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Mental Health Moment - Changing Procrastination · Life Lived Better

• 0:08
  Hello there, and welcome to another mental health moment
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  from the Life Live Better podcast.
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  This is the place where we take just a couple of moments to care
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  for our minds. I'm Paula, and today we're
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  talking about something that nearly every one of us
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  experiences at some point, and that's procrastination.
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  Most people think procrastination is just about
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  being lazy or not having enough discipline, but in many cases,
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  procrastination is actually connected to how we manage
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  difficult emotions. That shocked me.
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  Sometimes we delay tasks because they feel overwhelming.
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  Sometimes we'll delay because we're afraid that we won't do
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  something perfectly. And sometimes we'll delay
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  because tasks bring up anxiety or self doubt and even boredom.
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  So in those moments putting off a task, it can feel like
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  temporary relief. But the problem is that
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  procrastination rarely makes the task go away.
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  It usually just adds more stress later.
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  Boy, don't I know this one. So think about the feeling when
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  a deadline is approaching and something isn't done yet.
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  The stress can quickly turn into pressure or guilt or frustration
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  with ourselves. So if procrastination is tied to
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  emotions, then the solution isn't just to try harder.
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  Instead, it helps if we can change how we approach the task.
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  One helpful strategy is to make a task smaller.
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  I do this one, and it helps. So instead of telling yourself
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  that you have to complete the entire project, just focus on a
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  first small step. Maybe just opening the document.
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  I mean, maybe writing a few sentences or spending 10 minutes
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  getting prepared and started. Another helpful approach is to
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  lower the expectation of perfection.
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  I mean, if we procrastinate because we're feeling like what
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  we produce has to be perfect, give yourself permission to do
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  something imperfectly. That will often make it much
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  easier to get started. And sometimes it helps to remind
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  yourself that action creates motivation, not the other way
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  around. We often wait to feel motivated
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  before starting something, but do you know that motivation
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  frequently shows up after we begin?
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  So if you find yourself procrastinating, try to pause
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  and ask, what am I feeling about this task?
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  You might discover that the barrier isn't your ability, it's
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  actually the emotion. So taking one small step forward
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  can be enough to break the cycle.
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  The Life Live Better podcast thanks you for joining us for
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  this mental health moment. Until next time, take care of
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  your mind because it's the only one you've got.
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  And don't forget that knowledge leads to a life lived better.