The Work We Do to Avoid the Work We Should Do.
The strange psychology of productive procrastination.
You have an annual strategic review to do, or perhaps you have a grant application to finish, or it could simply be a report. And yet it's been on your prioritised list of tasks for four days, and it’s still there, and you tell yourself tomorrow is the day you’re going to do it.
But you don't.
Instead, you clear some email, or you do those little admin tasks that have been piling up and willingly help anyone who asks you for help. Soon, it’s 5:20 pm, and you look at your task list; it’s smaller, but the big important task is still there, and you reschedule it again.
You may think there's something wrong with you. Well, the good news is there's nothing wrong with you at all.
What's actually going on is that the annual strategic review, the grant application, or the report that you keep rescheduling might be vague or perhaps you’re not sure how long it will take you to complete. There are a lot of things you don't know about this particular task. But an email or a message? Sure, you know exactly what to do.
It’s familiar territory; you’re comfortable with it, and it’s something that you can quickly clear off your list. Job done.
And so we elevate that message or admin task to “urgent”, even if it is not, which in turn demotes the thing that you had prioritised for today.
I should say, at this point, that there will be days when genuine emergencies, meetings and other responsibilities prevent you from doing those important tasks. That’s not procrastination. The problems start when you have the opportunity to do the work, but you choose something easier instead.
Another reason we find ourselves doing these smaller tasks is that they give us something bigger, more important work often cannot: an immediate sense of achievement.
Responding to the message or the email or doing that quick admin task gives you an instant resolution. It’s done, and it’s off your list. But the report or that bigger task that you’ve been putting off, there could be months before you get any feedback or have any sense that it has been completed. The reward is delayed, so it doesn’t really feel that urgent.
I have a few clients who find themselves in this situation, and they often self-diagnose the problem as a lack of discipline or focus. Yet, you’ve identified the task, and you know it needs to be done soon; the only thing that hasn’t happened yet is that you haven’t started.
That’s not a lack of discipline or focus. What’s actually lacking is clarity. The clarity of knowing where to start.
Yet, to get the clarity of knowing what to do requires you to start. And starting may be the part that’s making you feel uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable because it might require a lot more time than you anticipate, or because when you do start, you discover that you’re not sure what to do or who to ask for help.
The messages and admin are not necessarily more important, but they provide an escape from the discomfort associated with the grant application or the strategic plan.
If you do have a big task that you’ve been putting off, try this question:
When you think about starting work on the task, what’s the first uncomfortable feeling that comes up?
You may find that your answer is something like:
I don’t really know where to start
I’m not sure what my boss expects
I know I’m going to have to make some difficult decisions
I’m worried that it won’t be good enough.
Each answer suggests a different problem. Not knowing where to start indicates uncertainty about the next action. Not being sure about what your boss expects indicates unclear expectations. Difficult decisions are about being uncomfortable with the consequences, and worrying about it not being good enough suggests perfectionism or a fear of being judged.
All of which are legitimate reasons for rescheduling the task, but none are a result of being undisciplined or lacking in focus.
Common coaching advice often goes for the practical solution: break the task down, schedule time on your calendar, create a false deadline, remove distractions, etc. All good advice, but if the underlying problem is unclear expectations from your boss or a worry that the result won’t be good enough, none of this advice will really work.
So, instead of asking yourself how you can become more disciplined or more focused, ask yourself what’s stopping you from starting.
Once you’ve identified the “real” cause of your constant rescheduling (see above), try one small action:
Draft the first paragraph of the report without thinking about whether it will be good enough
Spend 10 minutes outlining any difficult decisions.
Arrange a conversation with your boss to talk about the expectations of what it is they’ve asked you to do.
What you are doing is beginning to remove the barrier that is causing you not to do the task. It’s a start.
The aim is not to eliminate your anxiety, uncertainty or discomfort about the task; it’s to help you see that you can begin difficult, meaningful work without being entirely confident.
And the next time you reach the end of a busy day and realise you haven’t touched the one thing you really needed to do, don’t immediately blame a lack of discipline.
Instead, ask yourself what it is about the task that is making you feel uncomfortable, because sometimes a failure to act is not procrastination; it’s actually a successful attempt to feel better in the moment. Once you understand that, you can begin making different choices.
If you’d like a little practical help with managing your time, join me for the Friday Tea Break. Each Friday, I share one idea you can try the following week, as well as a few things I’ve found useful or enjoyed.
You’ll also receive my free Time Sector System Workbook to help you set up your own system.
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