I have a tendency to procrastinate when something seems unappealing or difficult to do. I might avoid doing something when I don’t know how or where to start.
I think procrastination can stem from fear, indecision, difficulty in doing something, or timing. Timing may be a valid reason to wait, and depending on what we want to do, a lack of money or a lack of time legitimately holds us back. The risk of procrastination is missing out on something or feeling the pressure of meeting a deadline from waiting too long.
Procrastination Is Due to Stress
According to motivational speaker Mel Robbins, however, procrastination doesn’t have to do with your work. It’s due to stress, and avoiding the thing that is stressing you, in turn, is a form of stress relief. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it makes sense.
In a video on her Instagram page, Robbins advises reframing the way you look at procrastination. Instead of thinking, “you’re a procrastinator,” she suggests, “you have a habit of procrastinating” because you can learn how to break a habit.
The Three Parts of a Habit
Robbins explains that there are three parts of a habit:
- the trigger
- the pattern
- the reward
In the case of procrastination, stress is the trigger, avoidance is the pattern, and stress relief is the reward.
How to Change the Habit
Robbins’ advice on how to change the habit of avoiding work is to realize you’re stressed, interrupt the habit or pattern (by counting), and then work for five minutes. By working for just five minutes, not only are you not avoiding, you’re likely to continue working.
Next time I find myself avoiding doing something, I’ll try Robbins’ advice for breaking the habit of procrastinating.
