It’s hard

It's hard

Sometimes the task at hand is emotionally, mentally or physically hard, so you choose to put it off to spare yourself the energy and effort. The problem is that it won't go away until you have done it, so you end up spending more energy procrastinating and dealing with the consequences of that.

Example: You know you have to have that difficult conversation with someone. You hope that it will just miraculously right itself and put it off. Over time, the issue isn't resolved, and you become more frustrated or annoyed. You are now in internal conflict with the other person. You might drop sarcastic comments, passive aggressive nudges or even punish the other person by giving them the cold shoulder, thus causing more stress and conflict. Now there is a real issue. Your relationship is toxic. If only you could just have the conversation and resolve the issue, then life would be so much easier wouldn't it?

Or perhaps you have signed up to do a physical challenge, the garden project, decorating the house, a team three peaks challenge. You know you need to start, but you also know it will be physically exhausting, so you decide to start tomorrow, or next week. Eventually the deadline gets closer and closer and now it gets really hard because you haven't prepared. Your prediction that it is going to be hard becomes true. Rather than pacing yourself, you have just made your life so much harder.

Or perhaps it's mentally challenging piece of work to do. You know it's going to be mentally hard, and every time you start, you stall or find an excuse to do something easier instead. Perhaps you learned that last minute cramming worked for you when you sat your exams but forgot how exhausting and stressful it was. You trick yourself into choosing a different option and stack yourself up for a whole heap of pressure. Now it is really hard because you have to deliver, and you are totally underprepared. You stress brain activates and logic and mental capacity shuts down and everything is a lot harder.

The solution

To overcome procrastination, you need to look at the ultimate prize of doing it. List the costs and benefits, pros and cons of action and inaction. Visualise yourself completing the task or goal and how you will feel as a result. 

What values will you be honouring by completing the task? What is in it for you - your motivators.

Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.” ―Zig Ziglar

This is how a great leader or coach can really help someone tap into their motivations and minimise procrastination. By asking great questions to unlock motivations and values, you can take something that feels really hard, and help your team member to tap into their internal motivators and really want to achieve.

"All things are difficult until they become easy"

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