Working on your self-awareness while literally in the middle of procrastination is perhaps the most crucial element to overcoming this particular negative habit. And yes, procrastination is exactly that… a habit.
Which is why I was a little incredulous when — in doing my research for this blog — I found a study published in the Psychological Science Journal suggesting that procrastination is a lifelong trait.
But the very fact that procrastination is a habit means you can change it!
Perhaps it’s a lifelong curse for someone who doesn’t practice personal growth and self-awareness, but if you want to improve upon this habit, you most certainly can.
Why My Number One Tip To End Procrastination Involves Self-Awareness
When you make a list of the things that you do when you’re procrastinating, you’re on your way to success!
See, a lot of times our brains don’t even tell us we’re procrastinating. We just keep ourselves busy doing these seemingly important things.
And you know what your things are don’t you? I know what mine is…
My thing is needlessly organizing dumb stuff. Imagine, if you will, I’m hours behind my podcast recording schedule. On the way to my podcast room, I pass the kitchen and take a quick glance at the counter. Oops.
I’ll think,
“Oh, look at that! The little cute dog treats bin is kind of disorganized. Let me just line everything up exactly.”
Project complete! And then I find myself thinking some more,
“Maybe I should now organize the cabinet underneath the sink in the laundry room!”
These lower priority things keep me busy. It feels like I’m working and that I’m at least doing something.
And by doing something, I can avoid feeling bad for doing nothing.
Because we feel guilty when we do nothing. (Well, I think, at least most of us feel guilty if we’re doing nothing.)
To reiterate: If we’re doing something, we feel better about ourselves.
Hence, we keep ourselves busy doing less important tasks — which allows us not to think about the thing we really need to be doing.
And we trick ourselves into thinking that these projects “need to get done, anyway!” — casually brushing guilt aside.
So, know your destination procrastination! Is it social media, exercise, cleaning a certain area of your home? I’ll bet a million bucks you know what it is for you!
Once you begin practicing self-awareness in regard to your procrastination, you’ll really catch yourself in the act! And the steps to conquering this habit will be that much easier for you!
For much more on this, like:
- Why we procrastinate
- How to know you’re procrastinating
- The value of prioritizing
Then, check out The Chalene Show episode below:
And don’t forget to subscribe to TCS for weekly shows dedicated to your everyday happiness and overall wellness!
