Surprisingly, people are more likely to regret what they haven’t done than what they have. Accountability, or taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (or non-behaviours), whatever they are, is one technique to assist people get beyond procrastination. Following that, addressing behaviors and habits, as well as using both cognitive and emotional tactics, can be done. There must, however, be a desire to change. If the procrastinator gains something favorable from their behaviors, they are less likely to change their ways.
Procrastination remedies based on behavior
Procrastination will almost certainly have a habitual component and, as such, is changeable provided the will to change is present and the individual is prepared to step outside of their comfort zone, regardless of whether their Locus of Control is influenced externally or inwardly.
A behavioral approach might begin with increasing self-awareness and learning to recognize indicators of procrastination, as well as addressing avoidance, which may include making distractions difficult or, in some cases, altogether eliminating distractions.
After that, you can concentrate on creating constructive habits, such as self-control, motivation, planning, and time management. Exploring your basic beliefs and how you interact with action and change while remaining compatible with your personal needs might be beneficial at this stage.
While knowing there is an alternative may be a good start, such tactics must become a habit and be centered around your own incentive system to be genuinely effective. Setting a start date, rather than merely an end date, for tasks, together with a short to do list (max, 5) with small bite-sized bits of work, for example, can be more beneficial. Short-term positives and benefits are more appealing than doing something undesirable since the brain wants rewards (when you have made distractions unpleasant). Checking items off your to-do list will aid in the formation of a positive new habit!
Solutions for procrastination in the brain
It can assist in identifying and challenging incorrect ideas and thinking processes, such as the notion that completing a task requires you to feel motivated, inspired, pressured, or another feeling. Another erroneous belief is that you need last-minute pressure to accomplish your best work (while, in fact, you are less able to think clearly when you are stressed – fight or flight). It’s possible that you’re aware that subsequent chores will be simpler, and that the activity at hand will be easier afterwards. You can start to change how you see new events and have not only a more positive mentality, but also more positive language and self-talk, by challenging those beliefs, looking for evidence to support them, and then pursuing other ways of thinking.
Solutions for emotional procrastination
Addressing fear, whether it’s a fear of making a mistake, a fear of success, or any of a number of other worries, is critical when working with emotional solutions. After these feelings have been discovered and discussed, a sense of curiosity, as well as self-compassion, can be established (treating yourself kindly). This lowers psychological stress, promotes motivation and self-esteem, and boosts pleasant emotions like optimism and comfort.
As you can see, hypnotherapy may be used in a variety of ways to help you overcome procrastination. If you’d want to work with one of our hypnotherapists to help you minimize your procrastination even further, please contact us; we’re here to assist. If you’re a hypnotist or hypnotherapist who’s been putting off starting your own business, we offer hypnosis coaching and supervision — it’s a terrific way to get started!
We hope you enjoyed this blog about using hypnosis to overcome procrastination, and do contact us if you have any further questions about this topic, or anything else for that matter, because we’re always pleased to help!