Procrastination is a trap most people have fallen into at one point or another in their personal or professional lives. There are a variety of reasons people procrastinate, including the fear of failure, perfectionism, or feeling overwhelmed.
Anxiety and Task Aversion
Two of the most common reasons behind procrastination are anxiety and task aversion. Take, for example, employees who know they need to process month-end reports, but the task is so unpleasant that they dread spending the hour or two it takes and keep putting it off. One strategy the employees can use to address the anxiety/task aversion source of this procrastination is to imagine themselves that short distance into the future when the task has been completed.
“Humans are pretty bad at picturing our future selves,” writes Laura Vanderkam in an article for Forge. “Research has found that when we think about them, the brain regions that are activated are similar to those activated when we think about strangers—but not as much to those activated when we think about our current selves,” she says.
Focusing on ‘Future You’
Vanderkam says that this suggests the wisdom of picturing yourself on the other side of any hard choice. “For instance, you might remember that in the past, you’ve always felt exhilarated after an invigorating sunrise run,” she writes. “Presumably ‘Future You’ will feel the same way. Picture yourself on the other side of the unpleasantly cold moment when you actually have to swing your legs out of bed and put your feet on the floor. Instead, focus on coming home, rosy-cheeked and on a runner’s high.”
If the hypothetical employees dreading their hour or two of tedious work picture themselves at the end of the task rather than at the start or middle, it may provide the motivation needed to break out of that particular procrastination trap.
There are a variety of reasons people put off doing work. One of the most common is simply the aversion to an unpleasant task. But perhaps by focusing on the future positive feeling of having completed it, you can generate the spark needed to get started.
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