The demons of procrastination & some schemes to try

This image is called ‘The Nightmare’ by Henry Fuseli . It’s exactly how I picture the demons of procrastination sapping our will to get things done.

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I have discovered that I can create monsters. This would be a good thing if I could use them to my advantage, or even just control them, but I can’t so I have to find ways to live with them instead.

These monsters, or perhaps ‘demons’, lurk next to any task that feels difficult or unpleasant. They skulk behind my monitor, they stroke my piles of unopened mail, and they cavort in the clutter on the kitchen bench when I’m looking the other way.

Their mission is to get in the way. They do this by making perfectly achievable tasks appear way harder than they actually are. It’s like they have a magician’s cape they can swish in front of any task to make it huge, distorted and grotesque. They make mundane tasks feel daunting, heavy and exhausting.

I have been known to ruin an entire weekend by putting off a task that might only take me an hour or so when I get to it…finally…on Sunday night. Actually, if I’m honest, I have been known to put some tasks off for years. And every time I think of those tasks, that already have nasty slimy goblin magic spread over them, I get an unpleasant little jolt of guilt, anxiety or adrenaline. Avoiding those tasks makes my life less good. But I still do it. And it’s exhausting

And I create these itchy little ditch-wigglets in my own brain. Shakespeare nailed it a few years ago when he wrote ‘there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so’. But knowing that doesn’t necessarily help. In fact, it kind of makes it worse. I’m doing this to myself? What kind of moron am I?

Let me introduce you to some of my demons.

• The demon of perfectionism:
  ’If this isn’t done perfectly it will be pointless—or worse—it may have really bad consequences. You better put this one off. Maybe tomorrow you’ll have acquired special knowledge that will somehow make it easier.’

• Demon of self-belief
  ’Who do you think you are? Do you really think you can do this? Have you got tickets on yourself? You’re inept and you’ll stuff this up for sure. You better go eat some cake.’

• Demon of mystery
  ’Gosh, you haven’t done this exact thing before, have you? It’s almost certainly going to be really hard. Way harder than you think. Why don’t you just assume it’s really bad and go and watch The Good Place.’

I periodically read articles, sometimes whole books, about how to tackle this stuff. I mean, this is Procrastination 101, right? But for now I’m bumbling along using a random combination of techniques. Here are seven of these techniques just in case any of them might help you too:

1. Break it down
   This is one of the reasons Agile is so good, right? You have to break big tasks into smaller ones and celebrate when you achieve any small victory. If you don’t pat yourself on the back for the little things, this technique doesn’t work because you stay focused on feeling bad until the whole thing is done and the slimly little snot-goblin just gets stronger.

2. Use a timer
   Set a timer for 25 minutes and focus on concentrating for just that amount of time. Again, remember to tell yourself you’re cool if you make it through the whole unit of time without interrupting yourself. I personally love the Pomodoro Technique when I’m struggling with something. And if 25 minutes is too long, just make it 15 minutes.

3. Use a pep talk
   Instead of wondering if you can do something, ask yourself for a genuinely good reason why you can’t do it. You may even have a friend you can borrow some self-belief from. Remember, you have the internet to help. You are capable enough to have already achieved so much in your life. Just get in there and give it a red hot go! What’s the worst that can really happen? Will it get easier if you put it off? Will it be worse than not doing it at all?

4. Lower your expectations
   Instead of asking ‘what’s the best I can do?’ I ask yourself ‘what’s the minimum I can do?’. This is very confronting, and I struggle with it, the same way I struggle with MVP (Minimum Viable Product) at work, but sometimes it’s necessary. Again, this is an important Agile principle – because once you have something, then you can iterate.

5. Picture life in the best-case scenario
   This can be dangerous if you’re a project manager because you may lull yourself and your team into an incorrect false sense of security, but if you’re trying to beat down one of those malignant little mug-wumpets in your head, this can be a real winner. Picture everything going smoothly and something gorgeous and amazing coming out of the effort. Picture yourself getting it done in half the time and thinking ‘Meh, that was easy!’.

6. ‘Park downhill’ then sleep on it
   Start the task and leave it at an interesting point (like parking a car facing downhill where it will be easy to take off). By just starting it you will have already weakened the demon. Then put it down and get a good night’s sleep. It’s likely to feel easier in the morning when most people have better concentration.

7. Get angry
   This is my secret weapon. This is when I turn and face the demon and say ‘F*** you! Just watch me Make Things Happen.’ I only drag this one out when I really need it because it takes a lot of energy. But I find tapping into this defiant rage is surprisingly effective. It may not work for all personality types, but as a chronic Good Girl this helps me tap into my dark super-powers. I guess it’s really reminding me that I am in control.  

I hope I’m not alone with my demons. Not that I want you to have demons, because they suck and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, but I don’t want to be the only freak who can create monsters with their mind.

I’m always looking for new ways to subdue the grotty little demonic bog-wombles, so if you have any tips you’d like to share, I’d love to hear about them. And feel free to use mine any time!  

Good luck demon hunting!

Ky

P.S. Check out the British Paints commercial that describe FOMU (Fear or Messing Up). More in the same series of commercials with Nigel , Tanya. Looks like at least some other people know what I’m talking about!