You have read and re-read it, long, wide and across.You even took notes and went deeper into the subject by browsing the web.Yet nothing works.Nothing, not even the first episode of our series "Procrastination vs Motivation" can motivate you.So let's be honest with ourselves: Wasn't this research, in truth, just another excuse to postpone the start of your task? However, in the majority of cases, procrastination is not due to a lack of motivation, but rather to certain limiting beliefs and latent perfectionism.

“I still have time.»

In terms of procrastination, you play it pretty cool Raoul, at ease Blaise.You have an optimistic outlook on life and, obviously, a fairly limited ability to anticipate the unexpected.Of course, this is not the first time that you will have to manage a mission at the last minute and besides you also think that you are part of this elite of dynamic assets who work "better under pressure".

If this task that you are putting off indefinitely only involves you, so be it.But since your work is probably not an end in itself, the consequences of your time management may quickly spill over to your own duties and put the rest of your employees under stress.So get a good Eisenhower matrix to draw up a list of your priorities and then break each of them down into small bricks of simple tasks to perform.

Then estimate the duration required for each, to which you will systematically add 10% of additional time.Need an even tighter framework? Adopt the Pomodoro method and, if you struggle to exceed the two pomodoros, give yourself a small reward.Your brain will appreciate.

“I don’t have time.»

You have three options: perhaps you suffer from a slight lack of organization, a heavy workload or a possible lack of confidence in your abilities.In all three cases, we advise you to use one and the same remedy: the Pareto principle.

This method invites you to refocus on the essentials by remembering that 20% of your work produces 80% of your results.So take some of the pressure off by getting rid of non-urgent or low-impact tasks.Finally, if you are lucky enough to be able to delegate part of your work, think about your added value: subcontracting your accounting entry to an expert will require a minimal investment in financial terms, but could save you precious hours each month. .

Haven't had time for too long? Opt for a radical change: change jobs, hire someone, outsource part of your activity.You probably don't procrastinate out of laziness, but out of sheer exhaustion.

“It’s not for me.»

You grew up with the idea that you were this or that, because a particularly insightful person once told you so or an experience led you to this deduction."I'm not good at expressing myself orally", "I write badly", "I can't draw", "I'm clumsy", etc.

These shortcuts, if they serve to reassure us (they give us the impression of knowing each other and give a framework to our actions), are nonetheless easy excuses.And the limiting beliefs we acquired during our childhood are particularly tenacious.However, the factors determining our reactions are so numerous that we can act in entirely different ways when faced with the same problem, just a few days apart... So imagine twenty years apart!

You are no longer the same person you were yesterday.And in some situations, our ability to imitate may be quite enough to replace skills we think we don't have, such as when it comes to speaking in public.We all know what a good speaker looks like, and if we are convinced that we are not one, we can still be quite capable of imitating one.In other words, fake it until you make it!

"I'm not ready"

Fear of failure is more common than you might think, and it can lead to different avoidance strategies.Among them, let's focus on over-organization and latent perfectionism.

Why latent? Because perfectionism rarely leads to perfection and often leads to inaction.Take a step back from your work and the expectations you have of yourself.Would you be ready to launch a beta version of your website while waiting to be able to complete the development of the final version? Think about the advantages that this could bring you: a first feedback from your users, a first showcase that you could already promote to your contacts and above all, a little less pressure.

You might even want to spend some time on the other important stuff that was starting to pile up on the corner of your desk, before you finish the final version.

Finally, too much organization hurts productivity.An organizing tool or method shouldn't take more of your time than it saves you.Otherwise, it's called an excuse.

“I don’t want to do it.»

If this is purely a matter of desire, ask yourself why (really, why) do you need to perform this task? Does it really matter?

Seek to capture the overall picture of the project your task relates to and remind yourself of your end goal.To do this, you can, for example, draw a mental map in order to visually situate this task in the overall project.Foglietto maps can be used to break down your project into different tasks and sub-tasks that you will then arrange together to obtain an overall vision.

Normally, at this point, your last excuse could only be:

“I deserved a break.»

You deserved a break, and so did we.So we will end this article tomorrow…!

Kidding aside, let's actually conclude on the merits of pauses and anything that can, in one way or another, help you release the pressure.Because often when our brain keeps moving away from the path we show it, it's just that it's tired.So don't be too hard on yourself: also allow yourself to procrastinate at least a few minutes each day.And if you dread sinking into the throes of procrastination for good, you can even give these breaks a time frame by, for example, setting an alarm on your phone.