A Message for Dawdlers

We’ve all dragged our feet at the thought of a scary, looming project deadline ahead of us. This mental paralysis generates incremental stress and anxiety that would otherwise be resolved by action. Fear of the impending deadline often prevents us from completing a task until the very last minute. The last-minute flurry of activity leading up to a deadline usually means you don’t have time to enjoy the satisfaction of completing a task.

This article provides you with four strategies to eliminate the mental roadblock to project completion.

Make Your Bed

Keep it simple. Make the accomplishment of basic tasks routine, so you have the confidence to tackle bigger, more complex tasks. In a 2014 graduation speech at the University of Texas, US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven said,

“If you want to change the world, start… by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the [day's first task]. It will give you a small sense of pride and… encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. If, by chance, you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that’s made. That you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”

Don’t Provide a Room for the Unwanted Squatter

Quick action at the onset of a project assignment provides you with time to revel in your accomplishment. Dawdlers have the misfortune of missing the period of enjoyment upon task completion because it occurs at (or perhaps past) the due date. The Economist describes the procrastination paradigm as this:

“Procrastination lies between logic and emotion, between ambition and achievement. Bridging that gap can be difficult, even when you know full well that if you do, the dreaded task will no longer lurk at the back of your mind like an unwanted squatter. Quick progress is difficult but rewarding, offering a high that is undiscoverable to those who leave things till the very end.”

Don’t Give Yourself A Deadline

Although it may seem impractical, develop a list of projects that need to be done - but don’t assign deadlines, at least not long ones. Prioritize the tasks in a way that makes sense to you (even if it’s in order of easiest to hardest!), and proceed. A Harvard Business Review article summarizes the surprising results of a survey to study the psychology of procrastination, and provides us with this conclusion:

“R.I.P” New Yorker Cartoon by Drew Dervanich

“Deadlines motivate us to do things we might otherwise put off, but the relationship isn’t always clear-cut. For example, although a long deadline theoretically gives us more time to finish a task, it often means that we postpone it over and over until eventually, we forget all about it… A deadline signals the importance and urgency of a task, so not surprisingly, people often interpret a long deadline as permission to delay. You might assume that the lack of a deadline would be viewed in much the same light. But in fact, people tend to interpret it in just the opposite way, as meaning ‘Get this done as soon as possible!’ The urgency and pressure are implied.”

Practice Self-Compassion

Self-awareness is part of the reason procrastination drives us crazy. At the same time we are avoiding a task, we know that inaction is a bad idea. It’s an irrational cycle: “The thoughts we have about procrastination typically exacerbate our distress and stress, which contribute to further procrastination.”

Break down your task into manageable parts and think about what each incremental step will yield in terms of success. Reframe negative thoughts into positive, ‘can do’ thoughts. Remove temptations or distractions that might impede your ability to accomplish the discrete goals that you’ve set for yourself. Make sure your tasks, whether self-assigned or given by others, provide you with meaning and happiness. (If they don’t, read our article about Finding Your Ikigai.)

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