50Minutes - Stop Procrastinating--Right Now!: Beat your procrastination habit once and for all

Procrastination is experienced by many individuals and is caused by various fears. It can lead us to postpone a household chore or a long-term project, or even a complicated discussion with a loved one, indefinitely. The list of reasons for procrastination below is by no means exhaustive, but it reflects a great deal of the mental blocks that lead to procrastination. You might be affected by several or none of these; the important thing is to identify what is holding you back by considering all the possibilities. Deep down, you almost certainly know what it is, but you will undoubtedly be reassured to read that other people are experiencing the same dilemmas.

Perfectionists cannot bear the idea of an ill-performed task. They know that when they start a job, particularly a long-term task or something they do not feel fully comfortable doing, they risk not doing it perfectly the first time and having to come back to it several times, without being sure that they will ever be satisfied with the result. In these conditions, doing nothing allows perfectionists to focus on easier tasks that they excel at, thus avoiding any potential disappointment. You should take care if you tend to work in this way, as striving for perfection risks halting rather than helping your progress.

Perfection is the only way imaginable to me, I am not satisfied with average output, or even good enough output; it can only be very good, and I would be even happier if it were exceptional. That is perhaps why I always put things off: I am afraid it will not be as good as my expectations. Nonetheless, I try to tell myself that if I dont work on it, it will never be good, and that should be enough motivation to get started; but no, it doesnt work. (Anita, 50)

Someone who is afraid of letting down a thesis supervisor, an employer or a loved one, whether or not this is a consequence of perfectionism, probably does not feel up to the task that they must carry out or that has been entrusted to them. Thus, convinced that people think you have skills that you do not have or believe you do not have, you are not confident in your own abilities and you are afraid of seeing shock on the other persons face when they find out the scale of your incompetence. If you identify with this description, you might have impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome

People who suffer from impostor syndrome fear that someone will one day discover that they are not up to their job, that they are not as gifted as people thought and that they should be elsewhere. On account of this, they are hesitant to launch themselves into new projects that would show up their weaknesses and make them vulnerable in the eyes of others. In reality, they are doing the most harm to themselves, by needlessly limiting the development of their abilities.

Seeing yourself as an impostor surrounded by people whom you believe to be more competent, deserving or worthy, can lead to procrastination. Thus, to avoid other people being disappointed in you, you endlessly postpone whatever you have to do. Yet, by putting a task off indefinitely, you are reinforcing the feeling that you are an impostor and heading straight for self-sabotage.

It is important to be aware that everyone is vulnerable and susceptible to mistakes, without this affecting who we are. No one is expecting you to do everything perfectly the first time. Forget what other people think and simply do your best.

Always being late to meetings and regularly missing project deadlines without feeling guilty could be due to a subconscious need to control other people. Someone who behaves in this way clearly cannot bear the limits imposed on them by other people, whether they are peers or superiors. A desire for freedom and control of their time is a contributing factor here.

Accepting that others define part of our priorities and our time can be difficult, because we think that we alone are in charge of our lives. Yet, while it is true that we should not accept everything from other people, it is sometimes necessary to obey deadlines set by other people in order to successfully complete certain projects. This is particularly true in a professional setting where, unless you are your own boss, not accepting fixed deadlines can cost you dearly.