拖延症的5大借口,以及应对方法
Bad news: We’re biologically hardwired to procrastinate. Research shows we possess a limited amount of willpower that drains throughout the day, regardless of what we do. We can’t avoid procrastination. Instead, embrace it as a necessary chance to recharge, restore your confidence, and generate new ideas. To use procrastination to your advantage, you first need to understand what’s behind your excuses. For your procrastination to be functional, here are break activities that address the reasons you want to procrastinate in the first place. EXCUSE 1: YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START What’s the difference between procrastinating and taking a break? A plan for what to do next. When we waste time indefinitely without any concrete plan, we create a secondary anxiety about what to do next. EXCUSE 2: YOU’RE TOTALLY BURNED OUT After a week of working without a break, you can barely string two thoughts together, let alone produce anything worth presenting to others. Time to hit reset. Add a side hustle. Your guitar jam sessions or personal blog serve a purpose beyond scratching your creative itch–it can help us withstand work stress and prepare us to solve problems in innovative ways. EXCUSE 3: YOU DON’T HAVE A DEADLINE Create a coworking group. You’ll need encouragement to push through. For that, reach out to other creatives in networking groups–on social media or in person–and organize a weekly or monthly meeting to discuss your progress on your various projects. EXCUSE 4: YOU’RE AFRAID OF DISCOMFORT Procrastination often stems from our tendency to avoid things that make us feel physically or psychologically uncomfortable. Intellectually, you probably realize that putting off those projects doesn’t permanently relieve your discomfort–it just delays it. Have a cup of coffee. Have some snack. Eat your favorite hamburger. Anyway, treat yourself something. This will make it easier for you to face the discomfort. EXCUSE 5: PROCRASTINATION IS YOUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE Like any other bad habit, our procrastination follows a pattern. We enter a project with the best intentions. Then . . . we encounter a roadblock. As the deadline draws closer, we continue making excuses and avoiding our work until the final hour, when we throw together some random thoughts, send it into the ether, and hope it works. Though it takes between 18 and 254 days to create a lasting behavioral pattern, you can remotivate yourself in time for today’s big meeting with one last tip: Watching a movie in which an underdog becomes a hero. This does work. It will give you the willpower to carry on. |