We are now 2 weeks into the New Year and I would mind betting that you have already noticed yourself procrastinating on some aspect of your 2015 resolve.
It may be just a little thing here or there but the structure is the same – putting off to tomorrow what you could have, (or by your rules or decisions) should have done today.
Now, it’s pretty hard to find a person who does not procrastinate at all from time to time. ‘Things’ comes up, bright shiny objects take our attention or we just don’t have the urge to do something that we have committed to do. Avoiding emotionally unpleasant tasks and instead doing something that provides a temporary mood boost is often the preferred option.
The problem is that habitual procrastination seriously affects lives.
A typical example is the chiropractor who, for a long time has been “meaning to start” a structured savings program but never gets around to it. “When the income reaches ‘this’ level or the expenses drop to ‘that’ level” are typical reasons for putting this activity off.
We may think that procrastination is all about poor time management or willpower and to some extent it is. But I think that a more impactful factor is how we relate to the act of procrastination after the event.
Psychologist Tim Pychyl, a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada has co-authored a paper showing that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating on a previous exam were actually less likely to procrastinate on their next test.
He and others have also found that people prone to procrastination are, overall, less compassionate toward themselves. This often produces an identity of oneself as a procrastinator. This leads to a vicious cycle and increases the chance of more of the same.
So, this year simply notice when you are putting off those things that you know will get you to where you want to get. Be kind to yourself about this action, don’t label yourself with any judgment of your actions (or inactions), revisit your 2015 resolve and make sure that it fits with your values and ‘Get Around To It’ in a new unit of time.
