We are all guilty of letting ourselves procrastinate when we know we have a never ending to do list to get through, and here are some reasons you get stuck in the cycle
We’ve all been sat at our desks with our minds are wandering anywhere and everywhere except for on the task at hand.
You open up your Google Doc ready to get on with your work, then you find yourself in a TikTok hole, or sipping your coffee wondering what’s for dinner. Then you’re distracted by a text or simply find yourself staring blankly at the screen realising you’ve not even made a start on your work.
So why do we procrastinate? And how can we stop ourselves getting so distracted by almost everything?
Tiredness
One of the main reasons for procrastination is tiredness. Feeling bleary-eyed and foggy from a lack of sleep can cause a 3pm brain freeze while sitting at your desk. Tiredness can hinder your ability to work, so it’s important to make sure you get enough sleep the night before.
A study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that there was a direct correlation between sleep deprivation and impaired cognitive function, including working memory and cognitive speed. Lack of sleep also affects your focus and attention too.
We all know sleep is important, but it’s also been found that a lack of sleep can destroy brain cells. A study published in The Journal of Neuroscience discovered that when brain neurons fire without enough rest they become damaged and destroyed.
Negative news
Another reason for procrastination could be to do with your personal life. Any sort of negative news can play out in your head throughout the day, taking your focus away from working. Bad news can affect your mood, which can then put you in a slump, hindering your attention to work.
Keeping your emotions in order can be tricky, but it’s best to find out what’s distracting you and then focus on something internal such as your breathing. It’s best to try and make a note of what is bothering you, and then speak about it with others to help clear your mind.
Taking too much on
If you find yourself spinning too many plates, this could be another reason your mind is wandering. Multi-tasking isn’t a bad thing, but it can really take away our focus from specific activities. When your focus feels depleted, that’s a solid sign you have way too many plates spinning at one time says David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute in an interview with Entrepreneur.
“While multitasking is an important skill, it also has a downside. It reduces our intelligence, literally dropping our IQ. We make mistakes, miss subtle cues, fly off the handle when we shouldn’t, or spell things wrong.
“Your brain’s reward circuit lights up when you multitask,” Rock says, meaning that you get an emotional high when you’re doing a lot at once.” However, it’s a double-edged sword as it can also sabotage productivity. However, he said if we can train our brain like a muscle to multitask, it may help to increase productivity.
You hate what you’re doing
Some work tasks can be mundane, but that is usually just a part of the job. But these mundane tasks can make us want to procrastinate even more. However, ways to try and stop this are to do your most hated tasks first. Get them out of the way and then they won’t be hanging over you.
In a study by Rock, it was found that people were only truly focused for an average of six hours a week. “You want to be really diligent with what you put into those hours,” and most people focus best in the morning or late at night.
How can we stop doing it?
There are a few ways you can try and get yourself back on track, but you have to make a plan. Structuring your day can help, and it can feel rewarding when you tick items off your list. Experts at Mindfield, a platform to help employees wellbeing have shared some tips.
They recommend firstly to start small. If you break down large tasks into smaller tasks that you can do straight away, you’re gettinf started without even realising. If you make a plan and put times and dates on the liist, you know what to prioritise and focus on first.
It may sound simple, but it’s really important to finish tasks. The experts said: “When you spot a task that’s nearly done, put extra effort into getting it over the line. Don’t be tempted to leave lots of jobs almost finished: enjoy the satisfaction of ticking them off your list.”
If you find yourself getting distracted by thing and people around you, see if there are things you can change. Do you need to take yourself away, or put items out of reach until you’ve finished? But most of all, be kind to yourself. No one ever realistically gets to the end of their to-do list. Do your best to meet deadlines and when you do, celebrate your success.
Do you have a story to share? Email niamh.kirk@reachplc.com
