Overcoming Procrastination: Practical Steps to Break the Cycle of Delay

The temptation begins small. We delay tasks to the next moment or the next day, thinking it will be easier or more successful. It always seems like soon it will be more convenient, and the task won’t feel as difficult. Procrastination doesn’t seek logic; it seeks comfort. The comfort zone doesn’t connect with change and prefers to stay within what is familiar and convenient. For procrastinators, nothing is more comfortable than what is already known.

The Consequences of Procrastination

Procrastination leads to many losses in family economics, politics, and other spheres — unpleasant consequences across various areas. It’s a damaging phenomenon rooted in laziness, disregard, irresponsibility, poor time management, and the illusion that delaying will solve or prevent a problem. In reality, procrastination often leads to much larger issues.

The Struggles of Daily Life

Housewives, who manage numerous areas such as education, health, finances, and more, feel the impact of procrastination in many parts of their lives. The accumulation of difficulties often causes them to experience procrastination in different areas simultaneously.

Understanding Procrastination: Insights from Yael Zalts

Yael Zalts, author of the 'The Chosen Home-Business' series, helps us recognize the roots of procrastination and suggests ways to address it. She explains, “We’re all inclined to delay tasks. We’ve become accustomed to waiting until the last moment to complete things. We enjoy looking at those who do everything immediately and describing them as stressed, anxious, or difficult to live with. What’s the rush? We ask. For us procrastinators, everything is easier."

Is procrastination really a carefree life? Not necessarily. How often do we find it difficult to sleep because we remember a task we promised to do? It’s not easy to constantly explain ourselves, apologize, and promise it won’t happen again. Our self-image drops, and we doubt our ability to meet deadlines and achieve our goals.

The Procrastinator’s Cycle

Yael describes the familiar scenario for procrastinators: "When procrastinators take on a task, they feel they will really do it this time and finish on time. They know the task is not simple, yet they commit to completing it. In reality, the task waits, and time works against them."

At this point, the procrastinator can decide to back out. They apologize and say, “It’s too much for me,” or “I realize I can’t handle it.” Sometimes they even push the task onto someone else. There are also procrastinators who still believe they can overcome the obstacles that prevented them from completing the task and that they can manage to finish in time. But one of three things usually happens: they complete the task partially, they finish after the deadline, or they don’t complete it at all.

At this stage, the procrastinators feel the damage they've caused and realize how procrastination worked against them like a boomerang. They promise it won’t happen again and that they will complete every task immediately from now on. But does this happen? Usually, it does not.

Procrastination is difficult to catch in the act. Yael explains why: “The procrastination process is usually unconscious, and the whole situation is elusive. There’s a certain moment when, instead of performing an action, we don’t do it. But at that moment, it seems like we’re not doing anything. We’re busy, eating, in the middle of something else, thinking about how we’ll do what we’re not doing when the time comes.”

Recognizing the Moment of Delay

Yael divides the procrastination process into three stages:

1. A task is to be completed.

2. A procrastinating thought arises (of any kind).

3. Procrastination and delay in execution.

According to Yael’s model, if we stop the process at the right stage, we can overcome procrastination and prevent it in advance.

Following are some automatic procrastinating thoughts:

• "It can wait, nothing will disappear."

• "Relax, everything will be fine in the end."

• "It’s not worth trying, it won’t succeed."

• "I can’t do it, why disappoint myself again?"

• "Just a second, just a little while longer."

These rude, uninvited thoughts sneak into our minds as soon as we set a goal. They flash in our minds in the blink of an eye, even before we realize they’ve visited, leaving us to wallow in the aftermath of procrastination.

For example: Ayelet comes back from shopping with bags full of groceries. She places them at the entrance of the house, and immediately, an automatic thought appears: “The bags can wait. I’ll have coffee first and rest a little.” After an hour, she discovers the baby playing in a pile of flour, and all the groceries are spilled joyfully around.

If we catch these automatic thoughts ahead of time and refuse to let them dictate our schedule, half the solution is in our hands. The moment we identify such a thought, we switch to "alert mode": This is happening now. Right now, I’m delaying a task. We stand firm against the automatic thought and declare: "Now! The moment! Immediately!"

Even the most chronic procrastinator will be surprised to discover there are certain tasks they never delay, such as eating chocolate, reading their favorite newspaper, or enjoying a sacred afternoon nap. Suddenly, they abandon all excuses and “do it right away.”

What’s the difference? What makes us delay some actions but complete others immediately?

If we slow down and examine our procrastinating thoughts, we will discover that behind each delay, there’s a reason. The reasons for procrastination can be varied, but they can be grouped into two main categories:

1. Reluctance to Perform the Task

• "I hate washing dishes, so I won’t even look at the sink until it smells."

• "Shopping is a hassle for me, so I only bought boots after the snow melted."

• "I’m afraid of going to the hospital, so I didn’t visit my mother-in-law while she was hospitalized."

2. Fear of Failure

• "I’ll never finish this pile of laundry, better not even start."

• "Deborah won’t forgive me for the mistake, I’m too scared to apologize."

• "I’m bad at writing, why did I volunteer to write a greeting for the teacher?"

When we examine the reasons behind procrastination, we can understand why the task keeps waiting. But in reality, the reason for the delay isn’t always clear to us. We don’t reflect, we just delay, and that’s it.

The unfortunate paradox here is that the fear of failure leads to procrastination, which leads to failure, and failure only reinforces the feeling of inadequacy: "See, as always, I couldn’t meet this goal. I knew I was a complete failure."

Overcoming Procrastination: Practical Steps

Yael offers some practical steps to tackle procrastination:

1. Catch the Procrastinating Thoughts: When you have a task to complete, stop and listen: What automatic thought pops up in your mind?

2. Pause. Take a moment. Gather yourself and think with consideration. Don’t act on the automatic impulse.

3. Act. Do it now. If you can’t, set a specific date or time to complete it. There’s no “later,” only "when."

4. Identify the Reason Behind the Delay and provide an answer. If the problem lies in the process, find a way to make it more enjoyable. If the issue is fear of failure, believe in yourself and do the task according to your abilities.

By following these steps, you can break free from procrastination and move towards achieving your goals.