Procrastination. Why Do We Keep Putting Things Off?

I was thinking about procrastination the other day and realised how strange it really is.

Have you ever spent an entire day avoiding one particular job, only to find yourself becoming incredibly productive... just not in the way you'd planned?

You need to send an important email, but somehow the washing gets done. The kitchen sides get wiped down. You finally remember to water the plants. You answer messages that could quite happily have waited until tomorrow and, before you know it, you've convinced yourself you've had quite a productive day.

Except the one thing you actually needed to do is still waiting. (For me, usually my university assignment)

It's something I hear about all the time. People often say to me, 'I don't understand why I do this. I know it needs doing, so why can't I just get on with it?'

The interesting thing is that they're usually asking themselves the wrong question.

They're assuming the problem is laziness.

I very rarely think it is.

In fact, the people who beat themselves up the most about procrastination are often the least lazy people I meet. They're usually juggling work, family, relationships and a never ending mental to do list. They care deeply about doing things well and that's often part of the problem.

Sometimes we put things off because they feel overwhelming. Sometimes it's because we're worried we'll get them wrong. Sometimes we've built the task up in our minds until it feels far bigger than it really is. Our brains are incredibly good at steering us away from things that feel uncomfortable, even if we know avoiding them is only going to make us feel worse later.

It's a little bit like standing at the bottom of a hill. From a distance it looks enormous, so we keep finding reasons not to start climbing. Then, when we finally do, we wonder why we spent so long worrying because it wasn't nearly as bad as we'd imagined.

I always think the best example of this is when you've got visitors coming over.

For days you've looked at the house and thought, I really must sort that out.

Nothing happens.

Then somebody texts to say they're ten minutes away.

Suddenly you're like a whirlwind. Washing gets thrown into baskets, the hoover appears from nowhere, kitchen sides are gleaming and you're frantically deciding which cupboard is going to become home to all the random bits you've been meaning to put away for the past fortnight. We've all got that cupboard.

It's almost funny when you think about it.

You didn't suddenly become a more organised person.

You were always capable of doing those jobs.

The only thing that changed was that your brain had a deadline it couldn't ignore.

That's why I think we need to stop calling ourselves lazy.

Lazy people don't usually spend all day worrying about the jobs they haven't done.

People who procrastinate often carry those unfinished tasks around with them everywhere they go. They don't disappear just because they're not doing them. They're still there whilst you're making dinner, watching television or trying to fall asleep. They quietly chip away at you, making you feel guilty for something you haven't even started yet.

One of the simplest techniques I've found, both personally and professionally, is something called the Pomodoro Technique. I like it because it doesn't ask your brain to perform miracles.

All you do is choose one task and set a timer for twenty five minutes. During those twenty five minutes, that's your only job. You're not promising to spend the whole afternoon working. You're simply giving that task your attention until the timer goes off. Then you stop. Make a drink. Stretch your legs. Have five minutes to reset before deciding whether to do another twenty five minutes.

It sounds almost too simple, but there's something powerful about making a job feel manageable. Twenty five minutes feels very different from I've got so much to do today.

And if twenty five minutes feels like too much, make it ten. The important thing isn't the number on the timer. It's proving to yourself that you can begin.

I've always believed that starting is usually the hardest part.

Once we're moving, we often surprise ourselves.

So, if you've been calling yourself lazy recently, perhaps stop for a moment and ask yourself whether that's really true.

Maybe you're overwhelmed.

Maybe you're exhausted.

Maybe you're frightened of getting something wrong.

Or maybe your brain is simply looking for the easiest route away from discomfort, just like all of ours do from time to time.

Understanding why you procrastinate doesn't magically solve it, but it does replace self criticism with self compassion.

And that's often where real change begins.