We procrastinate tasks that stir emotions for us, whether boredom, anxiety, resentment, overwhelm, or guilt and shame.
5 Things Smart People Get Wrong About Procrastination | Psychology Today
People think they need better self-control to get things done when they’re having these emotions. That’s not the answer. People who are good at being disciplined are so because they approach tasks that inherently require less self-control.
How? The best way is by having strong habits. The more consistently you do a recurring task at the same time and place, in the same way, the less self-control will be required to perform it. For example, it takes less self-control to go to the gym every day on the way home from work than to go haphazardly. Habits make our behavior more automatic, and when behaviors are more automatic, they take less conscious self-control. You don’t need to have more self-control. It would help if you used habits so that important activities require less self-control.
To overcome procrastination time management techniques and tools are indispensable, but they are not enough by themselves. And, not all methods of managing time are equally helpful in dealing with procrastination. There are some time management techniques that are well suited to overcoming procrastination and others that can make it worse. Those that reduce anxiety and fear and emphasize the satisfaction and rewards of completing tasks work best. Those that arc inflexible, emphasize the magnitude of tasks and increase anxiety can actually increase procrastination and are thus counter-productive. For instance, making a huge list of “things to do” or scheduling every minute of your day may INCREASE your stress and thus procrastination. Instead, set reasonable goals (e.g. a manageable list of things to do), break big tasks down, and give yourself flexibility and allot time to things you enjoy as rewards for work completed.
Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination | McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning (princeton.edu)