![]() MY NEW BLOG: Today’s topic is procrastination, something I am an expert on. Ironically it’s taken me almost an entire day to sit down and write this because I’ve been faffing about making tiktoks, wrapping presents, surfing Amazon for crap I don’t need and sending emails here and there and playing with my cat. Usually writing a feature this length would take me less than an hour. I am a terrible procrastinator, I leave everything until the last minute and then when the deadline looms, BOOM! I am on it; completely focused. I don’t know why I do it but I have always worked this way. I think it’s the rebel in me. I have never responded well to being told what to do since a child and always have to do things on my terms. Being self employed, I have to manage my own time, some days better than others. Looking into the psychology of procrastination I have discovered that we procrastinate to put off chores we don’t like, or tasks that give us stress and anxiety as we think we won’t do them well but that’s not the case with me. I don’t have a fear of failure, if anything I am very confident about my work. I love my job I love writing, And I’m rather fabulous at it. So why do I procrastinate? According to the New York Times, it has nothing to do with self control. Phew, because I haven’t got much of that. They say it’s to do with bad moods which again, is something I can’t comprehend as I am rarely full of rage unless someone has pissed me off. Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem,” says Dr. Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa. That does make more sense to me as I am wildly emotional. “Procrastination isn’t a unique character flaw or a mysterious curse on your ability to manage time, but a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks — boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt and beyond.” he adds. In other areas of my life this also resonates. I don’t have incredible attention to detail with mundane tasks and I put off looking at bank statements, I never clean (I would rather pay someone else to do it) and I cook with resentment. I pick and choose the jobs I like to do, similarly to my work, starting with the shortest task first to feel like I’ve achieved something quickly. It’s like a dopamine hit. Maybe it’s linked to my insomnia too? Perhaps, as the jobs I should have done during the day prey on my mind subconsciously at night There’s a lot of negativity associated with procrastination but as someone who usually looks on the brighter side of life, let’s look at the positives to it. Urgency to complete a task puts me into a fully focused mood as the deadline edges closer and I become more energised as the adrenaline kicks in. Stepping away from my laptop isn’t a bad thing either as I go in search of other things to do instead of what I am supposed to be doing. Movement is good, it’s healthy and better than being sat on my arse all day. I am not a robot. A 2012 study published in Psychological Science found that participants who were asked to daydream before completing a task used more creative problem-solving, compared to those who didn’t. I can relate to this too. One time I went to marriage counselling with my ex husband (that worked!) he told the counsellor he couldn’t stand me living in a dream world. I told him it was better than the reality I lived in. Daydreaming, procrastinating… whatever. It works for me and essentially I get the job done rather well.
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