How to overcome challenges to changing beliefs which drive procrastination

In my last two articles, I discussed how you can address procrastination by changing the beliefs which lead you to procrastinate. I indicated that this entailed identifying the beliefs driving each of four types of procrastination and changing these to beliefs which help each type to overcome procrastination. The four types, as described in A teen’s guide to getting stuff done by Jennifer Shannon, were referred to as the perfectionist, the warrior, the pleaser and the rebel.

In my most recent article, I discussed how to gather evidence to challenge beliefs which drive procrastination by conducting behavioural experiments in which you act opposite to your default behaviour of procrastination. I closed this article by indicating that challenges often arise when conducting such experiments. In the following sections, I will discuss these challenges and how to overcome them.

Managing emotions

Acting rather than procrastinating triggers beliefs driving procrastination. These beliefs then lead you to experience emotions which can feel unpleasant and intense. These include emotions like anxiety, frustration, anger and guilt.

As Jennifer Shannon puts it, ‘riding the wave’ of these emotions rather than fighting them helps you to manage them rather than fighting them. You can do this by doing relaxed breathing while you feel the emotions. Doing so will help you to lower the intensity of these emotions. The result is that you can continue to act rather than procrastinate so that you can persist in gathering evidence to challenge the beliefs which drive your procrastination.

Dealing with distractions

Procrastination is fueled by succumbing to distractions. These include external distractions in the environment in which you are doing the task. Examples include the temptation to spend time on a device like a smartphone or a video game, talking to a friend who is nearby or going to the kitchen to have something to eat or drink. We are also tempted to go off task by internal distractions. These are thoughts such as those about an activity you would rather be doing or worries about such matters as work, school, finances and relationships.

Removing external distractions from your task environment will make you less likely to succumb to them. So put your phone, video games and other devices in a different room and ask friends and family to let you focus on your task for a certain amount of time. Focusing on the task is also easier if you reward yourself by enjoying time on a device or with friends once you are done.

‘Park’ internal distractions by scheduling a time later that day to enjoy the activity or to deal with your concerns about relationships, finances, work or school. Knowing that you can focus on these matters later will make it easier for you to focus on the task at hand and not succumb to these internal distractions.

Making tasks less daunting

You are more likely to procrastinate if the task with which you are faced is seen as too daunting. Breaking up large tasks into smaller ones will make them less daunting. To use Jennifer Shannon’s expression, ‘divide until doable’ to address this procrastination challenge.

Scheduling to avoid procrastinating

We are more likely to start on a task if we schedule it for a particular time and place. If we don’t do so, we are more likely to procrastinate because there is no ‘implementation intention’ present. So schedule a time and place each time you intend to work on a task.

Acting when your motivation is low

Our motivation to do tasks fluctuates. It is easier to get started when our motivation is high and harder when it is low. However, there are strategies you can use to get started even when your motivation is low.

One such strategy is the five-minute rule in which you commit to working at the task for only five minutes. This is a short enough time that most people can work that long on the task even when their motivation is low. The good news is that, once you start, your motivation typically improves to the point that you are ready to work on the task beyond five minutes.

An excellent variation on the five-minute rule is Jennifer Shannon’s ‘five-minute jump start’ in which you set a timer for five minutes and do as much work on the task as you can within five minutes without worrying about the quality of your work. After five minutes, you will be pleasantly surprised not only for getting started when your motivation was low, but also for the quality of your work being unexpectedly good.

Coping with criticism

Acting rather than procrastinating can bring criticism from others and from oneself. Two types of procrastinators cited by Jennifer Shannon are particularly susceptible to criticism. The perfectionist risks criticism when their actions lead to mistakes. The pleaser risks criticism when they act on a task important to them rather than performing a task for others. The prospect of facing these kinds of criticism can lead these two types of procrastinators to avoid tasks.

Fortunately, a tool devised by psychologist Dr. Christine Padeksy called assertive defense of the self can help you face criticism so that you are less affected by it. It entails responding, typically in one’s thoughts and self-talk, to the criticism with an assertive defense.

For example, the perfectionist may have a self-critical thought upon making a mistake that the mistake proves that they are not smart or competent. An assertive defense to this criticism would focus on how making mistakes and learning from them is a primary method which smart and competent people use to become proficient at a skill or activity. Similarly, the pleaser can respond to the criticism that they are selfish when they work on their own tasks that it is not selfish to ensure that their own important tasks get done and that they have evidence of being generous to others.

Use the strategies in tandem for the best results

The strategies discussed in this article are best used in tandem to help you stay the course by acting rather than procrastinating. Using them will allow you to cope with the challenges which occur while you are overcoming your urge to procrastinate.

This will then allow you to gather evidence which challenges your perceived benefits of procrastinating. In turn, you will amass evidence which instead supports beliefs which focus on the benefits of acting rather than procrastinating.

May you overcome challenges to changing beliefs which drive your procrastination,

-Dr. Pat