How to Stop Procrastinating: Time Management Mindset

Procrastination is more than just a waste of time, it is a huge source of, and driver of, stress and anxiety. Much like the chicken and the egg, it can be difficult to know what comes first. Are we procrastinating because we are stressed or are we stressed because we are procrastinating? 

Research shows that procrastination happens when we are unable to manage the negative emotions that come from facing difficult or unpleasant tasks and instead look for short term relief. Procrastination provides this relief quickly and effectively, as we push away the task causing the negative emotions and focus instead on something easy or enjoyable. In this sense procrastination acts as a strongly reinforced habit loop. 

Cue- Stressful, difficult, or unpleasant task

Response- Avoid, push out, ignore (procrastination)

Reward- Immediate relief from stress, boredom and general unpleasantness 

This habit loop keeps us choosing short term relief that creates long term pain. 

In order to break this cycle, we must shift the way we think about and react to the stress and discomfort of unpleasant tasks. If we are procrastinating we are dealing with them by not dealing with them. Instead, we must teach ourselves to dive head on into the discomfort as a way of ultimately feeling better. 

We need to start choosing short term pain that creates long term relief. 

To do this, recent research (Wang, Zhang, & Feng, 2021) shows we need to practice regulating our own emotions. Those of us with stronger emotional regulation skills procrastinate less, according to this research, because they are able to manage the influence of the negative emotions and therefore don’t need to resort to short-term emotional repair strategies as often. 

In plain english, they don’t need to escape the negative emotion by procrastinating, because they are able to manage the stress in the moment and shift their focus to getting the task done. 

We can all cultivate better emotional regulation skills by shifting the way we think about stress and discomfort. Instead of seeing them as something to avoid, think of them as little messages. Signals that there is some action to be taken. Practice thinking of yourself, and describing yourself to others, as someone who accepts short term pain in the pursuit of long term relief. 

Practice breathing and leaning into discomfort, instead of avoiding it at every opportunity. Discomfort is a sign that we are growing, stretching beyond our existing comfort zone. 

I like to do this with a little rule. If I find myself facing the desire to procrastinate, I have to work on that thing for a minimum of 15 minutes. After that, if I still want to stop I allow myself to do so but I schedule the next time I’m going to do a 15 minute chunk into my diary. Often, once that 15 minutes is up I end up carrying on and completing the task. Either way, action has been taken and I’ve moved myself slightly forward from where I was before. With consistent practice you’ll find this is an equally rewarding habit loop to build and one with much longer term benefits. 

I invite you to give it a try!! 

Interested in discovering the key mental strategies that will improve your performance? Book a discovery call with Annika today.