Do you procrastinate ? Are you constantly putting things off, even when you know accomplishing them is the best thing to do? If so, you are certainly not alone. Everyone procrastinates or shirks responsibility at some time or other. The problem is that chronic procrastination can damage your health, ruin you financially, and create a rash of mental and emotional problems.

If that is the case, and human beings know what we should be doing, why aren't we doing them?

Sometimes procrastination is intentional, and sometimes it is a by-product of your lifestyle. Listed below are 6 common reasons why you procrastinate. Understanding the motivation behind your avoidance and putting off responsibilities is the first step to stopping that behavior.

1 - Poor Diet

This one probably surprised you, didn't it? It shouldn't.

Many people living in modern civilizations eat processed food on a high level. They are consuming sugar, salt, MSG, trans fats, fast foods, and other food-like products that are unhealthy. This has led to the highest incidence rate of obesity and overweight in human history. When you are tired, lethargic and your body does not get the nutrients it needs, you have little energy and your brain does not function properly.

Get more live, organic, fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet. Eat fewer foods that come in a wrapper, bag, or box. Start reading food labels, and avoid sugar, salt, MSG, and trans fats. Make more meals at home, eating nuts, berries, and organic products. You will not only sharpen your mind and stop procrastinating, but you will also become healthier and lose unneeded body fat in the process. When I go to the grocery store, I often use an app called Yuka. The app is available in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Germany, The United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

                                                                                                    

As I live in France, the written are obviously in French. Let me explain this further. So, you simply scan the barcode of the product you are interested in buying and it will automatically show you a rate from 0 to 100 based on the composition and show the details, which is very awesome. If you are on a strict diet, this app is definitely made for you! It also gives information about the environmental impact of the production. When a product has a bad note, the app will recommend you products that you can buy instead. You can even choose the grocery store you often go to, so that it only recommends other products in this specific grocery store.

Not only can you use it for food but also for cosmetic products. There is a free and a premium version. Funny thing is that they let you choose the amount of the premium version. So you can pick 10€, 15€, 20€ and 50€ per year ! Once you become a member:

-you have access to all the products you scanned during the year

-you can scan any product with no signal on your phone

-you can search for any product without scanning it

-you can choose to get alerts after selecting your food preferences

As an entrepreneur, I think it’s really important to be careful what we put in our bodies because we need to stay focused, have physical strength, and be healthy to go through our journey which can be very tough.

2 - Lack of Motivation

When a task is boring, or you "just don't feel like doing it", it is easy to put off. Remind yourself why you are doing any particular task or handling a responsibility. When you understand the important reasons why something is on your to-do list, you can motivate yourself through to its completion. Clear your mind by writing this:

-        Why do you do this ?

-        For who ?

-        How would you feel if you complete everything and succeed ?

At times, a lack of motivation can make you feel like you’re not doing anything, you may feel stuck which increases your lack of motivation.

If you’re struggling to get motivated to do a task, and all you keep doing is procrastinating,  here are some strategies to help.:

-        When you think you’re going to fail, or that you’ll never complete a task, try not to think of it as a failure, but as an opportunity to improve.

-      If you're struggling to make it in the world of business, try practicing self-compassion to boost your motivation. Self-compassion is a virtue, but it doesn’t mean you should pity yourself.

-        If you’re working on a project that will take up a lot of your time, try pairing it with something fun.

-        If you feel overwhelmed, put your task into a ridicule thing to do. For example, let’s say you want to do 20 push-ups and don’t feel like doing it, do only one. You might think that it’s completely useless but it’s better than doing nothing ! Plus, it conditions your mind not to give up and step into action anyway.

What we hear plays a huge role in our motivation level daily. That’s why it’s very important to surround yourself with only positive-minded people because you will start to talk and think like them. You can also listen to podcasts and there are so many out there. I would recommend the podcast The School Of Greatness hosted by Lewis Howes who covers many self-help, business, and relationships topics.

3 - Time Issues

"I don't have the time!" Have you ever used this excuse to procrastinate or put something off? Most human beings in today's busy society have a lot on their plates. There are a lot of tasks and responsibilities to handle. But the truth is, we waste so many hours every day and week because we do not properly prioritize or plan our actions. A daily, weekly, and monthly activity planner solves this problem. We sometimes prefer to spend so much time entertaining ourselves by scrolling on Instagram or TikTok or by watching movies and tv-series. There is nothing wrong with chilling and doing nothing, but have you accomplished all your tasks ?

Here are a few tips for you to successfully initiate your time management skills:

-        Examine your old habits and look for ways to change them. When you learn that your habits are not conducive to proper time management, then it’s about time that you start changing them. Bad habits are usually hard to change but when you can overcome them, the results are rewarding.

-        Put up reminders at home and office about your goals. Usually, when you are trying to pursue long-term goals, you slowly lose focus on them. Putting reminders everywhere would help you get reoriented with your goals motivating you to strictly follow your schedule.

-        Maintain a list of specific things to be done each day and set a top priority on that list. Maintaining a list of things to be done every day is a great way to start successfully allocating your time properly. Making a checklist would definitely help you to become a more responsible person. It is more than just a reminder, but it is critical in how you follow that lit to see if it’s effective for you.

-        Focus on one thing at a time. Some people try to do all things at the same time. When you concentrate only on one task, the time needed to finish the job will significantly lessen giving you more spare time.

-        Continually look at ways of freeing up your time. This improves the time spent on finishing up your activities. Remember that if you save a few minutes from each activity, and then you sum them all up, you would realize that you have saved a lot of time.

4 - Fear of Criticism and Rejection

A perfectionist attitude can easily lead to procrastination. You want something to be "just right" before you cross it off your to-do list. This is really a deep-seated fear of criticism, either from yourself or others. Understand that nothing is ever perfect, make it acceptable, and move on. Some people will criticize you whether you do something or nothing. That is part of the game.

Have you ever put off making a telephone call or speaking with someone? Communication is important and you know it, but you still keep finding reasons to put it off. This could be based on a fear of disappointment or rejection. You don't want the other person to tell you something you don't want to hear.

Fear of criticism is a common problem and it usually stems from having low self-esteem. One way to stop caring about criticism is to learn to be comfortable with the self-disclosure of your feelings. For example, when you are afraid that someone may reject you, you may need to be more self-disclosing and more assertive. Another way to stop caring about criticism is by recognizing that not all criticism is bad. Some people may be critical of your personality, the things you do, or the way you look. But there an also some people who are being helpful and are trying to help you improve your life.

5 - Avoidance of Failure

Sometimes your "I'll do it later" attitude is very simple to understand. You are afraid of failure. No one likes to fail. However, all of the great achievements in human history were made on the back of repetitive failures. If you are afraid to fail, you may never achieve anything truly important in your life, mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

The fear of failure is a natural human emotion, that can lead to people giving quickly on new difficult endeavors. We often feel like if we fail, there is something wrong with us. The key to overcoming it is to see failures as lessons rather than things that are happening to you to put you down.  

It is best to have tried than not to try at all. At least, if you try, you will know for sure if you would have made it.