Written by: Luca Berni, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Procrastination is human. Although it often makes us feel guilty, it is not a matter of ill will, indolence, or a poor attitude to get the job done. Procrastination is something more complex that originates in the biology of our brain and to be able to control it, and possibly fight it, or get around it, it is first of all important to recognize it and understand how it works.
Procrastination usually begins with a self-deception, a lie that we tell ourselves to face with more serenity the fact that we are putting off an activity that we should do. The lie goes something like this: "I do X, but first I do Y", where X is the activity that will be procrastinated, and Y is instead an activity that is pleasant or that we are able to do easily or that makes us get a positive result quickly. The point is that every time you complete a "Y" there will always be another one, triggering an infinite circle from which you get out only because you decide to or because the events around us force us to act, such as the looming deadline.
Why do we procrastinate?
There are activities that create a certain amount of suffering based on personal experience, education, or each person's character traits. Whenever a person is faced with one of these activities, an unpleasant emotion emerges, and our brain implements a series of defence mechanisms to avoid it. Although rationally the person knows that procrastinating will only worsen the situation, they fail to act overwhelmed by emotion. The "limbic" part of the brain, which is the oldest and most involved in the emergence of emotions, takes over the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for logical-rational reasoning, resulting in the person losing the lucidity to evaluate the consequences of procrastination. In this situation, the brain tries to replace an unpleasant emotion with a pleasant one replacing an activity that creates suffering with one that gives pleasure.
The cycle of procrastination
Procrastination is a mechanism that feeds itself and, over time, and perhaps as a deadline approaches, instead of motivating the person to act, it tends to inhibit it even more. The cycle that is triggered is the following:
I don't do => Time passes => I feel guilty => I feel bad => I do something that makes me feel good => I postpone => I don't do...
The most critical moment for activating the procrastination cycle is before starting the activity. Usually, when the person overcomes the first impact and gets the first results, the probability of procrastinating is significantly lowered. This is why it is said that: "success in obtaining a result is strongly linked to the first step one decides to take."
Serial procrastinators
Procrastination has not to do with the ability to manage time, but with emotions. Serial procrastinators, those who make procrastination a lifestyle, are usually highly sensitive people, who find it more difficult than others to regulate their emotions and have low self-esteem. Often, those around them contribute to making matters worse, making them feel lazy or indolent.
From a neurological point of view, it has been observed that these people have a larger amygdala (a region of the brain located in the limbic system) and have fewer connections with the anterior cingulate cortex (rational part). This leads them to have a lower organizational capacity and a greater sense of disorientation in tackling new activities.
What to do and what not to do
If we want to support someone who procrastinates (including ourselves) we must avoid the following mistakes, which will only make the situation worse:
Appealing to self-discipline
Increasing deadlines
Setting yourself as a virtuous example (“do as I do”)
Judging
These attitudes increase discomfort and the likelihood of triggering or fuelling the procrastination cycle.
Some good strategies, on the other hand, can be the following:
Keeping a procrastination diary to become aware of the reason why a certain activity creates unpleasant emotions and once discovered, address it with an expert.
Cultivating compassion and self-compassion because procrastinating is still a way of taking care of ourselves. Let's accept it!
Lowering the bar. If an activity is perceived as too stressful, if possible, lower the level of the challenge a little or ask for help.
Breaking the activity into smaller perceived more affordable parts at the end of each of which create a reward mechanism.
Appointing a partner to help and support us in maintaining focus.
Luca Berni, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Luca Berni is an Executive & Team Coach that works with Leaders, Top Managers, Entrepreneurs, Boards of Directors, and Leadership Teams. Before becoming a Coach in 2009, he worked as a Manager in different Multinational companies in different Countries for almost twenty years. Luca also works as a management consultant, he co-founded and runs TheNCS The Neuroscience Coaching School, and he writes articles and books about Coaching and Management.
