If Procrastination were an Olympic Sport, I’d be a perennial gold medalist; seriously, do you feel it? That would be the perfect opportunity to go all Jackson 5 on you because, you know, it’s the Jackson Five, but I’ll refrain. Well, kind of.
Anyhow, Procrastination is one thing I’m good at and engage in a lot, which almost makes me an expert.
This morning, as I was avoiding work, like writing this blog post, my son ‘caught’ me mopping the floors, and he asked what I was doing. I replied,
“I’m avoiding work by cleaning, you know, procrastinating.”
He smiled and walked away because he’s used to his off-beat eccentric father, but I digress. Before going any further, let’s consult Google Dictionary to find the true meaning of Procrastination.
“Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing there will be negative consequences.”
You know, like delaying taxes because you owe money to the taxman. Here, we’ll get into some of the stuff I do to beat Procrastination, particularly regarding health and fitness.
Causes Of Procrastination
Being a male with adult responsibilities, some of which I don’t like, it is easy to come up with some obvious causes of Procrastination outside of the fact you don’t want to do it. Here are a few major ones.
Fear and Anxiety: You fear things like the big needle from the dentist to numb your mouth. The fear of being judged or embarrassed will also cause you to put things off. The more anxiety you experience about a task, the more likely you’ll put it off.
It’s Boring: if it’s tedious or unpleasant, like going to the dentist, you will put it off until later.
Lack of Self-Belief: You lack faith in your abilities, like picking heavy things up and putting them down. Believing you can do it is essential to getting shit done.
Perfectionism: If you often delay tasks because you cannot do them perfectly, why bother doing them? You may delay tasks you don’t do well, or you fear you’ll fail altogether.
Distraction: Distractions will prevent you from focusing on the task at hand. Wait, my phone is beeping; let me check my Facebook.
Can you relate to any of these? That’s a small and general sample, but hopefully, you get the picture.
Procrastination And Health & Fitness
When it comes to ‘working out,’ I’ve got fewer excuses than most because my garage gym is 100 yards away from my back door. You may have to shower, get dressed, and drive to the gym. Each stage of that is open to Procrastination. I have to fall out my back door and walk a few steps, and I’m there.
That makes it more challenging to put my workouts off.
Other tedious, mundane health and fitness stuff like doctor appointments, vaccines, the dentist, etc, my wife nags me. Which is a curse (do I need to say why) but a blessing because if I hint at Procrastination, her Planet Fitness Lunk Alarm goes off.
Aren’t I a lucky man?
IMO, Procrastination when it comes to your health has a nasty way of biting you on the butt because if you put it off long enough, it’s going to hurt later. Better to suck up the discomfort now than double it down the track later.
What To Do About Procrastination
First, you need to realize you’re doing it and maybe give yourself a talk to compassionately. Other than that, here are a few small things to do if you’re procrastinating your health and fitness.
Accountability
Accountability is the biggest reason most personal trainers are in business. Clients pay for sessions, and the trainer bugs them into showing up. My wife nags me, which is a form of accountability. The simple act of telling a family member or friend of your health and fitness intentions and asking them to hold you accountable is a small and powerful thing to do if Procrastination is a problem.
Lessen The Steps
Working out at a commercial gym where you must prepare to go, drive, work out, and shower is a multiple-step operation. There are steps in the process where you can say screw it and not do it at all. If you keep putting off your workouts or anything else, a simple solution is to lessen the steps to reach your ultimate destination. For example, occasional home workouts instead of driving to the gym may help. Sometimes, the best way to beat Procrastination is to nip It before it starts.
Skin In The Game
I was thinking about adding fear because, at times, fear can be a powerful motivator. But fear has negative connotations, so skin in the game it is. The accountability example of clients paying for sessions is a simple example of having some skin in the game. But it doesn’t have to be financial, just anything encouraging you to put your cards on the table.
Wrapping Up
The key to beating Procrastination and getting things done is recognizing it and then doing something about it. Easier said than done, granted, but using the tips above will help you beat your health and fitness procrastination when it strikes. Now, where did I put my tax forms?
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