Can you cure procrastination

You scold yourself. You ask yourself, "What's wrong with me? I knew what I needed to do to meet that deadline. Why have I screwed up yet again? You may think the reason you procrastinate is that you have a flawed character or that you're lazy or perhaps self-destructive.

But, as The New York Times revealed in a fascinating new article , the real reason is none of those. It's because the task you're putting off makes you unhappy.

And you're trying to manage your own mood by avoiding something you know will bring you down. Which is a very reasonable thing to do. As Tim Pychyl, psychology professor and a member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa, puts it, "Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem.

If you think about it, you'll likely realize from your own experience that procrastination comes from avoiding negative emotions, not laziness. I recently spent hours digging several large, spiky blackberry plants out of my front yard while procrastinating over making a phone call to schedule a mammogram appointment.

The phone call, and even the exam itself, were much easier to complete than hoisting up spadefuls of earth, tugging on the sprawling roots with all my might, and getting pricked by thorns that went right through my leather gloves. It was my fear of cancer and my dislike of hospitals and X-ray machines that held me back from making the appointment, and clearly not laziness.

I'm betting that you're the same, and the tasks that you put off aren't necessarily effortful. They may be boring or distasteful, or you may resent having to do them. They may come with a risk of bad feelings, for example if you have to fire an employee or make a sales pitch knowing you're likely to be turned down. Or they may be frightening, especially if the task at hand is challenging or something you've never done before and aren't sure you can do well.

Since you completed this task, you feel satisfied. But before you realize it, 25 minutes are gone, and the only thing to show for it is a partially cleared email and a clean desk. Being busy can feel productive, but working on insignificant tasks keeps us from accomplishing important goals we need for success. Instead, use that extra half an hour to work on what actually needs to be completed. You might not finish the task in these short timespans, and as a result, you might not feel immediately satisfied.

But I believe using spare time to focus on important duties will let you make a big dent in what needs to be finished, and you'll be constantly moving closer to a complete project. Occasionally, clients will express to me that they have been putting off their tasks, and they often tell me it's because they lack motivation. But after more than 15 years of working with people, I've found motivation is not the solution to procrastination. Instead of trying to find motivation, identify what emotion would get you to stop procrastinating.

No one can go from sitting on the couch to jumping up and down, ready to get to the gym. But you could shift from procrastinating to feeling curious or interested in something. The question to ask yourself is, "If I'm procrastinating, what would get me out of that feeling? Even if the answer is seemingly negative, I've observed that just about any emotional state with some action behind it can help you combat procrastination.

For example, imagine you are scrolling on social media, putting things off and feeling bored. Then, a thought pops in your head that makes you curious, and you begin thinking of new possibilities. Curious is much more action-oriented than bored, which can move you toward feeling totally motivated or inspired. The format doesn't matter, but making your progress tangible does. Instead of focusing only on what you still need to do, balance it with a representation of what you've done already.

Most likely you'll have a mix of tasks you look forward to doing, tasks about which you feel neutral, and ones you'd rather avoid. Turn the cards over, shuffle them, and put them into a pile. Commit to doing the one on the back of the top card, regardless of which category it falls into.

Did you get one you'd like to avoid? Never mind, you may have much better luck with the next card. This method also brings a welcome element of playfulness into the process. After all, you're not curing cancer unless you are, in which case you really shouldn't procrastinate. Pretend you're a Jedi Knight or Wonder Woman. Sometimes you just don't feel in the right mood to take on a particular task.

If you leave it to chance that mood may never appear. However, you can create it using a method I mention in my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done. It's called the Alter Ego Strategy. Decide what kind of personality or mindset would be most suitable for the task. Then remember vividly a time when you felt that way or imagine how somebody would feel who is great at doing such a task.

It's fine to use a fictional character as your model. Have an annoying form to fill out? Clark Kent might be a good model. Have to confront somebody who sold you a flawed product? Go for Superman or Superwoman. The important aspect of this method is fully getting into the appropriate state.

Close your eyes, imagine the relevant feeling flooding your body. It could be calmness, assertiveness, enthusiasm, or anything else. When you experience it strongly, start the task. If the feeling starts to ebb, take a minute to refresh it. Make perfectionism work for you, not against you Many people are reluctant to start something because they fear they won't be able to do it perfectly.

But first drafts or first efforts are supposed to be flawed. Therefore, if you create a flawed first draft, that's perfect! Once you've created the first version you can be perfect at making revisions - by putting it aside for a little while, getting feedback from others, etc.

Finally, you can be perfect by stopping when you realize that continued changes will only make it different, not better.

When you can't decide Not long ago I met a young writer who had so many ideas he couldn't decide which one to do. Consequently he wasn't working on any of them. When I suggested he just choose one and get on with it, he said, "Yes, but what if I end up choosing an idea that isn't as good as another one?

I said, "Then in six months you'll have one good, finished project instead of several potentially better ones that don't exist.

You probably have pretty good intuition about which of your ideas are worth doing. If you have two that seem equal, flip a coin.