{"id":76304,"date":"2022-08-17T10:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T14:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=76304"},"modified":"2022-08-24T10:40:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T14:40:43","slug":"procrastination-and-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/procrastination-and-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Procrastination and Anxiety: What’s the Link?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is procrastination the result of laziness or anxiety? How does anxiety drive procrastination? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procrastination isn\u2019t caused by laziness and can\u2019t be fixed by trying harder. Instead, procrastination is a symptom of the fear and anxiety we sometimes feel about our work\u2014and to solve it, you have to address those underlying emotional struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips on how to deal with procrastination<\/a> and anxiety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Deal With Procrastination Anxiety <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his book The Now Habit, <\/em>Fiore says that sometimes we procrastinate because we\u2019re worried about what can go wrong with a task or project. This happens especially when we artificially inflate the stakes of a task and demand perfection from ourselves. But worry and anxiety only worsen procrastination by making you more stressed. To defuse your procrastination anxiety, Fiore suggests that you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Realistically determine the worst thing that could happen<\/strong>. Often this worst-case scenario (if we\u2019re realistic about it) isn\u2019t as bad as our unexamined worry makes us think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Think about how you\u2019d respond if the worst <\/strong>did <\/em><\/strong>happen<\/strong>. What would you do? How would you handle it? Whom could you turn to for help? Fiore says that questions like these help you see that even if something truly catastrophic happens as the result of failure, it won\u2019t be the end of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Think about <\/strong>what you can do right now <\/em><\/strong>to avoid the worst-case scenario<\/strong> and instead move yourself toward your goals. Doing so forces you to turn your worry into a practical and actionable plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: As Daniel Goleman explains in Emotional Intelligence<\/em><\/a>, the ostensible purpose of worrying is to rehearse difficulties and dangers before they arise. The problem is that worry easily blows itself out of proportion<\/a> by generating catastrophic scenarios and sweeping predictions of doom. Moreover, Goleman says, worry is a rigid and linear thought process, which means it saps your ability to think creatively and find solutions to whatever\u2019s bothering you. Goleman agrees with Fiore\u2019s suggestion that you challenge your worried thoughts, though he adds another question to the ones listed above: He advises that you ask yourself whether your worry is helping you or just getting in the way.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is procrastination the result of laziness or anxiety? How does anxiety drive procrastination? Procrastination isn\u2019t caused by laziness and can\u2019t be fixed by trying harder. Instead, procrastination is a symptom of the fear and anxiety we sometimes feel about our work\u2014and to solve it, you have to address those underlying emotional struggles. Here are some tips on how to deal with procrastination and anxiety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[722],"class_list":["post-76304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-the-now-habit","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nProcrastination and Anxiety: What's the Link? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Procrastination isn\u2019t caused by laziness\u2014it results from anxiety about work. 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