A Hidden (But Super Common) Cause of Procrastination

A secret, insidious cause of avoidance and procrastination at work can often be a “tape” that plays in the back of people’s minds that’s on 24/7, that’s constantly on repeat, chanting:

There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.
There’s a RIGHT way to do things.

This “tape” that plays on loop makes people scared to speak up in conversation (because they may say something wrong).

It makes people nervous to send out emails (in case they don’t say the right thing).

It makes people scared to start planning a project (because what if they plan it wrong from the beginning??).

This tape, along with it’s companion that insists “If you do something wrong, you won’t get another chance”, brings speeding trains to screeching halts.

Sit quietly right now.

Say to yourself, “There’s a right way to do things”…

and then try saying, “If I do something wrong I won’t get another chance.”

Do they grab at you? Do you feel a negative emotion? Do you feel a response in your body? Do you feel a sense of dread?

If saying these words doesn’t feel like saying a random string of words (like “xylophone pencil purple”), those tapes are likely playing in the background of your mind as well.

Sit with that for a minute.

I know you CONSCIOUSLY know there is more than one way to do things.

But, how much and how often are you having to convince yourself this is true?

Procrastinators are absolutely NOT all lazy people who can’t manage time. So many are powerful, effective humans who are simply battling inner tapes on 24/7 loops. They don’t get to live in a world where there are millions of ways that WORK. They live in worlds where the idea of “messing up” drains them.

Erase the tapes, and suddenly procrastination disappears.

Erase the tapes, and procrastinators turn into doers.

You’re NOT doomed to be a procrasinator the rest of your life. Oftentimes it’s just a matter of finding the internal tape that’s keeping you in an exhausting game of “I’ll start it later…”