61: 5 Ways To Stop Procrastinating At Work

Ever wish you could stop procrastinating and just take action?

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, and when you’re spending that time procrastinating and avoiding things that need to get done, it can drain your time and energy.

Today on The Bold Life podcast I’ll show you why your brain makes you procrastinate in the first place, and give you five strategies to stop procrastinating at work.

Why Are You Procrastinating In The First Place?

Reason #1 - The task sucks!

Chores like cleaning the shower, mowing the lawn, or doing the dishes –I’m sure there are a billion other things you’d rather do!

Happens at work too. For me, it’s bookkeeping. Something about entering thousands of numbers into spreadsheets is just not my favourite way to spend a few hours.

The good news? This type of procrastination is a pretty easy fix.

The solution =Give yourself a reward!

Your brain loves rewards because they’re super motivating. Often motivating enough to get your brain and butt in gear to check that annoying task off your list.

If it’s a special cup of coffee, or sneaking an extra chocolate – you tackled that task and you deserve to be rewarded.

The second solution for this type of procrastination is delegating. Maybe there’s someone at work who loves bookkeeping and would be happy to do it for you. The annoying task is still getting crossed of the list, but you were able to teamwork it.

Some tasks we really avoid can be easily tackled by rewarding yourself or asking for help!

Reason #2 - Your brain is stopping you

This is the deeper reason you procrastinate, and it’s usually fueled by self-doubt, uncertainty, and fear.

Think about the tasks that you procrastinate on at work. It could be a call with a client you’ve been dreading, or a project that you keep putting off because more important things keep coming up.

I want you to imagine that task right now. Imagine starting it.

Where did your brain go?

Did you start to think…

I don’t have time for that.
There’s way too many other tasks that need to get done!
It’s going to take too much work to complete.
It’s something I can deal with later.
I’m not sure how it will turn out, so I don’t want to put work into something that might not pay off
I’m worried about what other people will think

These thoughts all come from fear. The fear of being judged, of failure, and of not being good enough. These fears are uncomfortable, which your brain hates, and it will actually magnify your fears. That task becomes a bigger and bigger issue, so you avoid it more and more. Now there’s added stress because the deadline is approaching, the pressure is building, and now your brain is avoiding starting the task even more.

How can you override your mental default and stop procrastinating and holding yourself back?

5 Reasons Your Brain is Making You Procrastinate – and what to do about it.

1. Your Brain Feels Totally Overwhelmed

Back to that task at work that you’ve been avoiding.

When you think about doing that task, your brain is probably saying something like

“Ugh, that is going to be so much work.”
“I can’t do that. How am I going to get it done?”
“I don’t even know where to start”

Don’t worry my friend, you’re not alone.

One of the reasons your brain makes you procrastinate is because the task seems overwhelming. When a task seems too big for your brain it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in the sea of procrastination. When you’re worrying about how long it will take you, or how much work it will actually be, or if you can even finish the task at all – these excuses make your brain to want to avoid the task altogether.

Cleaning your house, for example. That task seems way too huge. Where do you even start? And why would you even start when you know that by the time you finish the big clean, you’ll just have to start again anyways because a husband or a toddler has messed it all up again. You win brain, let’s avoid it instead.

To solve this procrastination problem, try breaking the task into smaller parts. The smaller, the better! Each step will seem way less overwhelming and more manageable. Bonus – with each step that you get to check off, you’ll feel even more motivated to complete the next step so it can get a big green checkmark too.

Even if you don’t get it all done in a day, at least you started! Your brain loves momentum, and it all starts with starting.

If you have a task that feels way overwhelming and it’s making you avoid, try writing it down in baby steps to help your brain feel more at ease and in control. Plus it’s fun to check all the steps off!

2. You’re Doubting Yourself & Lacking Confidence

You might be thinking…

“I can’t do this”
“I’m not good enough or smart enough”
“What if I make a mistake or upset someone?”

That doesn’t sound very comfortable for your brain, does it? That’s why it keeps avoiding that task.

The solution? Baby steps! This is how you will build confidence and be able to push through.

Each success you have and every step that you cross of your list builds your confidence, and more importantly, eliminates some of that doubt! Your brain will say “oh yes, I can tackle this, if I go step by step”.

Are you slipping into a doubt spiral? Break the task down and just start. Start with the first step, even if it’s really small. You’ll probably be surprised that all of the worst case scenarios and self-doubt that your brain has been preaching won’t actually come true.

3. Your Brain Is Too Distracted

Your brain only has so many resources. You might not realize that distractions take up a ton of those resources.

Picture this: You’re sitting at your desk and trying to get started on that project. Look around. You have

A cluttered desk
Unorganized papers everywhere
Sticky notes that are every colour of the rainbow
A cluttered email inbox
Colleagues popping in your office to ask questions (and remind you of that approaching deadline…)

All of those distractions are forcing your brain to try to multitask. The funny thing is, your brain can’t actually multitask. All it can do is switch back and forth really quickly between the two different tasks. Sounds inefficient, right? It is!

Your brain is really good at focusing, but only if you’re setting it up for success. This means turning your phone off, creating an organized system so you’re not wasting time, and de-cluttering your work space. All these little tricks will give your brain less to think about so that it can keep on you track with your tasks!

Mental distractions can also throw you off your game. When I’m working, I always keep a pad of paper beside me so when a new idea comes to mind, I can write it down quickly but then refocus on the task I was working on instead of getting completely side tracked by exploring that lingering idea. I’ll come back to it later!

Bonus tip – be aware of how long your brain can actually focus. The answer: 60-90 minutes. Then you need a break! Otherwise, you’re way more likely to get distracted and procrastinate.

4. You’ve Taught You Brain To Be Inconsistent

Then you promise something to someone else, you’re likely to keep your word. Like promising to help your friend move. Of course you’ll keep your promise.

But how many times have you broken a promise that you made to yourself? Like “yeah I’ll go the gym tomorrow”, but you end up choosing not to go and break the promise.

The problem is each time you break a promise to yourself your brain learns this as a habit. Your brain says “I kept putting other things first, so those must be the real priorities”. This makes it really hard to stop procrastinating on the tasks that really matter.

Consistency is key for you brain! That task that you broke down into baby steps earlier? Take those steps and put them in your calendar. Commit to making one small action every day until the task is done. This consistency will build the momentum for your brain so it’s more likely for you to stay on track.

5. Your Brain Sucks At Focusing On The Long Game

Your brain likes quick successes and quick rewards.

But most of the tasks that we procrastinate on don’t have immediate rewards.

Maybe you’re starting a new business and you know all of the tedious tasks you need to do will eventually build up to your success, but you might not see that success for years, so it’s hard to get started today.

This is a problem for your brain, and here’s why: Your brain wants to have all the fun right now. It takes a lot more work and effort to get your brain focused on the future. It’s easy to slip back and be worried about the short term, and this is where you can lose motivation and give up altogether.

Training your brain to remember your long term goal is important. Whenever you’re slipping into procrastination, remind yourself why you’re doing this task.

What’s the long game?
Why is this task important?
What do you hope will come out of it?

Focusing on the long term when you’re tempted to procrastinate shifts your brain’s focus away from the short term discomfort of doing that thing (the reason you’re procrastinating), and towards the long term benefits and what you will gain.

Want to learn more?

Check out my free two-part training “The Decision Making Formula” where I show you how to make faster decisions (without endless procrastinating) so you can get more done in your day. Head to www.drnicolebyers.com/formula to get started.

And make you subscribe to The Bold Life Podcast so you never miss an episode!

Show Highlights

[01:11] Why your brain likes to procrastinate instead of work.

[02:03] Give yourself a reward to incentivize accomplishing your daily tasks.

[05:02] How fear enforces procrastination.

[06:39] Procrastinating when your brain feels overwhelmed.

[10:49] Doubt and lack of confidence feed procrastination.

[12:24] How clutter in your workspace encourages you to put off your work.

[14:09] Taking breaks to increase work efficiency.

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