Home
>
Time Management
>
Ending Procrastination: A New Look at the Old Demon

Ending Procrastination: A New Look at the Old Demon

Do you believe that the best way to deal with procrastination is to "get tough" with yourself and "just do it?" Many people take this approach. What's behind it is the sense that procrastination is essentially a character flaw, a weakness, and that the only way to deal with it is to muscle past it through sheer will. But the truth is, there's a more effective way to approach it that also happens to be much more self- respectful.

Essentially, the idea is to identify what's MOTIVATING the procrastination behavior, consider it valid, and then address THAT. For example, you may be putting off doing something because you actually don't know how to do it. The way to solve that would be to get some help. Or, perhaps you're avoiding making a particular phone call because you are afraid of the outcome. One way to address the fear is to schedule a call with someone you trust before and after the fear-inducing call, in order to have support before and after the difficult encounter.

Get the idea? Give up the character flaw idea, and look for what's really underlying the procrastination. Once you know what that is, you can usually figure out a way to deal with it, get unstuck, and get moving again.

What follows are real life examples of how two of my clients solved the problems underlying their procrastination:

PROCRASTINATION: I'm not writing the letter.
PROBLEM: I want the letter to be brilliant and creative but don't feel brilliant and creative about it.
SOLUTION: "I realized it was more important for the letter to be OUT than to be brilliant. Once I decided I could write a less-than-spectacular letter, it became much easier to just sit down and do it."
CONCEPT: Don't get it right, get it written. "Expedient" is not a dirty word. Sometimes, it serves you better to have the B+ letter out in the world already, being read, than to have the A+ letter still sitting in your word processor, unfinished, and nagging at you.

PROCRASTINATION: I'm not unpacking the boxes in my new office.
PROBLEM: Boring!!
SOLUTION: "I hired my [young] daughter to unpack the boxes, shelve the books (I had to tell her where), and dismantle the boxes. She was happy to do the work and earn a little money, and she thought it was cool to help me. I was happy because we got to spend that time together AND . . . the job got done."
CONCEPT: Delegate! If a task seems boring, it's often a good clue that this is a job to delegate. You may need to supervise or train someone to do it, but there is likely to be someone for whom the job would be a plus. Find that person and work out a deal. Delegation arrangements can be paid or bartered in infinite creative ways. Don't be stopped by failure of the imagination.

Here are the steps that you can take when tackling a procrastination. Please note that each step is important. Don't under-respect any of the steps just because you think you already know how to do them. And don't underestimate how long it may take you to master some of these steps. Some people, for example, find it takes a very long time to learn how to stop judging themselves.

Recognize when you are procrastinating.

Notice if you are judging yourself for procrastinating.

If you are judging yourself, stop. If you're not judging yourself, acknowledge yourself for that.

Identify what's motivating the procrastination.

Solve the problem that's underlying (motivating) the procrastination.

Take the action that you no longer need to procrastinate.

Say this to yourself: "Well done!"

Good luck ? and let me know how this works for you!

Sharon Teitelbaum is a Work-Life and Career Coach who works with high achieving women with young children, people at mid-career, and professionals seeking greater career satisfaction or work-life balance. Her book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, is available at her website, http://www.stcoach.com.

Certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Sharon works by phone with clients around the world and in-person in Boston.

She delivers keynotes and workshops on work-life balance issues, has been in national publications including The New York Times and Working Mother Magazine, and has appeared on cable and network television. She publishes http://www.stcoach.com, a newsletter offering practical tips for work-life success.

Sharon has been married for 30 years and is the mother of two amazing young women. You can contact her http://www.stcoach.com.

cleaning help near Mundelein ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

Ending Procrastination: A New Look at the Old Demon

Time Management