Procrastinators are liars
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This is post 5 of my series: Inside the Mind of a Procrastinator.
Specifically, we lie to ourselves.
Procrastinators tell lies to themselves. Such as, “I’ll feel more like doing this tomorrow.” Or “I work best under pressure.” But in fact they do not get the urge the next day or work best under pressure. In addition, they protect their sense of self by saying “this isn’t important.” Another big lie procrastinators indulge is that time pressure makes them more creative. Unfortunately they do not turn out to be more creative; they only feel that way. They squander their resources. —Psychology Today
I can’t argue with this. I have told myself those very lies on countless occasions. The biggest lie procrastinators tell themselves, not mentioned above is, “This time, it’s going to be different.” That lie comes just before we fall back into the same old routine of putting things off.
I’d like to offer a sure-fire solution to overcoming the lies, but I haven’t found it yet. Here are three things that help reduce my attempts at misleading myself.
- Accountability – Yes, it’s possible to lie to others, as well. But I find, when I am accountable to someone else, the task is more likely to be completed.
- Well-being – If I have to review and approve the salary of a new hire, and I know their getting paid depends on my actions, I get the thing done. My annual physical may be more like 13 or 14 months apart, but I get to the doctor. When the task involves the well-being of another, or me, it gets completed, most often on time.
- I’m just to going to look at it – This is the same as the “I’m not going to do it mind hack” I pointed to last week (4th bullet point down). Instead of putting off a large task, I tell myself, “I’m just going to look at it.” Once I have it opened, I tell myself, “I could get that first bit done quickly, with no effort.” Before I know it, through a series of small steps, I’m well into the project and the momentum carries me along.
I’d be lying to myself and you if I said that these tricks were 100% successful. However, they do go a long way to helping me complete things in a timely manner.
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Comments
These are great tips. I especially like the idea about accountability. I’ve tried it several times and it works for me.
Thanks for this great reminders.
Nice post.
We need to be moving even in a slow pace. We will be surprised at how much work we’ve accomplished by doing it one step at a time and ignoring how big our task is.
I am guilty of this act. Thanks for the tips so that I wouldn’t mislead myself.