Are you putting off a task or conversation you could easily do right now? Does glancing at your task list spark a feeling of dread? Are you trying not to think of all the tasks and commitments you’ve pushed into next week? You may be procrastinating.
The monthly theme over at WorkLifeSpark is procrastination. I added this to our annual schedule for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s a topic that comes up in so much of the coaching and development work I do with clients. Secondly, it’s something that people often spontaneously ask me about when they find out what I do for a living. And thirdly, with the passing of time, I see procrastinating more and more as something that’s part of being human.
This first post in a short series is going to clarify what we actually mean by the term procrastination – as it’s not always so clearly understood. Sometimes clients feel guilty because they think they’re procrastinating, when they’re actually not. More often, clients believe they’re being agile, careful or flexible, when in fact they’re working hard to push tasks into the future – at any cost.
What is procrastination?
When I explore this topic with my clients, I explain that procrastination consists of three important factors.
1. Irrational delays
Firstly, we’re introducing irrational delays to taking action. Irrational, in that there’s no good reason for the delay. The tendency to delay action is often rooted in our thoughts and emotions about the task or situation, rather than the objective facts about the situation. So we push the commitment into tomorrow (or further in the future), we experience some temporary relief, and move on with our day. But we also set our future selves up for more hassle.
2. Meaningful activities
Secondly, we’re only interested in procrastination when it’s about meaningful, important or necessary tasks and commitments. As I point out on this week’s podcast episode, there’s a big difference between me delaying watching the latest episode of Star Trek and delaying the completion of my tax return. One of these activities (for me at least) is far less important while the other is a requirement if I want to stay on the right side of the tax authorities! So, we need to ask ourselves: does this task actually matter?
3. Meaningful impact
Lastly, we’re more concerned when the delays to meaningful activities have a meaningful impact. Here’s where it gets a little complex. The impact might not be immediate. As I’ll explore in the next post, it could be reputational damage, which can take a while to manifest. But it could also be a quantifiable financial fine or punishment, a strained workplace relationship, or just higher levels of stress and recriminations as a deadline comes crashing home. Spotting the impact, as with spotting the tendency to procrastinate, isn’t always easy – which is where coaching can make all the difference.
When you’re not actually procrastinating
Cancelling
If a task or commitment is no longer required, no longer aligned with your goals or simply not a meaningful activity, we can delete it from our list. That’s not procrastination. When we do this, we’re re-appraising our situation, and making a flexible change to how we’re going to invest our limited time and attention.
Prioritising
We’re also not procrastinating when practicalities mean it’s easier or better to complete a task at another time. When you think about it, your task list isn’t written in stone – you’re probably more than familiar with the feeling when a new demand comes your way and makes everything else feel less important and urgent. There’s little point in sticking to a task list rigidly if events mean it needs to change.
When tomorrow is actually a better day
Sometimes, a delay to taking action benefits us. I make the case for this on the podcast, when a difficult conversation might be easier when we’ve had some rest:
”We might also decide to be honest with ourselves and say, look, it’s the end of the working day. I haven’t got much left in the tank to have this difficult conversation. I’d be better suited to do it tomorrow morning when I’m fresh, when I’ve had a good night’s sleep, and maybe some more time to reflect on how to do it.
“That’s not procrastination, because we’re, we’re being rational, we’re being planned, we’re being intentional about it. As long as we’re being honest. And as long as we actually have that conversation the next day. We need to watch out for stories we’re telling ourselves about why it’s a good idea to delay.”
How to tell the difference
As I explain in the latest podcast episode, we might label our delaying tactics ‘reflection’, ‘research’ or ‘consultation’ with others. So we need to be honest with ourselves that this additional effort is actually moving the task forward – or whether it’s simply a nice way of describing our efforts to avoid the discomfort of actually completing the task.
One question I ask my clients when exploring this phenomenon: what if you explained your rationale for delaying to a close colleague. Would they agree that the delay was worthwhile? Or might they honestly wonder why you’re not taking action sooner? Sometimes, the very prospect of verbalising our irrational delaying tactics is enough to highlight that we’re procrastinating. No actual conversation is necessary.
In the next post…
In part two of this series, I’m going to explore some of the reasons we procrastinate. It’s not as simple as a ‘character flaw’ or ‘moral failing’. Far from it! In the meantime, you can check out the first podcast in this series, where I also take a look at how procrastination isn’t always obvious and can easily be overlooked or missed while we’re all so ‘busy’.