SolveYourProblem Article Series: Procrastination
I'll Do It Later, Procrastinator

What’s Your Reward For Procrastinating?

You may be familiar with the concept that everything you do has a payoff, and procrastination is no different! Though it may not seem likely that such a problematic habit could have a payoff, when you start exploring the possibilities you realize that you are indeed gaining something by procrastinating.

Take a look at these common payoffs of procrastination and consider whether they might apply to your own life too:

Keeping you firmly ensconced in your comfort zones. Stepping out of your comfort zones and trying new things can be scary! Procrastination provides the illusion of comfort and safety, so you don’t have to face frightening or uncertain situations that you may not feel ready to handle.

Unfortunately, a life without risk is also a life without rewards. Procrastination may help you avoid feeling scared and challenged, but you’ll also end up feeling powerless and stuck.

Avoiding conflict and confrontation. You may procrastinate as a way to avoid standing up for yourself or making difficult decisions that would improve your quality of life. This can include things like asking for something you want, telling someone how you feel, or even avoiding social situations altogether.

While it may seem safer to avoid situations you’re not sure how to handle, doing so keeps you feeling isolated and scared. You’ll not only avoid the “bad stuff” like conflict and confrontation; you’ll also deny yourself the more positive benefits that come from interacting meaningfully with others!

Provides a handy excuse for not being more successful. The more you procrastinate, the messier your life is going to seem, which creates a convenient excuse for not achieving more. You can point to your financial problems, your relationship dysfunction and your mountains of stress and affirm that it’s because of those things that you haven’t reached your goals yet.

Under the surface of these excuses, it’s more likely that you feel intimidated by the thought of success so you’ll avoid creating it in your life – even if it’s something you want badly!

Once you understand your payoff, you can learn to gradually shift your focus to better payoffs you’ll receive by overcoming procrastination. You may need to face a few fears and build enough courage to step out of your comfort zones, but once you do, you quickly realize that those old procrastination payoffs weren’t payoffs at all – just a ball and chain around your ankle.

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SolveYourProblem.com : 2008

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