Ep 141: The stories you tell yourself when you procrastinate

When was the last time you procrastinated? Before you start to feel guilty or ashamed, let me ask you this: what did you tell yourself about the task that made you feel better about delaying it.

In the latest episode of the podcast, I take a look at the common stories we tell ourselves when we’re procrastinating and explore the whole concept from another perspective. Instead of a form of laziness or some kind of moral failing, procrastination is simply a coping strategy centred on avoidance.

Avoidance gives us some short-term relief from the discomfort associated with the task. But it also creates problems for us in the future.

To beat our procrastination, it’s important to recognise the procrastination stories we buy into as a form of avoidance. Then we can do something about the habit. Next episode, I’ll share some practical tips for beating the procrastination habit for good. 

As ever, please get in touch with your questions and let us know what you think of the show. You can email us: podcast at WorkLifePsych dot com. Or message us on Threads, Mastodon or Instagram.

Thanks for listening!

Resources for this episode

Blog post: ‘The advantages of procrastination’ – https://www.worklifepsych.com/the-advantages-of-procrastination/

Blog post: ‘Beating procrastination – let’s make a start’ – https://www.worklifepsych.com/beating-procrastination-lets-make-a-start/