WEBVTT - Second Cup: Why we procrastinate

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. For

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<v Speaker 1>the next five episodes, I'll be talking about the topic

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<v Speaker 1>of procrastination. Today, we're talking about what procrastination is and

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<v Speaker 1>why we put things off. Over the next few days,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll look at strategies for making progress even if we

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<v Speaker 1>do feel resistance. Finally, we'll talk about when that resistance

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<v Speaker 1>is a good thing, because procrastination is actually our intuition's

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<v Speaker 1>way of teaching us something important. But first, a definition,

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<v Speaker 1>procrastination means putting something off, even knowing will be worse

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<v Speaker 1>off because of the delay. Sometimes delays don't matter or

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<v Speaker 1>are even wise. If you put off checking email because

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<v Speaker 1>you need to help a colleague who's really struggling with

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<v Speaker 1>a project, you are choosing well. If you put off

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<v Speaker 1>writing a self evaluation that will help your manager argue

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<v Speaker 1>for your promotion, that's procrastination. The first thing to note

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<v Speaker 1>is that everyone procrastinates to some degree. In the past

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks, I've put off a number of things that

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<v Speaker 1>I definitely had time to do but chose not to,

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<v Speaker 1>such as getting my car's oil changed and making an

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<v Speaker 1>update that my marketing person keeps telling me to do

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<v Speaker 1>with my Instagram account. People are most likely to procrastinate

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<v Speaker 1>things that seem complicated or unpleasant, and I know this

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<v Speaker 1>is true for me too. If something doesn't have a

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<v Speaker 1>definite deadline, then it's particularly easy to put off to

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow what could be done today. People sometimes ask me

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<v Speaker 1>if procrastination means they're lazy. I guess it could. But

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<v Speaker 1>in a recent article for The New York Times, writer

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<v Speaker 1>Charlotte Lieberman explored a different angle. Sometimes, she wrote, procrastination

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<v Speaker 1>is about self doubt, low self esteem, anxiety or insecurity.

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<v Speaker 1>Staring at a blank document, you might be thinking, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not smart enough to write this. Even if I am,

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<v Speaker 1>what will people think of it? Writing is so hard?

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<v Speaker 1>What if I do a bad job. All of this

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<v Speaker 1>can lead us to think that putting the document aside

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<v Speaker 1>and cleaning that spice draw instead is a pretty good idea.

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<v Speaker 1>I think Charlotte is onto something. There's some research finding

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<v Speaker 1>that procrastination is about protecting our egos from the bruising

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<v Speaker 1>nature of reality. One study found that when students were

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<v Speaker 1>told that a test was an important judge of their abilities,

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<v Speaker 1>they put off studying. When these students were told that

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<v Speaker 1>the test didn't matter, well, then they felt no such

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<v Speaker 1>procrastination urge. What's happening is that it's really scary to

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<v Speaker 1>think that we might try our hardest, throwing our hearts

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<v Speaker 1>into things, and still fail. So sometimes we try to

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<v Speaker 1>protect ourselves by putting things off. If you put off

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<v Speaker 1>studying until an hour before the test, well, of course

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<v Speaker 1>you won't do well. That kind of failure feels more

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<v Speaker 1>psychologically acceptable, but it's kind of a sad way to

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<v Speaker 1>go through life. Developing the courage to risk failure is

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<v Speaker 1>far more rewarding. We get better at things by doing

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<v Speaker 1>our best, seeing where we come up short, and trying again.

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<v Speaker 1>It also helps to realize that failure is generally not

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<v Speaker 1>that big a deal. I like to think of the

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<v Speaker 1>word failure in the context of weight training. Weightlifters will

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes do reps to the point of muscle failure, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's the word they use, failure. It's not a judgment.

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<v Speaker 1>You're not a bad person because you can't lift those

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<v Speaker 1>weights indefinitely. It's just a reality that we have limits.

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<v Speaker 1>Weightlifters view failure as part of the process. You go

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<v Speaker 1>to your limit, then rest a bit, then try again,

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<v Speaker 1>and over time that limit moves. In Charlotte Lieberman's article,

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<v Speaker 1>she recommended countering the procrastination cycle with self compassion. One

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<v Speaker 1>study found that students who could forgive themselves for procrastination

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<v Speaker 1>on a test or less likely to procrastinate on a

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<v Speaker 1>future one. So when you find yourself putting something off,

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<v Speaker 1>rather than getting into a cycle of self loathing, simply

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<v Speaker 1>say it's okay. Treat yourself just like you'd treat a friend.

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<v Speaker 1>If she put off applying for a new job, you

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't tell her she's a miserable excuse for a human being.

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<v Speaker 1>You'd encourage her and point out that this application is

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<v Speaker 1>just a small thing standing between her and a great future.

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<v Speaker 1>She's totally got this and you do too. So think

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<v Speaker 1>about something big that you've been putting off. Would it

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<v Speaker 1>change anything to recognize that failure isn't that big a deal?

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<v Speaker 1>Would it change anything to tell yourself that you're still

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<v Speaker 1>a great person whether you do this thing or not.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you choose to do it, it might be awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, Maybe not, but it might. Please. Tune

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<v Speaker 1>in for the rest of the week for more on

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<v Speaker 1>procrastination and ways we can get going on the things

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<v Speaker 1>that matter to us in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.

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<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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