This was never really intended to be a series (part 1 part 2), but writing about procrastination has been helping me to think bigger. I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve written the last couple of weeks and I kept asking myself, why do I procrastinate. Why is it just so alluring to waste time? I would then ask why again and again.
Below is the type of inner dialogue that played out in my head.
Why do you procrastinate? I’m bored.
Why are you bored? I’m not sure.
That’s not a good answer. Try again. Why are you bored? You know you have stuff you should be working on. I know, but I always end up getting it done when it’s due.
Right, but what about the stuff that doesn’t have a due date, when does that get done? Well, I don’t know. It doesn’t.
Why doesn’t it get done? Why aren’t you working on it? It’s what you want, isn’t it? I guess? My challenge is that I want to work on so many things, that I never actually commit to one.
Why don’t you commit to one? I’m not sure which one I should commit to.
Why?
Then it finally hit me. I don’t commit because I haven’t fully figured out why I want to do it in the first place. Often, it just seems like the right thing to do or the thing I should be working on.
Sure, goal setting is part of the equation, but even more important is why. Why are you doing it in the first place?
I realize now a mistake I’ve been making, is not thinking things through and taking action without clarity. What I have is a clarity problem.
It’s not enough to just have goals, I need to sell myself on WHY. Clarity is mastery, and when you understand why you’re doing something it helps fill in those spots of boredom. Procrastination is caused by a lack of clarity.