Procrastination and its relationship with anxiety

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Behind procrastination there may be factors that go beyond poor time management. Among them are anxiety, difficulty managing our emotions, insecurity and even low self-esteem. We analyze it in the following article.

Postpone until tomorrow what we should have started today, delay a little more that task that we still have halfway done, leave that email that we should answer pending… Procrastination and its relationship with anxiety is a fact that is increasingly seen in the field of psychology.. Thus, the habit of postponing contains behind it a whole series of internal realities that we do not always take into account.

Procrastination or the habit of postponing tasks and responsibilities for other activities that are more rewarding has nothing to do with laziness, and even less with high intelligence as has been popularly said. Actually, This behavior is the result of poor management of emotions.

However, It is true that at some point we can all delay any task that has a specific delivery date.. However, there is always a moment when one becomes aware of one’s responsibility and effectively executes said work without major problems. This situation takes on other nuances when the habit of procrastinating becomes a habit.

When this procrastination appears in any area of life, be it at work, social and personal life, things get complicated… Even more so if discomfort, frustration and vision are added to the procrastination behavior itself. negative self-esteem when feeling incapable of fulfilling the commitments made.

The term “procrastination” derives from the Latin verb I will procrastinate, which means postpone until tomorrow. Now, what is hidden behind this reality often traces a state of mind characterized by anxiety and negativity.

Procrastination and its relationship with anxiety

We have to deliver a project at the end of the month at work and there are exactly fifteen days left. We tell ourselves that we will do it on the weekend, but when Saturday arrives, almost without knowing why, time has gotten out of hand. How? We have seen three seasons in a row of that new series that has surprised us so much. While out shopping we found the latest book by the author we are so passionate about.

It’s not a time management problem, it’s anxiety

Procrastination and its relationship with anxiety has to do with our emotional management. Maybe, when we postpone a task every other day, someone tells us that we organize our time poorly or, even more so, that we are a little lazy. Is not always that way. Many times, what we must do, fulfill or deliver causes us anxiety.

Sometimes, It is precisely our self-demand that generates this problem for us. We want to do very well, we want to stand out, deliver something perfect that meets our high expectations and those of others. However, the fear of not surpassing that high bar stresses us, distresses us, and ends up laying the foundations for anxiety.

So, When anxiety sets in, everything becomes deformed. The mood and desire decline and the mind looks for other more rewarding tasks to escape from the problem, from that need to be highly effective and the fear of not achieving it. What’s more, studies such as those carried out at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, tell us the following:

Procrastination has little to do with poor time management. Sometimes we avoid doing something because we find it unpleasant or uncomfortable (having to ask our boss for something, for example). However, This reality is almost always related to deeper dimensions:

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Low self-esteem. Insecurity. Anxiety and stress.

How to reduce anxiety-related procrastination

Procrastination and its relationship with anxiety can reduce our potential and well-being. What can we do to handle these types of situations? These are some strategies to think about.

Stop anticipating negative results. A first step to ending this procrastination linked to anxiety is to stop giving ourselves negative messages about what can happen. Ideas like “I will do that job but in the end there will be some detail that will make me look bad” are not helpful or helpful. Let’s be clear: negative predictions worsen our performance.Reduce expectations. Don’t look for perfection, don’t focus on what others expect of you. Use a healthier approach, focused on you, without high pressure or impossible bars.Calm mind, allow your working memory to rest. We know it may be ironic, but to stop procrastinating you have to rest your mind. We do it so that it is freed from junk thoughts and thus be able to optimize it little by little. To do this, there is nothing better than leaving your mind blank, meditating, being silent…In the face of fears and doubts, decisions. Often, when we try to carry out that task, fears and doubts instantly arise. When that happens, we must deactivate them through a proposal, a decision. For example: I have to prepare my presentation for my master’s thesis –> I’m sure the computer will hang and it won’t turn out well –> I’m going to try it, I’ll spend an hour and I’m sure I’ll like the result of what I do.

To conclude, as we can see, Behind procrastination there is a whole universe that we must clarify. Knowing why it happens is the first step to deactivating that scab that reduces our worth and potential. Let’s keep it in mind.