Top ten reasons why you procrastinate:
10. You’re really good at it.
9. You have no idea how not to procrastinate. Your entire academic career was built on it.
8. You can still get an “A” or produce something that impresses your coworkers.
7. Time pressure will make something dull a bit more interesting.
6. You’re overwhelmed by many things, including your own curiosity and creativity.
5. You delude yourself into believing that you do your best work under pressure.
4. You won’t disappoint anyone because their expectations will be lowered. You won’t disappoint yourself (as much) because your expectations will be lowered.
3. You’ve always been told that you’re so smart.
2. If you take plenty of time and fail, then your true stupidity will be revealed.
1. Perfectionism.
Can anything be done about this? Are you destined to live out your life as a prodigious profligate perfectionistic procrastinator?
Yes. And no. In that order.
Here’s what I suggest. Small steps. Nothing overwhelming or intimidating.
Start here:
You’re likely to love this post from the blog Wait But Why.
Then go here for more details from the same very funny procrastinating blogger.
Finally, you’ll be ready for a wonderfully comprehensive practical guide. This book.
And just so you know, a pattern of procrastination isn’t easy to change. Here’s why: “Confronting and changing long-held assumptions about you and your family can be unnerving and disorienting. This is why procrastination is so hard to overcome. It’s not simply a matter of changing a habit; it requires changing your inner world.”*
But it’s worth it.
“However, as you access capabilities and parts of yourself that have been held back by procrastination, you can derive great pleasure in claiming your whole self.”*
*Jane Burka & Lenora Yuen, Procrastination
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To my blogEEs: Tell us why you procrastinate and if you’ve found any resources or techniques that have helped you deal with it. And thank you, as always, for commenting and sharing.
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