Ever wonder why do people procrastinate?
Sometimes, it’s not a particular anti-procrastination strategy they need. It’s the reason behind why people do it and why they can’t beat it.
If they know the ‘why’ behind their procrastination habit, they can deal with the cause instead of dealing with the result (i.e., eternally putting off tasks and actions they need to take). Putting things off is just the symptom.
To eradicate it and restore life balance, they need to find and root out the cause.
Let’s look at four of the most common reasons why do people procrastinate – especially entrepreneurs and coaches who are attempting for the first time to add passive income or expand their reach.
They Are Venturing Out of Their Comfort Zone
Most people find that scary – from small children in a new playground to top surgeons tackling a new type of tumor.
The fix is relatively simple: Acknowledge the fear and apply rational reframing to the little voice in their head. Identify the fear-generating thought. For example, “What if my shopping cart software isn’t set up right and it messes up my launch?”
They can quickly deal with this type of fear in whatever way feels best. They could say, “I’ve tested it three times with three different people. Chances are it will be fine, and even if it’s not, I’ve gone out of my way to include contact information and set up a help desk. We’ll deal with it if there are any glitches.”
But until they identify the fear-generating thought which is causing them to imitate an ostrich and stick their head in the metaphorical sand, they can’t come up with a simple and obvious solution.
Or realize that why do people procrastinate is it’s because of a fear they may not even have to tackle at all! They may need to tell themselves, “This isn’t fear: It’s excitement!”
Fear that They Are Not Good Enough
This soul-sucking brand of fear includes impostor syndrome, lack of practice, the bad habit of comparing themselves with others, and more. Fear of rejection. Fear of getting fired. If this is their reason, it’s essential to pinpoint the exact cause and type of concern.
They can formulate a targeted plan to deal with it if they do. And the fix is usually the same as for venturing out of one’s comfort zone: Reframing fearful thought into an objective, realistic one, with a touch of pointing out that “the boogeyman just has a paper bag on his head and isn’t real” thrown in.
Perfectionism
Procrastination is an intense source of shame to perfectionists. It goes against their most passionate belief – that they ‘should’ be perfect, one of the reasons why do people procrastinate.
Perfectionists are usually afraid of failure in any form. They are often top experts whom others envy for their expertise and how easy they make things look or feel. Acquaintances often express surprise when they find out their favorite mentor and expert has the same fear of failure as they do.
The crucial step with a perfectionist personality lies in accepting accountability and acknowledging their perfectionism. If they feel they are perfectionists, determine their cause – voices from the past? A competitive personality? Your personality types? OCD? (If they can’t, a counselor or psychologist may be helpful.)
Once they’ve identified themselves as a perfectionist, they can start working on letting go of perfection.
Deal with perfectionism, and they will then be in a prime position to know and deal with why do people procrastinate and let go.
They Absolutely Hate the Thing They’re Hiding From
This is the only time they need to either question why they are doing it and/or get rid of the hated task … especially if it is not one that directly generates income or aligns with what brings them the most joy.
Delegate it, outsource it, put it on autopilot. Or dump it if you can get away with that!
Commit to themselves that they will discover why do people procrastinate and make excuses for not following through on promises, deadlines and expectations.
Would you like to learn your why? How about discovering what you need to do step by step to stop making excuses, once and for all?
This month’s Profit Planner ‘No More Excuses’ walks you through identifying and working through a simple process to make the shift in your mindset.
It comes with:
- Textbook
- Workbook
- Checklist
- Idea Generator
- Calendar
This tiny system gets straight to the point – no fluff or fillers!
Get this complete Profit Planner today.
