up to date, or get out there and generate more work, whether I do it today or not is neither here nor there, but if I don’t do it for a year then it turns into a serious issue.

The inner conflict can leave me paralysed, because the voice that says, “You really should do that,” is fighting it out with the voice that says, “I don’t want to, I’m not going to and you can’t make me.”file0001517402088

Over the years, I’ve found some strategies that help me to overcome this impasse.

  1. Make a choice: I want to, and I also don’t want to, so I choose one and go with that. If I choose not to, then I don’t beat myself up for making that choice. I simply say, “I’m choosing not to do it today.” If there are consequences, I accept the consequences. Choosing not to do the bookkeeping today means it’ll still be there in the morning. I can live with that. If I choose to do it, I put a time limit on it, and give myself a reward for doing it, perhaps praise or a treat. In other words, I support the choice I make.
  2. Go Public And Make Yourself Accountable: Tell someone, or preferably several someones, what you’re going to do. This is a great one for issues where you’re likely to row back on decisions. Some years ago, I was trying to cut back on my drinking at social occasions. I find when I’m nervous I drink too much, and then I have both an emotional and physical hangover the next day. So going to a function I knew I was going to feel nervous at, I promised my husband I’d pay him €50 if I had any alcohol. It worked a treat. I wasn’t going to give him either the money or the chance to laugh if I didn’t do it!
  3. Create Structure: This might be working during particular hours, or in a particular place, creating targets and goals, or working as part of a group. All of these can help to keep us focussed on getting it done when we don’t want to. Think about how that works for your clients. Knowing they are going to be coming to see you means they are less likely to push their problem to the back of their mind and ignore it.
  4. Create Momentum or Habit: Make the task as normal as washing your teeth or putting out the bins. If you want to change your behaviour, commit to doing it every day for 30 days. By that time, it will have gained a momentum that will carry you easily over the resistance. When I first started to write, I wrote for 20 minutes every morning before I did anything else. Sometimes, I couldn’t think of anything to write, so I sat and wrote, “I have nothing to say” over and over until another thought came.
  5. Do The Worst First: I learned very early in my professional career that there’s nothing to sap my energy like the thoughts of a horrible task hanging over my head. I learned that if I really have to do it, and genuinely have no choice, then I do the worst thing on my to-do list first. That way it’s all easier afterwards.
  6. Really Get To Know The “I Don’t Want To” Part Of You: I said earlier that my belief is that procrastination is an inner conflict between “I want to” and “I don’t want to.” In general, there are three broad categories of “I don’t want to.” These are fears, rebellion and timing. Timing and rebellion may also be hiding fears as well. The following questions may help:
    1. What is the worst that could happen if I do this?
    2. Who would I please or displease if I do this?
    3. What might I need to become, or what might need to happen, in order to do this?

    7. Try EFT: If you’ve never tried EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping), try it on procrastination, it works a treat. Using a variation of the Gestalt principle separate to integrate, EFT lets us sit into the voice of “I don’t want to” and really acknowledge and validate it. In that validation, something eases! If you’re new to EFT, you can find a short guide here,  and try out Carol Look’s video about procrastination on YouTube here. (I also some EFT videos on YouTube about therapy practice related issues. You can find them here.)

In conflict, there’s an enemy and a friend. Both have something to teach us. Procrastination need not hold you back from having the practice you’d like, but if it’s a problem for you maybe I can help you. Contact me here for a free 20 minute consultation, or to make an appointment.