Getting motivated when you’re not, let’s face it, is hard.
Sometimes it is a physical issue like an illness, depression, condition etc. keeping you from doing what you want to do. Those need to be addressed first before any mental motivation issues.
What about people who do not have physical a condition?
It could be a lot of things.
You’re Not Lazy!
When we procrastinate our temptation is to first call ourselves lazy. Maybe it’s not laziness at all. Because most of the time, it is not.
There is usually some sort of block. A block we’re often not aware of.
I have a client who is not lazy, but when it comes time to do a certain business task that she knows she needs to do, she puts it off, causing her to work on the week-end to make up for it. She realizes the situation is not optimal, but that’s how it’s been for a while now.
The standard fallback answer is, “I don’t feel like it.” To get past procrastination it’s time to dig deeper. Why don’t you feel like it?
That’s where the real gold is. That’s when we can uncover our real reasons for putting things off.
Many Possibilities
The answers could be many different things. Maybe someone is carrying a large emotional or mental load so taking on one more thing is overwhelming. Maybe the task requires being seen which triggers invisibility issues. Maybe it’s a confidence issue, afraid what you do won’t be good enough. Or the common fears – fear of failure or fear of success. Or just not having enough bandwidth or time to start, much less complete the task.
As you can see, none of those issues are laziness. There’s something going on below the surface causing the procrastination, even when we know we ‘should’ do the task. Keep in mind the task doesn’t need to be something big like a presentation for the corporate bosses or a new program you’re developing. It can be something as simple as doing the laundry or other household chores. Procrastination is procrastination. Just some things are bigger than others.
It’s kind of like weight loss. Someone can go on multiple diets, lose weight, then gain it back. You can make lifestyle changes but then stress hits and you’re back to over-eating. That’s when it’s time to look inside and see what’s really bothering you and figure out why you are not coping well. Something is triggering the over-eating.
The same is true for procrastination. Something is triggering the delay.
All the time management strategies can be tried. All the best affirmations can be used. But if you aren’t getting to the root of the issue, those will fail. Over and over again.
Maybe you just don’t like doing the thing that needs to be done. Talking yourself into it in that case often doesn’t help.
Ideas to Get Going
Experts say start with the small things to get motivation going, then finish off with the hard or big things. Other experts say start with the hard or big thing to get it out of the way. Personally, I think it sometimes comes down to personality differences. Some people are better at tackling the big thing first, others need the smaller ones to warm up. Once you get a few small or quick things done, then your momentum is going, then you can do the bigger thing.
Reward systems work great too. It can be a sweet treat or a bag of chips. I try to stay away from that because those extra calories add up. But, if you were saving that brownie for your coffee break anyway, then great, let that be your reward.
Rewards can be all kinds of things. They’re not limited to food. It can be allowing yourself 10 minutes to scroll on Facebook. Or 15 minutes to catch up with your bestie. Or finish a chapter in your favorite book. Or take a walk around the block or your lobby if you work in an office building.
If I’m having a hard time getting motivated, I often will postpone a favorite activity until I get X done. Once I get it done, I get my reward. It works wonders! And by the time I get one thing done, my mojo is going so strong that I can knock 5 or 10 things off my list. Funny how that works but it does. But that only works if it’s a simple issue like I just don’t want to. If it’s something bigger, then yes, I have to resolve that first for the best results.
The opposite of rewards can work too. Look at the impact putting off those undesirable tasks have on your life. Like with my client who doesn’t like to do one thing. The end result is working week-ends. That could be totally avoided if she’d just ‘do the thing.’ But ‘just doing the thing’ is what gets her stuck. In her case the impact of taking away precious fun time isn’t enough to motivate her to get going. But for some people it could be.
Her issue instead seems to be perfectionism. Perfectionists have their own unique struggle because they either can’t start something for fear it won’t be perfect or once they start, they can’t finish until it’s perfect. They fear other people will judge them when in fact for all of us the worst critic is ourselves. We judge ourselves much harsher than most people would.
Perfectionism is a whole other subject, but it often is a source of procrastination.
Ask Yourself
Next time you’re stuck or can’t get motivated ask yourself: Why am I resisting?
Then keep digging:
- What am I scared of?
- What am I worried about?
- What do I feel/think about my abilities to do this?
- Am I being a perfectionist?
- Add your own question to the list.
Once you’ve identified the reason for your procrastination, then it’s a whole lot more effective to work on the underlying issue than it is to put a stick of dynamite under you to get going! Believe me, there are times when I thought about it! LOL
And once you’ve dealt with the underlying issue, then guess what? It won’t surface again! And if it does, repeat what you did the first time. Big things often take repetition before they release their hold on us.
It will feel like a big burden has been released once you’ve identified what’s stopping you. And even better once you conquer it.
In the meantime, if you need to have your bag of chips to motivate you, feel free. If you’d rather take a walk around the park, I’ll meet you there. 😊
Want some insight on your procrastionation? Then USE YOUR SUPERPOWER! YOUR INTUITION! It will give you the answers and never steer you wrong!
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