The real reasons for procrastination
We've all been there (and I certainly have): we put off things that "should" be important and do less important stuff instead.
And please don't pretend that this hasn't happened to you. It really does affect everyone!
Why is it like that? Why do we sabotage ourselves? Why do we leave things undone when we know perfectly well that it needs to be done anyway?
Well, the answers to these questions fill entire bookshelves and video platforms. So it seems relevant.
The problem: most advice focuses on techniques to stop procrastination. That's all well and good, but there are root causes underlying the phenomenon that hardly anyone addresses.
Here are three fundamental causes of procrastination that I strongly recommend addressing (with lasting positive effect on your productivity and motivation):
- No energy.
You know how it is: you are most likely to get distracted and stop important activities when you have little energy left. Low energy is one of the most common reasons for procrastination. Even great methods won't help: when you're mentally tired, your subconscious will do everything it can to steer you toward relaxing activities. The good news: energy can be increased in a targeted way. ➔ Here's a video about it. - No clarity.
It's like a law: Lack of clarity leads to uncertainty and to delay. You know this from your own experience, too: If you don't know exactly what you have to do next to get to the goal, there's a high probability that you'd rather not get started. By the way, this is also one of the very big levers for higher productivity in your team: Create more clarity! - Bad environment.
The environment has an incredibly strong influence on us - and also on our productivity. As a rule of thumb, the more reasons you have around you to be distracted, the more you will put off important things. That includes objects, events and people, by the way.
As is often the case: These three insights are simple to understand, but not easy to implement.
✅ If you would like some tips from my coaching treasure chest on how best to approach this, ➔ just get in touch with me for a quick chat.