Written by: Malwi Luczynska, 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 a common phenomenon in the corporate environment and beyond. We might look at it as a soft factor influencing the quality of our life and efficiency of our work, but when we dig deeper and look into numbers, we notice that procrastination is a huge problem, generating big losses both for the business as well as the life itself.
20-25% of people procrastinate chronically. *
88% of employees procrastinate >1 hour daily at work *
Between 23 and 55 days are lost to procrastination each year. *
Procrastination costs the EU economy around 65 bi EUR per year (based on comparison with the US economy) **
These statistics give us a solid reason to look deeper into procrastination, analyze it, and find the “why” behind it.
One of the interesting things in the statistics above is the pattern of how these are presented. All of them show the connection between procrastination and effectiveness at work. However, combining the concept of procrastination and effectiveness at work results in an erroneous understanding of procrastination itself and its reasons. Work effectiveness is only an outcome of the procrastination, not its reason. Therefore we shall not look for its cause in the time management and efficiency practices. The reason for procrastination (especially the passive ones) is hidden somewhere else.
Procrastination is a result of perfectionism, which on the other hand is caused by the protection of self-worth (not even self-esteem, but we elaborate on it later). Following this route, we might come to the conclusion that putting the things and tasks off results from the lack of readiness to realize/perform them in the particular moment and in the manner that would be satisfactory to us.
So, the question arises: what are the motivators/ catalysts here? Why don’t we feel ready? Is it:
the need to achieve success? I procrastinate because I don’t feel yet resourceful and ready to win, to achieve success and I need to achieve success.
the fear of failure? I procrastinate because I am afraid to fail and how it will impact me.
or perhaps the fear of success? I procrastinate because I refuse success, having encoded in myself the strong beliefs of the negative impact of success (name it: gossip, too much money, losing friends, not enough time for family etc.)
All of them are relevant and can be the root cause of procrastination. These are the typical 3 strategies of avoidance, which at the same time are the “bodyguards” of our self-worth. We don’t want to expose ourselves to inconvenient, risky, dangerous situations when we put at stake our self-worth, so we avoid the situations that confront us with that. We even do it at the cost of our performance. We prefer to risk our performance (by delaying the actions, not taking them) to protect our self-worth. In other words, in the need to achieve success, we are willing to put it off, to protect our self-worth. A typical case of auto-sabotage is when protection of the self – self-worth limits us from expanding ourselves.
How to deal with procrastination?
The sooner we identify the dominant scheme according to which we procrastinate – the faster we will be able to limit the procrastination.
Looking at our procrastination from the position of witness will help us to expand our awareness, and disconnect from the feelings and emotions resulting from the procrastination. Then, we can start moving the balance from the motivator of fear to the motivator of opportunity, and from the motivator of the need of success to the motivator of acceptance, being confident that we do our utmost best. The result will then become only the outcome of our actions not the purpose on its own.
At the same time, when we don’t feel ready to perform a particular action, we shall not impose on ourselves auto sabotage or intimidation techniques, i.e.: “When I do X, then Y.” This method doesn’t work.
Same with putting ourselves under pressure or leaving things for the last possible moment. Procrastination is not a form of mental relaxation, as in the end, it leads to time pressure, stress, or cortisol increase, which do not stimulate the creation process, but rather provoke us to act in a “fight or flight” modus. They’re the spaces of acting from subconsciousness, driven by the logical mind, which evokes the experiences of fear, anxiety, or uncertainty. Only in the space of peace, silence, and disconnecting from the logical and analytical mind the process of creation flow can occur.
What works is to understand why we don’t feel ready, and focus on the root cause, not on the effect. Acceptance of the place we are currently in is the very first step to a change. It is important to give yourself permission for that and in the moment of uncomfortable stagnancy ask yourself: “What can I do today, that will bring me closer to readiness in the future?”
Most importantly, stop making your self-worth dependent on your performance. This concerns you in your private life, and at work, but this is also advice to the business, as a whole.
Today, it is very popular to follow the path: my performance – my achievement – my self-worth, meaning: my performance leads to my achievements, and these define my self- worth. However self-worth is not dependent on what we achieve, we mistake here self-worth (the worth we give to ourselves as humans, our values, what we stand for in life) and self- esteem (the value we give to our achievements). This is happening because the business environment, which shall not influence our self-worth, tries to convince us that self-worth and self-esteem are identical concepts. Why? To improve performance and business results.
Therefore, to deal with procrastination it is so important to start differentiating self-worth and self-esteem. It will be of great benefit to you, your fulfillment, and joy in life.
And what will it bring for the business? Better performance, efficiency, and business results. Why? Since procrastination of employees is a natural protection mechanism of their self-worth, and the business environment wants to put self-worth into one box with self-esteem (driven by performance and results), it will be enough for the business to start differentiating these two concepts, start rewarding employees for the results (self-esteem) and start building programs and strategies for improvement of employees self-worth.
Summarizing
Procrastination is a global challenge. We shall not focus on eliminating its effects. We shall look for the cause of it. By understanding that the performance of the business suffers because of the low self-worth of employees, we can take actions to improve that, both for the business and the persons themselves. This is what responsible businesses shall be about – supporting their employees to grow and further expand. The business result will be then an obvious and natural outcome of this.
Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and visit my website for more info!
Malwi Luczynska, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dedicated to empowering women both personally and professionally. As an ICF-accredited coach and certified yoga teacher (RYT200) in India, she brings a unique blend of skills and experiences to the table. With over 15 years of international expertise in management, business development, and sales within the retail and IT industries, she has cultivated a diverse background in Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland.
Currently – Founder of SI AMAR – community mobile app empowering women in business. She helps women in business reclaim balance in life and unleash their female power, so that they can start creating life up to their full potential. being fully and truly their authentic selves. She takes up the challenge of challenging the corporate space, emphasizing the importance of female energy in business. Her motto is: love empowers!
