Procrastination can become a habit very easily. Because you’re doing something that brings you joy while you procrastinate from your work, your brain enjoys it and wants to do more of it! The thought and habit cycle of procrastination is also called the procrastination cycle. It’s very easy to get into the habit of procrastinating and very difficult to break it.
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So what is the procrastination cycle?
Let’s explore in detail your thought cycle when you procrastinate and how you can break out of it. You may not realise it but you often have thoughts in your mind that continuously play on loop.
It first starts with the root cause of procrastination which could be many of the reasons why we procrastinate. In this case, let’s assume it is fear of failure and the thought in a person’s mind could be something like “I’m scared I’ll fail”!
This thought leads to an action which is that you procrastinate. Once they procrastinate, it leads to a negative feeling which could be stress, anxiety, guilt or in this case the person is self-critical with a thought like “This is just not for me”. This negative feeling leads to a further negative thought such as “I’m feeling even less confident now” And finally, this loss in self-confidence further adds to their fear of failure and the cycle continues. The more you procrastinate, the more you actually start to believe you will fail. That is how vicious this cycle can be.
Another simple example of this thought cycle could be where the root cause is feeling overwhelmed with too much work. This leads to procrastination which then leads to negative feelings of stress which then causes, even more, overwhelm and the cycle continues.
The fear, followed by procrastination leads to negative thoughts and feelings and even worse consequences, which will end up with you procrastinating more. This is the vicious procrastination cycle. This is how it becomes a habit as well. Procrastination initially starts with a simple thought “I’m scared I’ll fail”, but once the cycle starts playing in that person’s mind, that thought of failing slowly starts turning into a permanent belief that the person will fail.
And that’s why this cycle is so dangerous. The more you procrastinate studying something important because you feel it’s boring, the more your belief will become stronger than that particular subject is boring.
Breaking the cycle
In order to break out of this cycle, it’s important to understand various approaches and habits to overcome procrastination! Procrastination can affect your everyday life, productivity and your work life as well! In case you are procrastinating too much, make a conscious effort to overcome procrastination and try habits to get better. It is a very bad habit that can have a lot of consequences and I am glad that you’re taking time to read up on it and become better.
Evolve has a journey designed with life coaches and experts to help you overcome procrastination and become better at facing your fears. It’s an interactive virtual workshop you can try at home today! Evolve helps make your personal growth joyful and simple and helps you balance your stress, anxiety within minutes. The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!
With over 300 articles published on Evolve. Jash is one of the most viewed writers on topics such as Sleep, Mindfulness and Stress. Drop a mail at Jash@evolveinc.in to connect with him.