Monday kicks off with phones buzzing with calls and messages, emails flowing in every hour, and files stacking up on office tables. As employees welcome a new week, they also brace themselves to run the hamster wheel of professional monotony. Adding to this is the challenge that presents itself – putting tasks away until the last minute.

Procrastination is commonly misunderstood to be caused by laziness or a lack of proper time management. However, research suggests that it may stem from troubles in emotional regulation, enabling people to experience short-term elevation in moods.

While laziness can be categorised as a state of apathy with a dismissal of the outcome, procrastination is found to be rooted in a state of extreme care for the task at hand which causes a sense of stress – leading the brain to avoid it entirely. It becomes a coping mechanism to deal with short term negative emotions that may accompany the process of completing tasks.

When a task is assigned, the brain immediately analyses the competencies required to complete it. This may involve thoughts pertaining to how it can be accomplished, how well it may turn out, or if it can be completed in the given time. Boredom paints the process to be very laborious – thus making us reschedule the task to another day.

In order to minimise the effect of such negative emotions, we tend to engage in activities that may ease our minds, such as, organising a desk, gaming, or even stepping out to grab a coffee. These also act as distractors in the timeline of the unfinished task thus providing a feeling of time spent well.

Procrastination succeeds as a strategy by enabling us to experience tangible and immediate relief in exchange for long term benefits like peace of mind from completing the tasks. But once that sense of relief diminishes, we find ourselves back at square one battling the assigned task that was postponed.

At this point, there is an increase in cortisol levels, flooding the mind with excess stress to face the task, and guilt for not completing it earlier. This puts us in a situation where we abhor the whole process, even if it’s something we may really be good at.

Breaking this loop of avoidance starts with having a positive mindset. Once we arrive at the understanding that the assigned task can be completed within the given time, we wouldn’t be too hard pressed on its success. Shame, guilt and even the fear of failure may act as hurdles in the process. It is crucial that we focus on following through with the tasks, and not compare it to past successes or fellow performances.

The hardest step is – to start. If the task feels too intimidating, breaking it down into ‘chunks’ and working on it for a specific amount of time each day wouldn’t make the process look daunting. Take sufficient breaks in between to minimise mental overload.

Perfectionism may be a stumbling block especially when dealing with a procrastinated task. So don’t be hard on yourself. Exercise patience and self compassion so that you are kind to yourself when trying to accomplish something you wouldn’t usually want to.

Procrastination isn’t a permanent personality trait; It is only an emotional response to guard the self from experiencing possible shame or failure pertaining to a task. By establishing a positive approach from the start, we not only teach the mind to relax, but also develop self-confidence and courage to accomplish the work at hand.

The writer is a counselling psychologist, specialising in mindfulness therapy and researching the quirks of life. – Image credit: Freepik – editor@nrifocus.com