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Planners of Procrastination
Why do we wait until a task is overwhelming?
Do you put things off, yet fill your time with the tasks that aren’t important?
If you’re a list maker, look back at your planner and see how many items you’ve pulled forward week after week.
I completed a project today I’ve been putting off for almost three months. It took me two full days to complete. Had I simply done it as things came up, it would have taken about 5 minutes out of my day.
Why do we wait until a task is overwhelming?
I looked up reasons for this, and a list of twenty-one motives immediately popped up. A few of the reasons resonated with me, such as fear of failure, upbringing, and distractions.
Emotional wounds can affect how you react to something you need to do. Were you criticized, micromanaged, neglected, told you had nothing to add to the conversation?
Do you internalize your emotions and rebel against things you’ve been tasked to do? Are you trying to rewire your past and behave completely opposite of your role models?
It’s time to renovate your brain. You can do this through counseling. You can look up information from a trusted source (Psychology Today is a good one). You can make your list shorter!
If you accomplish one thing per day on your perennial list, you’ve done something. Feel good about that instead of things you weren’t able to cross off. Keep your goals reasonable. Don’t try to accomplish more than one intensive project per day. Dedicate a small portion of your day to doing something on your list, even if you can’t complete the task.
All or nothing can freeze you in place — be realistic.
You can study further on this, or you can keep it simple and remember that getting out of bed can be an accomplishment. By being kind to yourself and your expectations, you’ll get more done.
Perfection is not the goal. Peace of mind is.
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This article was published on February 19th, 2025 in Short. Sweet. Valuable. publication.
