The Procrastination Puzzle: Three Practical Approaches for Writers
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Each cleared email brings a fleeting moment of satisfaction. “Just a few more” we might assure ourselves. Before we realise it, an hour has passed, problems have been solved, and other people's demands have been met. However, in the process, we unwittingly neglected the writing task we so desperately wanted to make time for.
According to Dr. Tim Pychyl, a psychology professor and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University, Ottawa, procrastination is not a time management issue but rather an emotion regulation problem. Over time, it becomes a habitual response to unpleasant feelings such as fear, boredom, and doubt. We avoid the tasks associated with those emotions in favour of more immediately rewarding activities.
What can be particularly painful about it, is that it is a behaviour that often arises around the projects that are most important to us, like the writing project we started, and really want to finish. We might try to stop but keep getting stuck in the same loop again and again, leaving us feeling helpless and frustrated.
It is important to remember that it takes much more than willpower to change procrastination habits.
Addressing the challenge of procrastination requires a nuanced approach, acknowledging its roots in emotional avoidance and cultivating counter-habits. In this article, I explore three strategies, I use for myself and my clients, to address procrastination.
Understand the emotional landscape
Habits often operate on autopilot, with our choices and actions unfolding unconsciously. The first step in addressing procrastination is to notice when it is happening. Take a moment to reflect on the physical and emotional sensations accompanying procrastination, perhaps recalling a recent moment when you were procrastinating. It might be jittery anxiety, a racing heart, shallow breathing, restlessness, and a desire to escape. By learning to recognise these cues, it is possible, with practice, to interrupt the automatic cycle of procrastination and consciously choose to turn toward the underlying concerns. If however getting to know the emotional landscape feels intolerable, it might be that these feelings are connected with some unresolved trauma, and could benefit from work with a therapist.
2. Confront the fears
Procrastination thrives on unaddressed fears. It can be really helpful to write these all down, either in a quiet moment or at the beginning of a writing session. Start at the top of the page with the question “What am I afraid of?” And list as many fears as they emerge, without censoring yourself. Writing down these fears provides a tangible way to confront them. Some fears might appear blatantly unfounded as you look at them, while others may have some basis in reality. For example, the fear “My book or article won’t be well-received.” This fear could turn out to be the reality, and it could very well not. Instead of succumbing to false positivity, we can try to embrace the uncertainty of not knowing how our work will be received. We can ask ourselves whether we can tolerate the unknown and still find personal or professional fulfilment in completing the task, even without guaranteed success.
3. Ask the hard questions
Sometimes, procrastination arises from a misalignment between our actions and our true aspirations. In "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone," psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb shares her experience of procrastinating on a parenting book she didn't genuinely want to write. She was only doing it because she’d been given the opportunity by a publisher and it was a financially secure bet. The book she wanted to write, the one she ended up writing, required her to take a greater risk.
By asking hard questions about our commitment to a task, we can figure out if there is such a misalignment. Then we can make a conscious choice to accept what we are doing and see it to the end or make a change.
Procrastination is a common struggle, for some more pronounced than for others. When it continuously obstructs us from achieving our goals, we need to take a firm and non-blaming approach. With patience and deliberate effort, we can start to tame procrastination. Shifting the focus from time-management to understanding the emotional nuances, confronting fears, and aligning tasks with genuine passion has proven effective for me and many of my clients. I’d love to hear what’s worked for you. Share your experiences and strategies in the comments below.