Put things off for ages but then they only take a short time to do - why?

[HowToStopThis9]

I don’t know if this is procrastination or tied to constantly feeling overloaded and tired but...

Does anyone else put things off for ages, but then when they do it, they find it only took a short amount of time to do?

I have just finished a project report for work, that I have been putting off for over two months. It has been weighing at the back of my mind for all this time. Yet, I completed it in 50 minutes.

What is that about??

I have unconsciously been feeling a little bit sick and anxious about it for all this time, when in fact I could have done it in less than one hour. And I’m like this with so many things and so many tasks. Why??!

No idea but I am the same. Anxiety related perhaps? You fear it will not be done to the standard you like so you just don't do it at all? Have you got perfectionist tendancies?

I don’t know but I hope someone answers. I think I probably do it to avoid thinking about the really big things. If I’ve got a little thing to worry about I can pretend the big ones don’t exist.
I am absolutely terrible with the most basic of form filling, while otherwise highly competent in difficult job. I cannot ever get anything posted on time, miss insurance deadlines and things like that so often that it must be deliberate.

Mmm, yes I am a perfectionist, A grades were always expected of me at school! That’s an astute observation.

Me too, but I always feel like I’ve dealt with the perfectionism (lots of therapy!). Haven’t ever tried addressing this issue though. I’m also prone to mess, despite preferring tidiness and I think that is because if I make everywhere nice I’ll have the pressure to keep it that way.

For me i have lots of little tasks that need to be done but instead of writing them down I allow them to run around my head making me feel overwhelmed. Or I push them to the side rather than attempting to tackle them.
I think I feel a New Year's Resolution coming on!

I used to be like this a bit, but now I just say to myself 'Just do it now!!' And I make myself do it... the conversation I'm dreading, the job I hate doing, mopping the floors . It's very liberating

Op look up “Wait but why” video on why procrastinators procrastinate. Interesting even if you don’t feel directly feel it applies to you.

oh definitely, i am much better the less time i have, give me a short amount of time and a deadline, I can but give me a full day, i cant do it

Yes. All the time. I've been meaning to make ds a small drawstring bag for his ear defenders for ages. I bought the Minecraft fabric months ago but have only started it today, and only that's because he needs it for his school residential trip later in the week. So far, I've cut it, hemmed it and sewn the pieces together. It's only taken an hour or two at the most and finishing off will only take another half hour and it's not difficult. I think it's the thought of it that stops me - sometimes things sound complicated, even when you've done them several times before, and that makes it seem like it's a lot of hassle so I put it off.

I’m the same. I’m learning to recognise elements of perfectionism (which feels wrong, because I consider myself a bit slapdash, but in terms of being scared to start something for fear of not knowing what to do). I’m also far worse for it when I am tired and overburdened, so I know for me there’s an element of stress and anxiety to it.

I do this and have a theory that when I have ages to do something I will over think it.

When it's down to the wire because I've left it late I make better decisions and put more effort in.

It's going to catch me out one day though

When I was a student I used to put off writing my essays, and even my dissertation, for months until I only had a week left: at one point I had 6 essays that needed to be done for the Friday and I only started them on the Monday. OMG the stress!! The thought of starting them used to scare me, though I don't know why, and the more I put them off the more space in mind they occupied until they infiltrated my dreams. In the end they only took a few hours to write. No wonder I only came away with a 2:2 I decided against going for a post-grad or a masters for this reason.

Agree with the PP, there is something about leaving things to the deadline that gives people a mental pass to do things in an un-pefectionist way, if that makes sense. 'I could have done this perfectly but now I'm running out of time' is a valid excuse to yourself when doing something.

Having worked in recruitment at one point, you really would not believe the amount of people who leave things until the very last minute or just beyond that point!

I do it too - I think I've got so much to do I don't know where to start so I do nothing instead and end up sleepless with lists running through my head. More stressful than actually doing something!

You’ve just jogged a memory there - I wrote my undergrad dissertation in three days. Awful.

And none of this is healthy! The constant anxiety and worry about ‘what I have to do’ can’t be good for me!

I do it. I would lose sleep over worrying about something rather than actually do it. Then I feel better after I’ve done it. So I don’t know why I don’t do it the next time.

I do this too, ever since school and I'm in my 50s now. Things churn about in the back of my mind that need to be done, even if they wont take long. Then when they're done it's such a good feeling.

Why can't i remember that feeling to galvinise me into action rather than procrastinating.

Try writing a list of the little jobs and do one a day. Treat yourself to a tiny reward for each completed task. Sounds childish, but worth a try!

I find it works for me during a mega procrastinating phase, eg no chocolate biscuit until I've got round to finishing task X.

Yes, I was the same. I fell for all the crap about managing yourself, making lists, prioritising, etc etc. Then I went on a course about improving productivity, which I thought would be all the same old about lists etc. But it wasn't and it really clicked with me. The speaker was all about a "just do it" mentality. No lists, no prioritising, no different "in trays", etc. His mantra was to "touch" something once, whether it was a letter, magazine, leaflet, memo, order or whatever - (days before the internet but still works today). You deal with it properly the first time it comes across your desk. Be honest with yourself and if you're not going to do something (i.e. low priority, low importance), then just bin it. He claimed that you could be so much more productive when you're not constantly farting around writing to do lists, or keep going through your in trays etc. It works! I've been doing it for 20 years. I can go into my office tomorrow morning with a "clean desk" - nothing left over from last week. As tomorrow progresses, I'll reply to emails or delete them as they come in - nothing will be left in the outlook in-tray after 5pm tomorrow.

Anxiety and a crap executive function for me.

I’m the same. WHY???

It doesn't apply to your project as it took 50 minutes, but for small tasks I have the rule of: "if it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now!"

It applies to a lot of stuff and even if it takes more than 5 minutes at least you get started.

I also use a daily/weekly planner (had a daily for 2019, will have a weekly for 2020, I found a beautiful moleskine one), and bullet point everything I have to do for the day (even buy bread, make an appointment, etc) & it really works

For really big tasks, I do the "how do you eat an elephant" approach. You break the task down into smaller tasks. It's brilliant for motivation. Rather than thinking to yourself "I'm only 10% of the way through", you turn it into 10 tasks and then you feel better when you've done one of them and more likely to push yourself to do the next task. It also reduces the risk of wasting time going over things you've already done, or wasting time trying to remember what you've done and what you havn't.

Oh God this sums up my life.

@somanysocks
Why can't i remember that feeling to galvinise me into action rather than procrastinating

I wonder if it's because of this feeling that we continue the cycle. It wouldn't be such an intense relief if we'd had plenty of time anyway.

It's a burden!