Stage 1 of 7 · 6 lessons · ~1 week

Why you procrastinate (it is not laziness)

Understand procrastination as a way of escaping uncomfortable feelings, find out which tasks trigger it for you, and replace self-blame with something that actually helps you start.

Start: Procrastination is about feelings

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Note every time you avoid a task for one week: task, time, escape, feeling
Name the features that make your most avoided task unpleasant
Write a rough first version of something you have been polishing in your head
Rewrite your usual self-criticism as something you would say to a friend
Sum up your procrastination pattern in one sentence

Start with

VideoFree
Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator (Tim Urban, TED2016)
Tim Urban (TED2016)
A funny, honest talk on what goes on inside a procrastinator's head

Practise

Self-Compassion (Dr Kristin Neff)
Free exercises for replacing self-criticism with something that helps you start

Also worth your time

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle (Timothy A. Pychyl)ReadPaid
Tim Pychyl's short, research-based book on why we put things off
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (David D. Burns)Go deeperPaid
The thinking traps behind perfectionism and putting things off, and how to catch them

Before moving on: A week of procrastination notes, a one-sentence summary of your own pattern, the features that make your most avoided task unpleasant, and a kinder sentence to say to yourself after a bad day.

Tauseef's advice

You are not lazy. Lazy people do not feel guilty about the work they are not doing. You are avoiding a feeling, and that is something you can learn to handle. Start by watching your pattern for a week without trying to fix it.

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).