3 Ways You’re Convincing Yourself to Quit (And how to stop)

Do you have plans that have remained nothing but “plans” for a long time now? It could be starting a business, performing a task, or buying a property. When we procrastinate we try to rationalise why we’re skipping or delaying action.

We’d say there’s something more fun to do or with the passage of time, start to believe that we are just weak or uninspired. Sometimes, we are simply too scared of failure that we find a reason not to set our plans into motion.

Procrastination can the invisible chain holding you back from reaching for your dreams; from becoming the best version of you. And the crazy part is, it’s all in your head, such that you’re literally the one holding yourself back. Here are ways you’re convincing yourself to quit on a lot of task and goals that could change your life for the better.

1. You Believe there’s Enough Time

Procrastination, according to Neil Fiore, is a coping mechanism for dealing with the anxiety associated with beginning or completing a task or decision.

People who procrastinate often, according to Fiore, are typically poor time managers who end up scheduling in more work than they can actually do, leaving little time for enjoyable activities or sleep.

How to stop

To overcome this anxiety-driven procrastination, Fiore proposed an approach he termed the “unschedule”.
Before scheduling any task, use the unschedule method to fill your day with enjoyable events and rest. Organise your workaround fun activities. This planned downtime or fun will allow you to unwind and prevent you from overscheduling.

2. You Evade Boring Tasks

Rather than taking on a boring task, you’d rather be doing something else that’s a lot more fun. And besides, with so many fun and exciting things to do instead, it’s a lot more difficult to begin that tedious project.

How to stop

Find a way to break the structure of your fun procrastination in such a way that drives your productivity, making dreadful tasks a lot more approachable.

Don’t take the urge head-on, rather, give in to your desire. Instead of watching that Youtube video, start with an equally fun task like watering the garden which eases your dread for the more difficult tasks you have to handle.

3. You Want things to be Perfect

Perfectionists are continually aiming for perfection and, as a result, constantly criticise their own job. The fear of failure or creating subpar work can be so crippling for some perfectionists that they never get around to starting out.

How to stop

Philosopher and professor emeritus at Stanford University, John Perry, said “As long as they have a lot of time to do a task, they fantasize about doing a perfect job. Leaving it till the last minute is a way of giving oneself permission to do a merely adequate job. 99 percent of the time a merely adequate job is all that is needed”.

Take a look at the last tasks you’ve performed and you’ll see that none of them was ever truly perfect. Accept that you’ve done some impressive things in the past and trust that things can only get better. So don’t be so harsh on yourself and get to making your dreams a reality.

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