I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the root causes of procrastination. There are a lot of reasons to procrastinate, plenty of excuses we all give when called out for not doing something in a timely manner or when we’re justifying to ourselves why we’ve put off something important for the umpteenth time.

What I’ve concluded is that a lack of self-discipline is the root cause of procrastination.

The practice of self-discipline stops procrastination simply because self-discipline means you do what you determine you’re going to do whether you feel like doing it or not. Since procrastination is putting off doing something you need to do even though you know there will probably be negative consequences, having self-discipline means not having a procrastination problem. If you choose to put something off, you’ve done so deliberately and with thought. You’re not procrastinating; you’re choosing the consequence of waiting over the benefit of getting it done now.

So, the first step in stopping a procrastination habit is to rebuild self-discipline skills.

I do believe self-discipline is a skill we learn that stays strong the more we practice it. These days, I haven’t had a lot of practice being self-disciplined, which is entirely my own fault for not holding myself accountable and for excusing my behavior without good reason at every turn. This has led to my self-discipline skills becoming atrophied. There really is no other word for it.

I’ve become a slacker without even realizing it until now.

I’m a firstborn child, and lately I’ve done some reading that brought up the issue of birth order. I see a lot of traits that have somehow veered into loser territory and I don’t like it.

I’ve always prided myself on not being lazy. But I’m looking at myself lately and realizing that my perception of myself is skewed. Just because I can work hard and long at something when I want to do it doesn’t automatically mean I’m not lazy. If I don’t want to do something, I get extremely lazy. And isn’t that really where your character gets defined–how you handle the things that you don’t enjoy or want to do but that need doing?

So here starts my journey to become more self-disciplined.

Self-discipline is easier when you don’t have to expend a lot of thought making a lot of little decisions that can eventually wear you down. Studies have shown that making too many decisions can wear out your self-control. Maybe I’m making a leap to say that if that’s so, then creating habits that require little thought can help one be self-disciplined with less chance of failure. So that’s where I’m going to start. :)

Step one: Practice building habits of self-discipline. Coming soon.

There’s a particular task I’ve been procrastinating on. Considering it’s a very important task and I know I’ll have to do it eventually or suffer serious consequences that could have an impact I will feel for many years to come, I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not finding the time to get it done.

I’m not sure why the thought of suffering quite so much hasn’t motivated me to get moving on this task. I estimate it will take me about two to three hours to complete the task and then another hour to do a certain thing that is dependent on my finishing the first task. At that point, I would have a whole lot less to worry about and would probably end up with a lot less stress.

So, why aren’t I trying to get anything done on this thing?

Why Put Off the Inevitable?

I figure there might be a couple of reasons, although none are rational.

1. I want to do it all at once but I don’t have a block of time big enough or enough energy to handle the whole task at once. (I hate working on something in small chunks.)
2. I secretly hope something will change and I won’t need to do this task. (Messed up, but possible, considering this is a very personal task that needs doing, related to a very personal pending legal matter…)
3. I want someone else to make the decisions I will have to make during the course of completing the task. (Not possible.)

My next step is going to be figuring out how to trick myself into doing the task as soon as possible regardless of the silliness going on in my head.

There are times when procrastination isn’t a bad thing. I’ve let many opportunities pass me by that I never regretted having missed. There are also times when procrastinating has cost me big time. The unfortunate part is that you can’t really tell which kind of opportunity you’re letting slip through your fingers by procrastinating until the opportunity has already gone. Or can you?

When Procrastination Makes Sense

I procrastinate doing the laundry sometimes. Not as much as I used to do, but I still let it get away from me sometimes. However, since I usually end up doing fewer loads, use less detergent and hot water, and make fewer trips up the stairs putting things away, I consider it a job perfect for procrastination.

I have a boss who likes to assign tasks but then come back later and say things like "I don’t really need that thing I asked for because I’ve decided I don’t really think it’s a good idea to share that much information…." I admit, I took to procrastinating on the tasks he assigns unless I know it’s something he would never change his mind about. I haven’t had a problem yet and it’s been about 6 years.

Anything that you can see yourself doing quicker, better, or just more easily later is often a good candidate for some strategic procrastination, or at the very least, an opportunity to let yourself indulge in a bit of putting-off, if that’s the kind of person you are. Sure, this kind of behavior is likely to drive a certain kind of person crazy, but as long as it’s not your boss or your husband, you’ll probably find it makes your life a lot less stressful.

On the other hand, there definitely times when it doesn’t make sense to procrastinate, when procrastination will clearly damage your career, your self-worth, your relationships, and just generally make your life harder and more stressful than it has to be. Those are the times when we really notice our procrastination habits and wish we could stop procrastinating.

When Procrastination Doesn’t Make Sense

There are certain things that you do that you know you’re going to have to do at some  point anyway, no matter how long you put it off. If I don’t pay my electric bill when I get the bill (or the money to pay it), I’m still going to have to spend the same amount of time paying it later. The same goes for picking up my dry cleaning, or stopping at the post office to check my box.

Here are two important questions to ask yourself when you feel tempted to put something off.

1. Am I just shifting my time?
2. Are there significant negative consequences if I procrastinate?

If you don’t gain anything from procrastinating other than the shifting of time that comes with choosing to spend ten minutes or an hour doing it now or ten minutes or an hour doing it later, then most of the time, you’re better off just doing it. Otherwise, you have to deal with the added stress of trying to remember that you haven’t done it and still need to do it, and even though that might not add up to a lot of stress individually, it can sure add up to a lot of stress collectively.

The thing is, many of these kinds of tasks have penalties associated with them. You have to pay a late fee when you don’t remember to pay your electric bill on time. Your clothes are donated because you didn’t pick them up in a timely matter. You missed an important time-sensitive letter because you waited to check your box.

Next time you notice yourself choosing to put something off, remind yourself that there are often times when it’s perfectly okay and when it can even benefit you to procrastinate. But if this isn’t one of those times, make yourself do the task anyway. In the end, you’ll be a happier, less stressed person for having done it.

Accountability is overrated in my opinion. Most often, knowing I’m accountable for something only adds to the anxiety that crops up when I procrastinate on important things. (Yes I posted this in response to a commenter’s comment today, but I had more so say…) Sometimes, in fact, it acts as another hurdle that must be overcome before I’ll actually do something.

For many people, having a schedule is a way of being accountable to oneself for how one spends one’s time. I’ve fallen into that trap lots of times. I think I’ve finally gotten past that now.

I’ve had the most success not procrastinating when I do away with a schedule altogether. An example of this is my procrastination with my job. I hated going when I felt like I needed to be working on projects that I had at home. I had a schedule and I was working (quite efficiently) on getting these things done. But every time I had to stop so that I could go to the office, or work from home (I do both weekly), I would freeze up and not want to go to work.

One day a few weeks ago, I decided I couldn’t keep this up. I nixed the schedule, told myself that my “home” work wasn’t that important and that I needed a life. The very next Monday, I found myself doing housework I had for months been putting off/doing/putting off again.

It’s been a little over three weeks, and I’m into a fairly laid back routine, and I’ve not has as clean a house and clean laundry in years! I’m wowed by this change. No kidding.

What was even more exciting was that going to work that first week wasn’t a chore. I actually enjoyed getting out of the house on the day I went into the office and I spent an extra 3 hours there that evening catching up some stuff that needed to be done.

It’s been several weeks now, and I’m feeling much more at peace with my job, and I’ve actually gotten plenty of work done on my “home” projects–more than I expected and enough to feel like I’m getting things done.

So, my verdict? Maybe accountability and scheduling your time is not the solution at all. Maybe it’s part of the problem.

One sneaky way to not procrastinate is to slip in work in small increments, doing the work when you feel like doing it instead of waiting until you have to do it.

Over on the Remote Access Computer site, I give tips and information about how I use remote access computer software to work from home. I especially like doing this because I can work extra when I feel like working but I can cut back when I really don’t want to work.

This is also very effective for household work. If you have an urge to clean your bathtubs, but your floors really need picking up, do the tub anyway.

This is actually just a way of using procrastination effectively. Stuff is getting done, and sometimes that’s just as important as getting any specific thing done. There are always going to be days where you’re not going to want to do something that probably needs to be done, but don’t take that as an excuse to go watch TV. At least if you do something else, you’ll have done something!

This tip isn’t for everyone of course, because you need to be the kind of person who actually wants to do something besides watch TV on a regular basis.

But if you can use it, this is a powerful method of beating the urge to procrastinate.