Why It’s So Damned Hard To Stop Procrastinating

Written by Dave Navarro on October 8, 2008

If there’s anything that the last five days have shown me, it’s that the number of people who want to stop procrastinating is bigger than I thought.  And it’s not just a problem for “slackers” or lazy people, either - procrastination is a chronic demon even for some pretty big names on the web (based on some of the “Help me!” emails I received this weekend).  So let’s talk about why overcoming procrastination is such a hard nut to crack.

There’s No Magic Pill That Makes You Stop Procrastinating (No Matter How Badly You Wish It So)

I blame the microwave. Besides Google Search, I can’t think of anything in the world that so strongly feeds our innate desire to have something now, now, NOW. We’ve become a generation of people who want instant results without doing the work.  The magic pill.  That damned genie in that damned bottle.  We long to believe that there’s some magic switch that we can flip, and everything will be okay.  But it ain’t so.

For those of us living in this little thing we call “reality,” life is a little more complicated than that.  We can’t just take a pill and experience a massively pleasant psychological change.  (Well, technically we can, but that either involves illegal and addictive narcotics or some bizarrely named pharmaceutical like ProZanaPaxil that comes with 55 paragraphs of reported side effects.  Such as sudden and uncomfortable death).

But that doesn’t stop us from trying. The desire to believe in something that will “make it all better” is so strong that we will push past all logical reason, believing that if we could just develop a magical ability like Willpower or Inner Strength or Passion we could become non-stop achievers. All we have to do is get that One Thing and we can crash through those walls like Superman and become “totally successful.”

The only problem with that strategy is it goes against the way our brains are wired.

The Reason Why Procrastination Makes Total Sense

Our brains aren’t stupid.  They’re smart.  I mean, they’re 100 percent brains, for crying out loud.  You can’t get any brainier than that.  And our brain’s decision making ability is highly driven by emotion - but those emotions are also highly driven by logic.

For example, when you believe something is going to make you uncomfortable or put you at risk, your brain logically isn’t all too interested in doing that.  And so it starts focusing on the risk and the danger, and translates those thoughts into emotions that fall somewhere in the “get the hell away from this” category.  Fight or flight.  It makes sense.

In other words, procrastination is a completely natural defense mechanism that keeps you away from things that stress you out.  It’s kind of like your body’s immune system - it sees something it doesn’t like, and BAM, it tries to lock it out.

But sometimes our immune system can work against us.  For example, if you receive an organ transplant, your body will work overtime fighting off the “foreign” tissue - which, naturally, isn’t in your best interest.  To get around this, doctors would give you anti-rejection drugs to suppress certain parts of your immune system so that you can continue doing that “living” thing you like so much.

How We Get Around To Overcoming Procrastination

Whenever we get past procrastination, we do it by producing the mental version of those anti-rejection drugs.  We inject these into those little mental conversations we have, the ones we’re usually unaware of because it’s off in the back of our mind.  You know, those lame conversations that go something like this:

You: I really need to get around to doing <whatever>.

Your Brain: Ugh.  That’s going to be really, really hard / painful / uncomfortable / whatever.

You: Yeah, I guess - hey, look, something new in my feed reader!  (distraction ensues)

Did you see what happened in that conversation?  Your brain set off that “but I don’t like this!” flag and you took it.  You let it distract you.  You obeyed. You were whipped, my friend.

And this isn’t always a bad thing.  It’s like physical pain - sometimes it’s there to tell you that you shouldn’t be doing this.  Take your hand off the stove, already. But a lot of times the pain isn’t such a big deal, like the soreness you get after a great workout - it’s pain, but you just have to push past it to get what you want.

When we get past procrastinating, it’s because we respond to our brain with a “So what?” instead of a “Ok, I guess you’re right.”   We accept the fact that there will be pain/discomfort, and we move on. We become “grown-ups” about it all instead of treating ourselves like sheltered kids. We move on, we push through the pain, and we claim our prize of achievement on the other end.  Our conversations look more like this instead:

You: I really need to get around to doing <whatever>.

Your Brain: Ugh.  That’s going to be really, really hard / painful / uncomfortable / whatever.

You: Yeah, I guess - hey, look, something new in my feed reader!  (distraction ensues)

You: I know.  But I really want this, and I’m going to do it.

Your Brain: But this is going to be really hard.

You: I know.  But I really want this, and I’m going to do it.

Your Brain: But this is going to be really, really hard.  And uncomfortable.  And –

You: I know.  But I really want this, and I’m going to do it. I’m tired of putting this off.

Your Brain: But –

You: Shut up.  I’m doing it.

See, here, you’re turning the tables.  You’re getting the last word in.  You’re consciously aware of the conversation, and you’re taking control over it instead of saying “Okay, I guess you’re right …”

Whoever gets the last word wins.  You just have to make sure you’re the one doing it.

Your Brain:  “That’s Easier Said Than Done.”  Me:  “That’s No Excuse.”

Yes, this is easier said than done, but that doesn’t stop you from doing it every day.  There are things you make yourself do even though the thrill isn’t there, because you don’t let that conversation own you.  Sometimes it’s because you’re taking a stand.  Sometimes it’s simply because you have no other option - you’ve procrastinated all you can, and now you’re out of time.  You tell yourself “Those excuses aren’t valid any more - this simply has to get done.”

In upcoming posts we’re going to talk about how to start getting the upper hand and stop procrastination in its tracks, but for now I’m just going to leave you with this:  Stop beating yourself up about procrastination. It’s natural.  It actually has a purpose in an instinctive, base survival sort of way.

But we’re not animals running around on instinct, or toddlers at at the mercy of our underdeveloped self-control.  We’re adults.  We have the power to push past the reactive flinching that is the foundtion of procrastinations and tell ourselves, “It’s ok.  This sucks, but we’re going to do it anyway.”

Quit beating yourself up.  That’s not helping.  Stick around, subscribe to this blog, and get a little more awareness about how to control those conversations in your head.

And if you’re serious about overcoming procrastination, go ahead and sign up for my Advance Discount List.  I’ll be releasing my Never Procrastinate Again program on the 15th, and if you’re on the list, you’ll get an early discount on it that you won’t find anywhere else.  Click here to get on the list right now.