The Heart of Procrastination

We live in a culture that rewards people for getting more and more done. As companies downsize two jobs merge into one. Children have more scheduled activities, and entrepreneurs experience a constant pressure to be working.

I wonder if this focus on productivity has anything to do with the Puritans who founded North America. They felt that idle hands were the devil's playthings, so if we're not working we're going straight to hell.

We therefore push ourselves and pile on the (self) expectations. And what happens when pile on too much stuff? We collapse into a puddle of guilt. We then try again, by resetting our SMART goals, creating a new schedule with deliverables and dates… then do nothing.

Why? We (yes I include myself in this) have all read the productivity books , the organizing websites, and the time management tools. Yet we never seem to get enough done.

Let's take a look at our expectations. When I map out everything I expect myself to do, I end up with a 16 hour day. That's just not going to happen—8 hours is about my limit. Periodically I take a look at my expectations and cut some things out or delay others. Without constant attention, however, goals creep back in and suddenly I'm freaking out about all the things I *need* to get done and end up spending three days in a row watching the entire season of a TV show feeling like a complete and utter loser.

Fortunately I've figured this out and now know the stress triggers that tell me to take a look at my expectations, before I reach the meltdown stage. I've learned why I procrastinate and use those reasons to decide what I will cut out of my to do list and clear away my procrastination habit.

To me, there are three reasons why we procrastinate:

• Disinterest: we don't actually want to do what we've told ourselves to do
• Inertia: a habit of inaction keeps us from starting.
• Fear: of failure, of success, of displeasing the right people or pleasing the wrong

Let's take a look at each one of these reasons and see how we can use them to figure out exactly where to set our self expectations.

Disinterest This is the simplest one. If you take a look at a task you've set yourself and you think "m'eh" or "bleah!" then why are you doing it? What would happen if you just crossed it off your list? Would the world collapse? Highly unlikely. And if it is something that you decide must get done, are you the best person to do it? Can you get someone else to do it?

Inertia
Newton's First Law of Motion says that an object at rest wants to stay at rest. This is the same for actions and habits . The first time we do something new, it costs us a lot more energy and effort than the tenth time we do it.

Fear
I believe that there are two types of fear. One is our intuition telling us this is the wrong path and get off before we run into an oncoming car. The other is our deepest desires whispering in our hearts causing that thrill of fear we get at the top of a roller coaster.

How do we tell the difference? Well, the first is a gut-wrenching ugh while the second is a heart-fluttering whee! If it's the first, then drop whatever you're doing as soon as possible. If it's the second pursue it with all your might.

Now, take a look at your schedule. Write down everything you want to do. Mark all the things you aren't getting done with a D (for disinterest), I (for inertia) or F (for fear). Then get rid of what you can, lowering your expectations to a point where your to do list is actually doable.

Over the next few articles, I will discuss disinterest, inertia and fear in more detail, so don't worry if you found this particular exercise difficult. It'll get easier as you discover more about each topic.