Procrastination

Let's Start with Statistics

Many of these statistics are from Solving Procrastination and Zippia: 

• Roughly 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators.
• 80-95% of college students procrastinate.
• The average adult spends over 3.5 hours procrastinating daily.
• 88% of employees procrastinate at least 1 hour per day. 
• 14-29 year olds are most likely to procrastinate. 
• Chronic procrastination has increased from 5% in the 1970s to over 20% today. 
• Higher levels of procrastination are linked to higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and poor sleep according to an article in the National Library of Medicine. 

Do you feel called out yet? I know I do!

Procrastination Proof
Jon Acuff recently posted his latest book, Procrastination Proof. Jon has regularly noted his procrastinating tendencies in his many earlier books. He's become a "goal guru" as his business platform. I'm a fan of his and have noted him in earlier blog posts here, here, and here. 

Jon's current book urges readers to aim for remarkable! (I love that attitude) He suggests four processes to move forward:

• Dream: 10% of time spent
• Plan:15% of the process
• Do: 70% of your activity
• Review: 5% - important but don't get stuck here

Planning Makes It Easier
Jon focused on how his Night Me plans for Morning Me—tomorrow is made much easier by planning today. Take a few minutes to schedule and prepare for the next day before settling in for the night. This may include packing your lunch the night before, packing or setting out the work-out clothes and business items to be ready to go—no excuses.

Especially for entrepreneurs and those working from home, when your choice is everything (completely open schedule to plan), you often can't choose anything. You're overwhelmed by choices and possibility so do nothing and procrastinate.

Stress Stacking
Many procrastinate because they see the long list of items all seemingly due now. Jon suggests we dial back "right now" to make your options more manageable to take action. 

• What's due in the next hour?
• What's due today?
• What's due in a week?

Get Into the Mindset
Reflect on your goal and ask yourself

• what would a healthy person do? (if you have exercise, diet, or weight goals)
• what would a remarkable leader do?
• what would a [INSERT JOB] do? 

Get rid of the "I" reference to reduce procrastination and depersonalize. 

Additional Mindset Ideas

• Make sure your actions match your intentions.
• The person who still has to do it is me.
• Never confuse preference with requirements. (while you may prefer to work sitting in a park, it's not a requirement)
• Do it everywhere—find a new location if needed to shake things up. 
• Run toward the fear. Look at it but don't obsess about it. 

Perfection
As a procrastination tool, perfection keeps us stuck in Plan mode—always far too many items to check off to really move forward.

Try auditioning dreams—test them for a month, then 2 months, and later 4 months to reduce the feeling of commitment that may be attached and holding you back. They don't have to last forever! (think of it as a henna tattoo rather than permanent ink)

Motivation Portfolio
Jon suggests we create a Motivation Portfolio of anything and everything that motivates you so you can pull them out in the thick of Doing when you start losing energy and procrastination sneaks in. Ideas of what may motivate you:

• Music: tunes get you moving!
• New skills acquisition excites you.
• Bills are due (#reality)
• Consider how tough it is for others (someone's always a bit worse off or faces more challenges than you)
• If you don't do the thing, what would you have missed? (think of George in It's A Wonderful Life)

You don't feel motivation, you have to practice it. 

Review
Tracking progress is the only way to review. Consider focusing on one of these aspects—keep it simple. Don't get bogged down in details which will only give you more excuses to procrastinate.

• Actions
• Time
• Results

A few random ideas that struck me while reading:

• Remarkable is an infinite game with no limits!
• In the battle against procrastination, you are selling you to you - choose remarkable! Along this line, he noted we're selling to ourselves, not lying to ourselves to motivate action.
• Permission + action makes dreams come true. 
• The difference between dreams and done is action.
• Dream big/Do small - Jon suggests small activities add up to big things.
• Jon shared a story of a school that didn't give students an F but a "Not Yet," encouraging a work in progress.
• Do less of what you like and more of what you love. An example was you may like to scroll on social media, but you love holding the book you just wrote! 

Procrastination costs you Time which costs you your life. 

Your Turn!
I don't think I'm making too large a claim to say we all procrastinate to some degree in various circumstances. 

How do you battle procrastination? Any tips or tricks for what's worked to motivate yourself?

Love to hear about it - Let's Chat or message me on LinkedIn or Substack! 

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