Procrastination

I’m Back

Ah, the foibles of man. And by man, I mean me. Aaron here. Foibles is such a fun word, isn’t it? Mostly a product of my foibles, my little mistakes and weaknesses, I have the hardest time dealing with a phenomenon that I’m sure you’re familiar with…procrastination. That’s right! I, your author, am human. I know it’s a shock. Take a minute to feel your feelings, identify them, and then accept the disappointment that I share with you, namely that I am not a divine being of omniscient understanding. Though I happily accept these limitations, I would understand if you cannot. Though daunted, I nonetheless must persevere! And so, I will. Did I mention that I’m prone to procrastinate?

Procrastination

I did. Funnily enough, the phenomenon is an experience that is nearly universally (globally?) experienced. Most of you, dear readers (I couldn’t resist), will be able to relate to this one; procrastination. An almost positive sounding word, procrastination is an experience that is deeply rooted in how we (humans) process emotions and regulate their effects. You may have the impression that procrastination is a ‘laziness’ thing and that you should just get on with it. But you and I both know that that doesn’t really help and only rarely does it actually work to get you to do the thing, instead it mostly just makes you feel guilty. And thus, a cycle is born! Not a fun one and definitely not a productive one; the cycle of procrastination is a self-fulfilling one in that the more you procrastinate a specific task or whatever it is your avoiding, the more deeply rooted the urge to procrastinate becomes for that specific thing.

And that’s the rub, isn’t it? How do we break a cycle that we didn’t initiate, that we don’t want, and that we may not be aware that it exists? Well, the good news is that you can. The bad news is that it’s a bit of a process and in order to be successful at your specific solution there’s a few things you have to know first. Some of them are harder than others, but all of them are useful skills to practice and all of them are achievable with time and effort (and maybe a little guidance if you get stuck, therapy isn’t a dirty word! And it doesn’t have to be a lifelong commitment!) So, what do you have to know before I reveal your personal solution to overcoming procrastination? Keep reading, and when you’re done, don’t hesitate to practice overcoming your procrastinating by leaving a comment or a review at the end of the post. I can’t promise it’ll be worth it, but you’ll probably learn a thing or two if you stick around.

Understanding the Hesitation

Thanks for sticking around, I appreciate the patience. Now, onwards! Procrastination is a processing disruption type of neurological interference which, to avoid lengthy psychotherapeutic jargon, basically boils down to your brain actively telling you to not do the thing; now, it gets more technical than that and there’s diverse studies looking into and publishing research on procrastination, but in essence, your brain is mostly saying ‘nahhh, you ain’t gotta do that right now’. And fortunately (unfortunately?), our brains are still really good at interpreting those types of automated impulses, what some people call gut feelings, even if they aren’t always good at explaining them. So, first and foremost, procrastination is not a product of laziness but is instead an old, almost animal, instinct to put off or avoid unnecessary tasks for more immediate needs and survival; that which can be put off till tomorrow may be better done today but need surpasses all.

The thing is, especially in today’s world, there are a lot of distractions and an almost continuous low level input of information (noises, smells, traffic, lights buzzing, LEDs flashing, etc.) and many of our needs are met so thoroughly or rapidly that we have trouble distinguishing between want and need with many of our daily ‘needs’ actually being entirely artificial; think of being on time, work deadlines, school start and end times, and grocery store hours, all of these things have real world consequence, but not one of them can accurately be labeled a ‘need’. But they feel like needs; and thus, procrastination. Remember earlier I said a processing disruption type of interference? Yeah, that’s where this comes in. It’s all in the way that your brain interacts and talks to itself.

Fighting the System

I mentioned the instinct type of gut feeling earlier? Yeah, that’s a result of your brain interacting and talking to yourself. Part of the reason that no two people are ever exactly alike is that we all process inputs differently, we all have unique points of views and differing perceptions of things and part of that individuality is a result of your brain choosing what to prioritize at any one moment and the chemical and electrical impulses that drive those actions. Phew, that’s cerebral. But to get back to procrastination, the brain is sending warring impulses between two separate parts of the brain; the part (amygdala) of the brain primarily responsible for emotions is fighting with the more rational part (prefrontal cortex) primarily responsible for being responsible. We generally get to choose how responsible we want to be, but rarely do we get to choose our emotions. And so, each of us has a different ratio and we all react differently to those impulses. It’s also why it’s an almost globally shared experience and yet reactions can be so varied.

Earlier I said that procrastination is not a result of laziness, and that’s true; it’s much more a natural phenomenon. However, that does not mean that there isn’t a bit of laziness inherent in overcoming some forms of procrastination. Ultimately, we can limit and control some of our responses to procrastination and for most people, most of the time, the process we’re about to go over will be enough to overcome the procrastination. For others, it won’t even make a scratch. But that’s ok because the more we practice, the better we get, the more confidently we can apply that skill and improve over time.

To Be Continued…

Well…I never said that I’d give it all to you all at once, did I? Exactly, and there’s absolutely no way that I’m procrastinating. Absolutely not, just encouraging additional engagement is all.

See ya Thursday! Don’t forget to check out the resources tab, I’ll figure out how to link it eventually! Thanks for the attention!

Aaron Rushing, LCSWA
Strong Foundations Counseling, PLLC
Office: (336) 609-6844
Fax: (336) 217-9259
admin@strongfoundationspllc.com