Procrastination and the Art of Kai-Zen

Procrastination and the Art of Kai-Zen - theHumm November 2016

By — Trevour Strudwick is the owner/operator of The INSIGHT Studio at 163A Bridge Street, in Carleton Place. <InsightStudioCanada.com>

Upon hearing the word “procrastination”, people generally give one of two responses. They either giggle and start making jokes, or they admit that procrastination is a real problem. Of course there is a fortunate minority for whom procrastination is not an issue, and these are the people that procrastinators admire as “go-getters”, “powerhouses” and “success stories”.

The problem with procrastination is that it is often the only obstacle to achieving success — and one that is entirely within our control. People are largely unaware just how pervasive and self-destructive procrastinating behaviours are, let alone what to do about them. They often confuse procrastination with laziness, but procrastinators are not lazy. They are just busy doing something else. In fact, procrastination is a response to anxiety, which involves distraction by various other “displacement activities”. You will often hear people say “I was going to do that, but then something came up.”

In the book It’s About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them, Dr. Linda Sapadin identifies six different procrastination styles:

The Perfectionist – “If I can’t get it perfect, I’m not finishing it.”

The Dreamer – “I would rather play and have fun!”

The Worrier – “What if I do this and something bad happens?”

The Defier – “I’ll do it when I’m good and ready.”

The Crisis Maker – “I like the rush of waiting until the last minute.”

The Over-Doer – “I have so much on my plate — there’s no way I will ever get it done.”

Procrastination is a form of self-sabotage and contains elements of both fear of success and fear of failure. It is knowing that we want and need to do a thing, and making sure that it doesn’t get done. It is wanting to do a thing, and then agonizing about not doing it. It also progresses along a predictable cycle:

The knowledge that you want or need to do something

The good intention of starting — and making considerable headway OR completely avoiding an unpleasant situation (such as doing taxes)

Displacement activities

The pressure builds as the deadline approaches

Finally getting it done

It is also part of several mental health profiles including depression and anxiety, and when left unchecked can lead to a profound feeling of hopelessness.

Procrastination inevitably leads to clutter and disorganization. As a Life-Coach and Hypnotist, I am a big fan of Kai-Zen Philosophy, which is the art of taking ridiculously small baby steps towards your goal. An example that most of us can relate to is the state of the home office or art studio. For many it is a repository of clutter, correspondence, glasses, dishes, litter, tools, supplies, laundry, you name it. When we think about how much time and effort it will take to organize it all we feel deflated, depressed and overwhelmed — the henchmen of procrastination.

The Kai-Zen approach would say: do one small thing. That is, every time you walk by your desk, put one thing in the garbage; put one book back where it belongs, pay one bill, fold one piece of clothing, etc. Just the one. Each time you go by, just do one small thing. That one paperclip. Empty the paintbrush water. In this way, we don’t trigger “overwhelmed” (i.e. anxiety) and the task becomes simple. We actually trick ourselves into doing more. We come to the realization that “since I’m here already I might as well…”. And really, any task is just made up of a number of smaller tasks. Nobody said they had to be done all at the same time!

The subconscious mind is very task-oriented, and when we first decide to do a thing, it is similar to opening a program on your computer. Your inner self says “Yes! I want this! Let’s do it!”, but until that task is brought to completion it feeds off your nervous energy (albeit subconsciously). The more tasks that get left undone, the more “windows” are running in the back of your mind, which then register as anxiety, discomfort and depression.

So when we do something towards accomplishment — anything at all — we create the energy of success and completion that the mind is searching for. We feel energized. We lift our mood, freeing up creativity, improving focus and motivation. If you feel that procrastination is holding you back, don’t worry — you are not alone! There are literally hundreds of books on the subject and tens of thousand of professional studies.

Of course a Life-Coach is trained to help you get a grip on that old pattern of procrastination; to stop you compromising your dreams and help you put your best efforts forward so that you get all the success you desire, and deserve!

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Procrastination and the Art of Kai-Zen - theHumm November 2016