Procrastination is a topic that comes up at some point with everyone - for various reasons we put things off that we know we should be doing. I just got back from a long vacation, and that first day of getting back into work mode and out of play mode (for the most part) usually tends to feel like it drags on forever. It gets easy to feel like putting things on the back burner or drag things out, which creates a vicious cycle of procrastination. Why do we do this?
For some people it's fairly easy to get themselves to do things they've been putting off. It's as simple as removing distractions (which can help everyone) and then filling that time with finishing more important things instead. When I have assignments I need to get done removing distractions is essential because it removes the temptation to stop what I'm doing and start something else (the looks more fun at the moment) instead. Taking the time to outline things and break bigger projects into manageable steps helps, too. But sometimes that isn't enough. When that's the case, it's the attitude that's the problem.
Negative thought patterns tend to contribute to procrastination. If you realize that your thoughts at any time are leaning more toward to negative than the positive side of things, something needs to change. It's easy to get bogged down by negative thoughts, but this is also something you can change once you take notice of it. Journaling (overview of your day and what happened in it) has been proven to help banish negative thought. The main reason it helps is because it takes a load off your mind and puts your thoughts onto paper, making it easier to analyze things you've been mulling over and then let them go. A lot of people are analytical thinkers and find it hard to let go of things until they feel like they've mentally sorted them out. Journaling streamlines that process, talking to someone about whatever you've been mulling over (sort of audio journaling if you think about it) can help as well.
While procrastination is a bad habit according to most people, it is also a natural behavior. Even animals in the wild exhibit some signs of it, they stay confined to one small area where they get most of the water, food, and basic needs met and generally don't do much beyond that. There are animals that have hundreds of times bigger roaming areas available than they typically use, who continue to stay in a smaller general space. It's easy and normal to feel unmotivated to do more when things are already okay. We're creatures of comfort. The key to being motivated to do more than what we're doing to just get by is 1 part desire and 1 part structure. Don't be hard on yourself for not being motivated or not doing more, but do realize that it's a natural way to feel and can be changed if want to change it. Either accept things as "okay" as they are, or find out what's driving your desires and identify the structure you need to change them.
Self discipline is similar to a muscle, in the sense that the more you practice it, the easy and more natural it comes to practice. Impulsiveness is a major hindrance when procrastination is concerned. Sometimes even when distractions are removed it's hard to stop thinking about them, or keep from getting bored. Delayed gratification is a good tool to get impulsive behaviors under control. What do you catch yourself doing when you should be doing something else? Once you identify what those main things are set up situations where you can choose between a small reward in the short term and a bigger reward in the long term, and attempt to choose the latter. This conditions you to be more patient and as a result (besides having your work done faster) it tends to motivate people do more naturally. The discipline to stop procrastination is a slow but not impossible process.
I'll leave it there, but if you haven't checked out "The Now Habit" by Dr Neil Fiore it's an amazing resource for figuring out why exactly we procrastinate, and how to overcome it.
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