Procrastination & Psychology: 6 checklists for better self-motivation

procrastination is a complex topic for which there are just as many Solutions gives. An overview in list form.

Where does procrastination actually come from and why do we see it so negatively?

No doubt, procrastination has a negative reputation, but it doesn't necessarily have to negative be. Because postponing Tasks, can have both advantages and disadvantages. As part of a lecture that I gave at a conference at Rothenfels Castle in the Spessart, I worked out the essential aspects of the topic.

It became clear that the topic is quite complex: some People finding ways, how procrastination can be used to one's advantage while others experience the long-term negative effects.

The original one is here Significance by no means as negative as we understand it today, as it comes from a time when work had to be postponed until the next morning due to a lack of electric light. But what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Benefits of Procrastination

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1. Self-regulation: Procrastination can be viewed as a form of self-regulation. In certain situations, a problem can resolve itself or someone else can take over the task, reducing your own workload.
2. Prioritization: Postponing tasks can lead to natural prioritization. Urgent matters come into focus, while less important matters may naturally fade into the background.
3. Creativity and idea development: Sometimes short breaks and postponing tasks can lead to a change in perspective that produces creative ideas and innovative solutions. Sometimes it's really just better to wait until the next morning instead of continuing to work when you're tired.

Disadvantages of procrastination

1. Loss of quality: Constantly putting off tasks can lead to a loss of quality in work as there is no time for thorough work and the tasks may be completed under time pressure.
2. Relationship tensions: When procrastination leads to work obligations, relationships with colleagues, bosses or customers can be strained. Reliability and trust can suffer.
3. Psychological stress: Procrastination can lead to an increase in psychological pressure. Unfinished tasks create loose ends in the mind, causing a feeling of incompleteness and uncertainty.

Excursus: Psychological background of the loose ends

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The psychological background of the loose ends that arise from procrastination can be complex. A key factor is often avoiding unpleasant ones emotions like Anxiety from failure, insecurity or perfectionism. Procrastinating on tasks can provide temporary relief by avoiding confronting these emotions.

The Problem The thing is that the loose ends in the Head, which arise from unfinished tasks, a constant latent source of Stress can be. Pressure increases when tasks remain unfinished and self-esteem can suffer.

To achieve long-term positive results, it is important to address the underlying reasons for procrastination and Strategies to develop to overcome these challenges. This may include creating clear goals, dealing with perfectionism, and developing self-motivation techniques.

Personally, I find it very fascinating how people put things on hold and then seamlessly change them after six months Communication can start again - then I'm usually busy with something completely different. But there are different ways of working.

Causes of procrastination and solutions

But what are the causes of procrastination? And what could possible solutions look like?

I. Not being able to say no

Some people get bogged down in tasks because they have allowed themselves to be burdened too much Executive or your colleagues. The reason for this is usually that they are just bad No can say. There are various reasons for this, some of which may be a little deeper. There are the following causes of not being able to say no:

1. Fear of rejection: Some people fear that saying “no” to a request or request could lead to rejection or conflict. Therefore, they are more likely to say “yes” to avoid confrontation.
2. Excessive sense of responsibility/duty: Individuals with a strong sense of responsibility tend to commit to many tasks or obligations, even when it exceeds their capacity.#
3. Missing boundaries: A lack of clear personal boundaries can cause people to have difficulty saying "no" because they don't know exactly where to prioritize their own needs.
4. Unconscious motives: Sometimes pressure is even exerted on you unconsciously/appellatively, from which you believe you cannot escape.
5. Deeper causes or traumas: However, sometimes the causes lie deeper, for example people deny their needs due to childhood experiences or traumatic experiences, for example because they have experienced that they will be punished for it. Or people who grew up with great insecurity and have learned to pay more attention to the needs of those around them than to their own.

Solutions for not saying no:

1. set limits: Recognize that setting boundaries is healthy and necessary. It helps you protect yourself and focus your energy on the things that matter to you.
2. Clear communication: Learn to communicate your needs and boundaries clearly and respectfully. You can say “no” politely but firmly while explaining your reasons. Attention: However, you are not always in the (power) position to really say no, for example to your boss.
3. Set priorities: Set clear priorities for your time and resources. By paying attention to your own needs, you can better decide when to say “no.”
4. Self-reflection/therapy: Think about why it is hard for you to say “no.” Identify fears or insecurities and work to understand and overcome them. Work on your self-esteem to become more confident in your decisions. Increased self-esteem makes it easier to say “no”. Sometimes psychotherapy helps.

II. Lack of intrinsic motivation

If you can't motivate yourself to do any work, you're often missing your own work intrinsic Motivation Plus, say, you can see it Sinn not behind it. For example, when colleagues or bosses give you tasks that you don't see the benefit of or, in the worst case, find completely idiotic.

By the way, a motivational seminar won't help, if you don't have any convincing reasons for doing this thing now, you'll only approach it with great internal resistance and keep allowing yourself to be distracted. There are various approaches to improving your own motivation that, in my opinion, work more or less well:

1. Working without distractions: Create a work-friendly environment and minimize distractions. Use techniques like turning off notifications during work hours, distraction-free writing, etc. How well this works depends on each individual: I personally find such techniques rather ineffective, as you always find distraction when you don't feel like doing something. It would therefore be more important to consider why personal messages are now more important to you than your oh-so-important job - for example, because Whatsapp gives you a kind of instant gratification that you lack in your job.
2. Time management techniques: Use methods like the Pomodoro Technique to combine focused work intervals with short breaks. Choose a task: Choose a task you want to complete. Set a timer for 25 minutes (a Pomodoro) and work focused and uninterrupted on the selected task for 25 minutes. Take a short break. After the timer expires, take a short break of about 5 minutes. Stand up, stretch, do something relaxing. Repeat the steps. After completing four Pomodoros (i.e. after a total of 100 minutes of work), take a longer break of around 15-30 minutes. If distractions or thoughts arise during a Pomodoro, jot them down briefly on a piece of paper. This allows you to let go of your thoughts without interrupting the current task.
3. Question intrinsic motivation: It is better to think fundamentally about what motivates you to do this task. Find ways to make tasks more interesting. Reward yourself after completing tasks. Or are you looking for new challenges. Or to go deeper, ask yourself why you are doing this job in the first place - money or being able to afford the next vacation is actually a motivator if you don't have any and you may have to remind yourself of that. Find the reasons behind the task. Emphasize the long-term benefits and try to make personal connections to the task. In this way, for example, I always do the unpleasant tasks first, then they are gone and my head is free for more pleasant things.
4. Prioritizen you Tasks and focusnShe sme on one task after another: To do this, break large tasks into smaller parts. A good method for this is the Eisenhower window, named after the former US President Eisenhower, with which tasks are classified according to their urgency and importance. In this method, tasks are divided into four quadrants: There are tasks that Urgent and important, which require immediate attention, such as emergencies or short-term deadlines. These tasks should be addressed immediately. But if you look closely, these are very few. Then there are tasks that Not urgent, but important, so long-term, strategic tasks that do not require immediate urgency but are important in the long term. Focusing on this quadrant can enable proactive and preventative action. Then there is Urgent but Not Important Tasks, which often seem urgent at first, but are not essential in the long term. They could be interruptions, unexpected requests, or immediate needs that are not strategic in the long term. If possible, these tasks should be delegated to someone else. And there are tasks that... Not Urgent and Not Important are. They can be viewed as distractions or a waste of time. Eliminate these if possible.
5. Change processes in the company: Finally, if you see that you are constantly being given unpleasant tasks and have concrete suggestions on how you can optimize the processes in the company, you can also try to address them. But this can be annoying because in some companies the processes are so deadlocked that new suggestions only cause disruption. It is often not the case that employees receive more information than is absolutely necessary. Sometimes, for example, you are used to drive a project against the wall, as one of our authors told me. So if after the analysis you find that you are permanently dissatisfied, you should consider changing your environment.

III. Fears and perfectionism

The last point in particular shows that it is not always effective to look for the causes of procrastination only within yourself. Sometimes there are deeper causes that cannot be influenced.

This also applies, for example, if you are afraid of the huge amount of work or if you have taken on too much due to overestimation of yourself or perfectionism. What helps against this:

1. Priorities: Identify the most important tasks and work on them first. Avoid wasting time on unimportant or easy-to-do tasks.
2. Clear targets: Set clear, achievable goals and break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Realize that even smaller steps lead to success.
3. Dealing with fears: Acknowledge your fears and work on developing a positive mindset. Accept that mistakes are normal and can serve as learning opportunities.
4. Sense of reality: Accept that perfection is not always achievable. Set realistic standards and allow yourself to complete tasks even if they are not perfect.
5. Been Sie nice to itself himself: Recognize your skills and achievements. Build self-confidence by celebrating small successes and cultivating positive self-talk.
6. Recognize structural problems: Realize that sometimes there are structural problems too. For example, a start-up culture that suggests that you can do anything if you only sleep 4 hours a night vs. a bureaucracy and culture in Germany that is particularly skeptical about small start-ups, which also brings with them many disadvantages.

Excursus: What really defines high performers?

For example, I have this one Sales-Director of Google Ireland, who sat across from me surprisingly relaxed and said that she doesn't let the busy culture at Google affect her, takes her breaks and vacations and spends as much free time as possible outside of the company.

Conversely, I occasionally wonder how many people can only manage their high-performance office life with pills. Therefore, I invite you as a reader to... Perspektive to change: Is it really always about faster, further, better, higher?

Finally, a brief outlook: Can artificial intelligence help overcome procrastination?

artificial Intelligence is on everyone's lips because it can help, especially routine work clear to be done faster and more efficiently. So it can be a great step forward for personal efficiency. But can it also defeat procrastination?

On the one hand, yes, because many tools can potentially take on boring, demotivating routine tasks. On the other hand, some things are not yet fully developed. Working it out and trying it out also costs time and creates new potential for procrastination. And with tools like these, demands are increasing again Employees.

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