Hypnotherapy For Procrastination
Just Do It!
Making Life Quicker
Yet More peaceful!
Having been treating clients for all forms of anxiety for almost all of my 22 years as a Hypnotherapist, I am of the opinion that procrastination is a derivative form of an anxiety disorder. Despite the seeming fact that it has no official diagnosis as such, I believe it is, simply because the hallmark of anxiety is avoidance and the very ethos of procrastination is also avoidance. If you suffer from procrastination, you don't need me to tell you that it causes you untold levels of anxiety and, very much, interferes with the quality and functioning of your life; not to mention the effect it has, both ways, in almost all of your relationships!
However, we have to consider the difference between procrastinating and not wanting to do something. Generally speaking, there are things we must do and don't. There are also things we don't have to do but do them anyway; they are a major source of distraction and provide us with the perfect excuses to not do what we should be doing. Then there is the category of things we really want to do and often we don't do them either.
However, there are other categories, for example, things that we don't have to or want to do, yet doing them could be very important in determining how our life pans out. A good example is making your bed in the morning. Making the bed itself has little to do with it, it's the discipline of getting things that need to be done; done! So, not doing something we don't have to do, technically, is not procrastination, it falls more in the area of there being no awareness of any intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
However, there are other categories, for example, things that we don't have to or want to do, yet doing them could be very important in determining how our life pans out. A good example is making your bed in the morning. Making the bed itself has little to do with it, it's the discipline of getting things that need to be done; done! So, not doing something we don't have to do, technically, is not procrastination, it falls more in the area of there being no awareness of any intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
So here I am going to focus on you not doing the things you have to do and how not doing them has such a negative impact on your life, relationship, career your overall future prospects.
There is a fairly common cyclic routine to procrastination. For argument's sake, let's say you must do that project or presentation, not doing it is not an option, but at the moment there's still some research to do, some more facts to gather and of course, there are all those other things you just have to do before you could even consider getting started; 'humbug!' The problem is, though, you have no real idea as to why you put things off, nevertheless, every time you do it, you feel a little better or at least, not so bad. Of course, there's always that nagging voice in the background telling you, you have to get this done. But the very thought of getting started causes anxiety and the desire to avoid that unknown something causing the anxiety is so strong it overwhelms the fear of the consequences of not doing the task. So you put it off. However, comes the day, when the consequences of not doing it overwhelm the relief of putting it off, so you get started. More often than not, it turns out OK and that is followed but some guilt, frustration or remorse because you just know, that had you got started earlier, it would have been much better. So the guilt or regret now turns inwards and you promise yourself, 'next time I'll get started sooner" but by the time the next time comes around, the guilt has disappeared and you're back to square 1 and it starts all over again.
There is a fairly common cyclic routine to procrastination. For argument's sake, let's say you must do that project or presentation, not doing it is not an option, but at the moment there's still some research to do, some more facts to gather and of course, there are all those other things you just have to do before you could even consider getting started; 'humbug!' The problem is, though, you have no real idea as to why you put things off, nevertheless, every time you do it, you feel a little better or at least, not so bad. Of course, there's always that nagging voice in the background telling you, you have to get this done. But the very thought of getting started causes anxiety and the desire to avoid that unknown something causing the anxiety is so strong it overwhelms the fear of the consequences of not doing the task. So you put it off. However, comes the day, when the consequences of not doing it overwhelm the relief of putting it off, so you get started. More often than not, it turns out OK and that is followed but some guilt, frustration or remorse because you just know, that had you got started earlier, it would have been much better. So the guilt or regret now turns inwards and you promise yourself, 'next time I'll get started sooner" but by the time the next time comes around, the guilt has disappeared and you're back to square 1 and it starts all over again.
Never do today, what you can
put off until tomorrow
Upgrading The Doability Factor
Despite the apparent lack of getting things done, procrastinators do actually get things done, it's just not that often that it's the right thing, at the right time! So changing that is not necessarily that much of a challenge. That is by no means saying it will be easy . . . but it could be! It's merely a case of some historically valenced investigative work. From there we can allow a solid and workable intervention to develop.
It is most often the case that the drivers behind the habit of putting things off, go back to their childhood. It is also often the case, that as a child, this errand behaviour was not so much of a problem. This is because the infant/child's brain is immature and relatively illogical. Essentially what you do not know, logically, rationally and cognitively as a child, rarely factors into primitive cognitive systems during early childhood. However, as an adult, you now have an understanding, be it conscious or nonconscious, of what you did as a child, mostly in blissful ignorance, with a better, now, awareness of what you should, could or would have done, if you knew then, what you know now. This current awareness now overwrites your childhood memories at a cognitive level but is tantamount to corruption at the emotional level. From this moment on, you no longer have access to those childhood memories but rather, you now have an adult memory of a childhood experience. This leaves you with the awareness, as an adult, that you put things off, things you know you should do, and you cannot understand why you just don't do it!
It is most often the case that the drivers behind the habit of putting things off, go back to their childhood. It is also often the case, that as a child, this errand behaviour was not so much of a problem. This is because the infant/child's brain is immature and relatively illogical. Essentially what you do not know, logically, rationally and cognitively as a child, rarely factors into primitive cognitive systems during early childhood. However, as an adult, you now have an understanding, be it conscious or nonconscious, of what you did as a child, mostly in blissful ignorance, with a better, now, awareness of what you should, could or would have done, if you knew then, what you know now. This current awareness now overwrites your childhood memories at a cognitive level but is tantamount to corruption at the emotional level. From this moment on, you no longer have access to those childhood memories but rather, you now have an adult memory of a childhood experience. This leaves you with the awareness, as an adult, that you put things off, things you know you should do, and you cannot understand why you just don't do it!
Helping a client who procrastinates with hypnotherapy, is assessed on a person-by-person basis, simply because you are unique, just like everyone else. However, the brain's emotional and defensive systems, which activate the fight or flight response, are almost identical and not just for humans. That is why animal studies have given us so much insight into how the many variant forms of anxiety develop. So, I start the treatment of procrastination rather uniquely by lessening the ambient levels of anxiety that are not specifically related to your habit of putting things off by eventually finding empowering reasons and rewards to get things done! Now!. Also, as if by way of coincidence, many other areas of life get better too because procrastination prevents you from doing many things that are not even on a 'do list!'
In order to begin your journey toward a life without unnecessary anxiety, you can book a Free 1hr Consultation Right Here