Unhealthy Habit - Putting Things Off
September 11, 2017
This weekend I went on a workshop that I have been putting off for almost a year now, not because it was awful or I didn’t want to do it – I just became the queen of excuses as to why I shouldn’t do it now. Even on Friday as I was preparing for the two days ahead, I was thinking to myself ‘I don’t really need to do this’ or ‘would it be the end of the world if I didn’t go?’. I can’t describe why I didn’t want to go or what was repelling me so much from attending other than by saying I felt inferior and insecure.
I had this same feeling last year when I went on another course and wrote about the magic happening outside of your comfort zone. I still believe that it does and maybe that was the main reason I did go ahead with the training this weekend – that thought that something magical can come out of doing something I’m not confident in at all. The problem is that any sort of training where I have to present in some way in front of people, scares the crap out of me! I turn into that little, shy girl in school and totally freak out. I lose all confidence and just want to run away. This feeling has given me years of practise in excuses – but it’s also unhealthy. It’s an unhealthy thought process and way of living.
So yet again I found myself cancelling and postponing this workshop month after month until finally I thought ‘I’m just going to do it’. Was it that bad in the end? Well no it wasn’t. Did I meet some lovely people? Yes, I did. Did I end up having a good time? YES! I felt so silly for putting if off for so long when I could have just got it over and done with and could have avoided all the anxiety and tension leading up to it.
Putting things off until ‘later’ is quite a ‘normal’ attitude to have and if you’re an avid list maker then I’m sure that you’ll put a million and one things on a to-do list with the intention of completing them at ‘some point’. It’s all very indefinite, can leave our brains a bit flustered and presents a certain amount of chaos in our lives. It is a very unhealthy habit and attitude to have – surely it would be much simpler and a whole lot easier to just do it?! Just get it over and done with rather than have it hanging over your head, after all, the more you do the more you get done.
Here’s why putting things off is an unhealthy habit we all need to break:
Putting things off can increase tension and feelings of being flustered. When we have something that we need to do, it really just needs to get done – sounds so simple, but it’s true. If there is something on our to-do list, it wont be ticked off until we have completed that task. If we do that for everything that needs to get done then all of a sudden we have a massive list that’s just totally overwhelming, confusing and intimidating. We are faced with questions like:
- ‘Where do I start?’
- ‘Which is a priority right now?’
- ‘Which task is the most important?’
More often than not, when we have too many things that we have been putting off, it just becomes one massive stress list of things we need to finish. Our minds get cluttered and our lives can sometimes feel chaotic. Wouldn’t it be much simpler to spend five minutes paying the bill once it had arrived rather than waiting a week or two? Wouldn’t we feel less flustered if we did all those odd jobs around the house one Sunday afternoon rather than having a list of things we will do ‘one day’? Of course we would.
“Promptly attending to tasks takes away any tension that it may cause or leave lingering in your mind.”
It can also increase feelings of anxiety. I know from personal experience that the more I put things off, the more anxiety I get over those particular tasks or to-do’s. Take this course for example: Constantly pushing it back and changing the dates meant that my feelings of anxiety towards it were not only continuing but they were also increasing! Every time it came to the next weekend I had booked I found myself feeling more anxious than the last. Why? The more you put things off or postpone things, the more negativity you hold towards it. If you feel anxiety over something, those feelings will only enhance and become more prominent and overwhelming the longer you leave it. If you’re feeling anxious about something that you need to do, then just get it done! Get it over with – if it’s a doctor’s appointment – go. If it’s the dentist – go. If it’s your driving test – just go and do it.
“The quicker you do something your anxious about, the less amount of time you spend actually feeling anxious.”
Negativity is draining, exhausting and de-motivating. Yet putting things off causes nothing but negativity. At the end of the day, if you wanted to do something you would have done it by now, right? Those things you haven’t done a probably because you didn’t feel like doing them in that moment, but there is no guarantee that you will feel like doing them later on either, so the cycle continues. Even if you don’t want to do the task at hand, finishing it will mean that you skip that negativity cycle, feel more energised and freed up to do those things that you actually want to do and that will make you happy
Procrastinating is productivity’s worst enemy – I’m serious here – those two are not friends at all! One is never seen with the other. If you want to be productive then it’s simple – STOP PROCRASTINATING! Again, it’s that saying:
“The more you do the more you get done.”
It’s such a simple thought but some of the most effective words when it comes to productivity. I remember my teacher telling me this at school when I was ‘struggling’ to get my art work completed. I wasn’t struggling at all, I was just procrastinating as I was so daunted by what needed to be done that I couldn’t think straight. Those words are so useful as they almost emphasise breaking things down into baby steps and moving forward that way. It doesn’t matter how much you get done, just get what you can done.
If you want better time management, then put your procrastination card in the bin!
Finally, putting things off stops you from growing. Some of the things we do postpone are challenging for us. They might mean heading outside our comfort zone and feeling unsteady – but those are the times and situations that we need to experience as that is how we learn and grow. Remember, life is a constant education and it’s exciting! Yes, it’s scary, confusing and intimidating but everything is new to us at some point – it won’t be new forever. Getting over that initial hurdle will push you to grow as an individual and expand your heart and mind. Don’t put those moments off – they are there for a reason and they are there to push you.
“Never put off learning more about yourself, those challenges are your own internal life education and they are the most important lessons to learn.”
I challenge you this week to avoid putting things off. As soon as something comes up that needs your attention – just do it! Get that job done and dusted, ticked off your list and tucked away nicely. You will feel less stressed and flustered as that ever-growing to-do list is quickly diminishing but you will also be way more productive and efficient with your time management! So give it a go – stop putting things off and thinking about ‘later’ or ‘tomorrow’ and think about RIGHT NOW. What’s the point in putting things off? Get them done now and enjoy your free time later.
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