How to defeat denial and procrastination in order to accomplish more
Denial is a form of self deception. Being able to defeat denial, procrastination, and self deception require an intentional plan on your part. Self deception is the action or practice of allowing oneself to believe that a false or unvalidated feeling, idea, or situation is true( Definitions from Oxford Languages).
For further explanation on self deception and the other forms it can take, please see this post.
Denial
Denial takes what is reality and what can be proven by factual information and changes it into the way we want to see ourselves or a situation. Usually this is in a more positive light than what is reality. This prevents us from making appropriate changes that can improve our lifestyle and overall well being. Don’t deny who you are! If there are characteristics or habits you have that you don’t like, seek to change them. Don’t deny them.
When you have to look at improving yourself, you need to evaluate who you are. This is always difficult. We are quick to look at others and be able to point out their faults and things that they need to improve on. If they would do this, they would be able to do that. When we have to turn the lense on ourselves, a form of self deception may creep in. We are quick to deny our own characteristics.
Have you ever thought or said these things in relation to your own behavior?
- I am doing really well in this class, except the actual grade does not reflect this.
- I am a healthy eater, except I have dessert every day after lunch and dinner.
- I am getting much better at using my monthly budget, except the spreadsheet does not account for all purchases that are made.
- I am ready to begin getting ahead in life and reaching my goals, except I still sleep until 1:00 pm in the afternoon.
Procrastination defined
It seems as though denial and procrastination go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something ( Definitions from Oxford Languages).
Now usually when procrastination happens, the task still gets accomplished. It just gets completed with added stress or with less effectiveness. Remember those times you crammed for that test. Yes, you probably passed, but probably not with an ‘A’. Even with an ‘A’, the added stress of last minute studying always made me regret procrastinating.
This procrastination behavior can continue to follow us into adulthood and reflect in our professional and home life. How can we flourish and determine the balance we need if we procrastinate doing tasks in all areas? Procrastination makes accomplishing goals very difficult.
Procrastination types
There are various types of procrastinators that can be discussed. Some people break procrastination into two types and others go up to as many as six types. For our self evaluation today, we are going to use four. I know you will see yourself in one of these. See what you identify with the most so you can tackle those traits.
- Pressure procrastinator- You feel like you have to have your back up against the wall in order to perform optimally.
- Stretched too thin procrastinator- You feel like you have been doing so much already, trying to begin something else would be too much.
- Perfectionist procrastinator- You have to do everything exactly right and can’t start because you may not have everything in the proper place.
- Visionary procrastinator- You always have a new idea but seeing this vision through to the end is a challenge.
How to defeat denial and become a self starter
What can you do today to make denial a part of your past? Realize that you already have to skills to effect a change. You already can develop the personality traits and skills you need to be successful in an area.
Yes, when you begin a profession or a new stage in life, everything is NEW. You can not deny that.
What is not new is the skills you already possess and your ability to use these skills to better yourself. The most successful people always identify where they have deficits. Not so they can feel bad about themselves or deny that they are even there, but they face them so they can do something about them. So they can eliminate them!
You are in the category of successful people. Do not allow yourself to be slowed down by your denial or your procrastination.
Steps to be used to defeat denial and procrastination
- Make a plan for the next 7 days
- Prioritize the steps for the plan
- Visualize yourself completing each step of the plan
- Take action each day on a part of the plan
- Track your progress daily
- Make adjustments to schedule as needed
- See the plan through into reality
Try these steps for the next 7 days and see what you can get done. Share in the comments your successes! You can encourage someone else!
Resources that will help you defeat procrastination
Article about the types of procrastination and how to avoid being one.
Article addressing the science of procrastination. Very interesting if you want to look into what your brain does during procrastination.
Be you, be focused, be well!
Find Your Flourish! |Shanna|
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Ugh I’m the worst procrastinator. I always have been! I’m definitely going to use these techniques now that I’m trying to accelerate my own blog.
Actually, the visualization technique is such an interesting one! As a speech pathologist I sometimes teach my patients to use visualization throughout their lives to improve their memory. Interesting overlap!
Gianna- As a speech pathologist, you have some techniques that should help with procrastination. You probably just have thought of them in isolation as treatment techniques for your patients! I am glad you were able to find something to apply to your life from the post. Much success with your blog. |Shanna|
There are some great tips in here! I also never heard of the “stretched-too-thin” procrastinator type before, and it really resonated with me, especially because I procrastinate doing something that will take 5 minutes and ultimately reduce a lot of stress.
Danielle- I appreciate you taking the time to comment! Yes- get to those 5 minute tasks and accomplish tasks quickly. We sometimes allow stress to prevent us from even getting started with what we need to do. It is surprising that once we get over the getting started, things can fall into place. |Shanna|
I’ve definitely had all those forms of procrastination! These are great tips. Thank you for sharing.
Thilini- Thank you for reading this post! I am glad you liked the tips. Try and use them when you find yourself waiting to start a new task. |Shanna|
Very interesting read. I never knew there were different types of procrastination. Thank you! One of my favorite tips is to treat the work you are doing for yourself like the work you would be doing for someone else. You wouldn’t put off work that you do for someone else until the last minute, so value yourself as a person, and don’t put off your work.