A recent study found that around 80% of salaried workers procrastinate between 1 to 4 hours a day!
What are the main reasons we procrastinate?
1️⃣Lack of clarity: sometimes we know what we want but we don’t know how to get there. It can be a new task or project and that we are not sure how to address, organize, or where to start. A confused mind will always tend to postpone.
If you feel you are lacking clarity, it is important that you dedicate some thinking time. It works very well to discuss the topic with your team, or your leadership coach. You will be able to see the topic from different perspectives and get the clarity you need.
2️⃣Fear of failure. Lack of certainty triggers fears of failure. You may be uncertain about your self and have low self-confidence. This makes you doubt the ability to complete a task.
Our fears are created when we feel unsafe, or not under control. If you have fear of failure most probably these fears are in painful experience in your or situations that you are imagining will happen in your future.
Start recognizing that if you are focusing on your past, you will recreate it and bring it to your future. In this same way, if you focus all your attention in the future, your attention is on things that you can’t control. This will cause even more fear. Take responsibility and remind yourself that you are the one creating your reality. Focus on the present and especially on the things you can control and can influence.
3️⃣Too many distractions: we live in a world full of distractions. Social media, Netflix, and email tend to be the main distractions nowadays. How much time are you investing a day in distractions? Be more aware of how you are investing your time, and identify any patterns you may have. For example, you may check your social media once an hour for 10 min. Awareness of your distractions habits is the key to change this behavior.
4️⃣Inner conflict. If you are not feeling aligned to your job you will feel less motivated, energetic, or driven. This will affect the amount of action you are taking. If you feel without energy, motivation when doing your work, it is time to start doing some reflection and inner work to get clarity about what is causing this. A good way to start is to rate yourself from 0 to 10 how satisfied are you with your job. 0 being not satisfied at all and 10 being really satisfied. After giving a rate, ask yourself, what is missing? what can make my work more fulfilling?
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Identifying your main reason(s) procrastinate is the first step to change that behavior. Changing beliefs, and perspectives around tasks, success, and time will help you create sustainable results.
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