How To Beat Procrastination - A New Approach That Works

Posted by Hosanna on February 27th, 2021

How severely do procrastination habits affect your ability to create?

How often do you simply go and start creating, without finding a few "urgent" tasks on the way such as checking your email for the 10th time this morning, or making a snack you don't really want?

For many of us as creative people, procrastination puts a major dampener on our freedom to create. It's like we're trying to get a huge bonfire lit and blazing, but someone keeps drenching it with a hose every time we feel its flames are starting to flicker.

So what can we do? Is there any hope, or should you resign yourself to a lifelong struggle with procrastination, accept it as the gorilla on your back that'll stop you ever truly soaring in your creative work?

Thankfully, yes, there is an approach to beating procrastination that works.

Before we get to that, let's take a step back. It's important to understand why what you're doing now ISN'T working. This isn't to judge or criticise you, simply to help you open yourself to the idea that there's a better way, and an easier way, for you to be more creative.

The first mistake we make with procrastination is not admitting we procrastinate.

Everyone procrastinates to some extent, however creative we are. Pretending you don't simply gives procrastination the green light to run riot and become even more effective in stifling your creativity. If you don't admit there's an issue, and that there are many times you procrastinate when you could be creating, then you'll ALWAYS procrastinate.

The second mistake we make with procrastination is endlessly analysing WHY we procrastinate.

This is the classic mistake we've all made with procrastination. Even if we do admit we procrastinate and that yes it does suck up precious time when we'd rather be creating, we then tend to go too far in the opposite direction.

The analytical mind kicks in and says "Right, I'm determined to know why I procrastinate. What could the reasons behind it be?"

Then, ironically, your creativity takes centre stage, producing an almost endless procession of perfectly valid reasons why you may be procrastinating.

"Maybe I'm afraid of failing", "Maybe this isn't the right creative project", "Maybe I'll create something amazing and people will demand more from me"...

Given time and a little anxiety to stir into the mix, no doubt you'd be able to come up with dozens of reasons why you procrastinate rather than create.

Great, so now you have all these reasons, you can overcome procrastination, right?

Wrong! All you've done is give yourself MORE reasons to procrastinate than you had before! So it's now many times MORE likely you'll procrastinate because you have all these very feasible and justifiable reasons in front of you. "No WONDER I don't create more, look at all these things I'm battling with!"

You end up procrastinating by spending too much time thinking about why you're procrastinating!!?!

Stop. It's time for a new approach. An approach that works.

Instead of analysing WHY you procrastinate, focus on WHEN and HOW you procrastinate. It's only by observing your behaviour - objectively and without judgement - that you can begin to notice when you're most likely to procrastinate, and the favourite habits you have.

Only then can you start to put new creative habits in their place and overcome the procrastination habits that have held your creativity back for so long.

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