When Tomorrow Never Comes: The Anxiety of Procrastination

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination is problematic. Usually, if I procrastinate long enough, it leads to much anxiety. I’m a very good procrastinater. Consequently, I will put things off to the very, last end.

Or not do them at all. I usually put certain things off because I’m afraid of making a mistake. I don’t like to be wrong. I’m not stuck-up, I’m just afraid of mistakes.

Basically, it has to do with the bullying I received all throughout my childhood. Every little thing I did was criticized by my peers. So, therefore, I learned to try and not make mistakes.

Warped thinking, I know that now. But back then, I just wanted to fit in. I was tired of sitting on the other side of the door all by myself waiting to get in.

Subsequently, many people with anxiety can also struggle with procrastination. People procrastinate for many reasons and in many ways.

Some struggle with intolerance of uncertainty, which causes them to procrastinate. Their anxiety may also overcomplicate the issue and make it difficult to decide where to start.

Anxiety-related procrastination is a vicious cycle. Although a task may make people feel anxious, putting it off can make them feel more anxious and create more dread around the task in the long run.

Research also shows that procrastinators get worse sleep and feel tired in the daytime, worsening the cycle of procrastination and amplifying anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety Paralysis Procrastination

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination is paralyzing.

You know the scenario: you’ve got dreams, ambitions, and a to-do list as long as your arm, but there’s a peculiar weight holding you back, preventing you from taking that first step towards achieving your goals.

Equally, it’s that moment when you’re staring at a blank screen, experiencing increased stress, a stack of unread emails.

Also, a seemingly insurmountable project, and you just can’t bring yourself to make a move to begin with.

Welcome to the world of task paralysis, a challenge that affects so many of us.

Also, it leaves us overwhelmed with that debilitating feeling that we’re in vicious cycle of paralysis and procrastination.

Further in this post, we’ll dive into the depths of this challenge and give you actionable tips to get stuff don

Anxiety Perfectionism Procrastination

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: A swirling to-do list in your brain. A list so long that even the simplest task becomes overwhelming and all-consuming.

Conversely, even as I sit here writing this article, I’m overwhelmed with the points I want to make and how to phrase them.

It leaves me wanting to throw up my hands and deal with it later.

Especially getting things done or let alone getting organized when you struggle with anxiety can be overwhelming.

It’s this sense of overwhelm that feeds one of the common patterns that people struggle with: the perfectionism-procrastination-paralysis cycle.

For many people, the idea of doing a task in a less-than-perfect way may be grounds enough to say, “Forget the whole thing!”

Whether that perfectionism stems from a fear of judgment or judgments you have of yourself.

So, the anxiety likes to convince you that if you can’t do everything and do it perfectly? You should probably do nothing at all.

OCD and Procrastination

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination can effect your OCD.

Hence, understanding the relationship between OCD and procrastination reveals that both are often driven by a common emotional core: anxiety.

With OCD, you might find yourself trapped in a loop of obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions. Consequently, like repeatedly checking if the door is locked when you should be focusing on an important task.

These rituals offer temporary relief from anxiety but eat into your time, leading to procrastination.

Conversely, procrastination can be a symptom of the same anxiety that fuels OCD.

You might delay tasks due to fears of imperfection or making mistakes. Thus, providing a temporary escape that ultimately increases stress as deadlines loom.

This heightened stress can exacerbate your OCD symptoms, creating a cyclical relationship between the two conditions.

Indoubtedly, recognizing this link is crucial for developing effective strategies to manage both challenges.

Studying Anxiety Procrastination

At length, students procrastinate because issues like exhaustion and anxiety outweigh their self-control and motivation.

These issues include personal factors, like fear and perfectionism, and situational factors, like distractions and unclear instructions.

Specifically, when students need to study or work on assignments, they rely primarily on their self-control in order to get themselves to do it.

Furthermore, their self-control is sometimes supported by their motivation, which helps them do things in a timely manner.

However, in some cases, students suffer from various issues that interfere with or oppose their self-control and motivation, such as exhaustion and anxiety.

When these issues are stronger than their self-control and motivation, they end up procrastinating.

Sometimes until they reach a point where the balance between these factors shifts in the students’ favor, or until it becomes too late.

Work Procrastination Anxiety

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination can effect your work.

You have ambition and drive, but you find yourself stalling or postponing action on an urgent work project.

Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior most of us do at some point. In fact, evidence suggests that 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators.

Correspondingly, the team at Solitaired surveyed Americans in every state and asked various questions regarding their procrastination habits. Here are the key findings:

During procrastination, 78% of respondents say they feel anxious.
As well as, Americans are most likely to procrastinate household chores, exercise, and medical appointments.
Overall, 99% of Americans admit to procrastinating tasks.
At least nearly two in five Americans say they would procrastinate less if social media didn’t exist.
A lack of motivation is the most common reason Americans procrastinate.
Comparatively, residents in Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho are the most likely to procrastinate.
Residents in Arizona, Missouri and Kentucky are the least likely to procrastinate.

Is Procrastination a Coping Mechanism?

Yes, procrastination can be a coping mechanism that people use to deal with negative emotions and challenging tasks.

Generaly, it’s when someone puts off an unpleasant task, often something important, in favor of something else that temporarily improves their mood.

This avoidance behavior is sometimes called “giving in to feel good”.

What is the Root of Procrastination?

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination, finding the root cause. Procrastination can be rooted in fear, such as fear of failure, success, or not being perfect.

It can also be a coping mechanism for anxiety, stress, boredom, insecurity, frustration, resentment, or self-doubt.

While procrastination can temporarily relieve these emotions, it can also lead to increased stress and anxiety as deadlines approach.

Procrastination is a complex and universal human experience that can affect people of all ages, backgrounds, and professions.

It can be linked to other issues, such as depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, and poor study habits.

Procrastinators may also have poor impulse control and high levels of anxiety, and it’s even been linked to physical illness.

Here are some tips that may help with procrastination:

Firstly, forgive yourself
Is Procrastination a Trauma Response?
Break down tasks into smaller, more achievable pieces
Fourthly, set up physical barriers to procrastination triggers, like turning off your phone while working
Pair your efforts with rewards to reinforce positive behavior
Additionally, use mindfulness to lower the reward value of procrastinating
Get started even if you’re not in the mood
Lastly, Dealing with Procrastination and Anxiety

Steps to Break the Cycle of Procrastination

Consciously lower the bar

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination let’s you make mistakes.

The first step to breaking that cycle is to recognize that often times, accomplishing tasks is a slow process, and an imperfect one at that — and that’s normal and totally okay.

Even so, it won’t happen all at once. It’s okay to take your time. It’s okay to make mistakes (you can always go back and fix them later!).

In other words, it’s okay to be human.

Indeed, it’s easy to forget this, though, when so many of the expectations we have of ourselves are lurking just below the surface, fueling our anxiety.

Keep your tasks bite-sized

“Tackling perfectionism requires disrupting all-or-nothing thinking,” says Dr. McDowell. “For example, if you’re trying to get your inbox organized, it’s not going to help if you consider that as one single task. Figure out what the components of the task are, and take them in bite sizes.”

Generally, breaking down tasks into their smaller pieces not only makes them more manageable, but leads to more frequent feelings of accomplishment as you cross each one off your list.

Track your time

It’s important to remember that when a task is looming over us and we’ve built it up to be a behemoth, we often overestimate the time it takes for us to complete it.

When you think an anxiety-inducing task will take the entire day, you also tend to not schedule any time for self-care.

“Balancing priorities is important,” says Dr. Supriya Blair, licensed clinical psychologist.

“This is why we include time for social and self-care activities during our daily and weekly schedule. Furthermore, Holding oneself accountable to follow through on work and fun activities takes practice, patience, and self-compassion.”

Surround Yourself With Positive Support

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination is less when you have support.

Power in numbers! Tackling anything alone is more overwhelming than doing so with a support system.

Notwithstanding, one of the best ways to get organized when you have anxiety is to partner up with a supportive, hardworking companion.

Thus, whether it’s your significant other, friend, parent, or child.

You can also reach out to a therapist or life coach to get some much-needed perspective.

Practice saying ‘no’

It’s impossible for one person to commit to absolutely everything, but we often feel the need to please everyone.

Taking on too many responsibilities overall is a sure-fire way to become overwhelmed and to then fall into the similar self-destructive cycle.

“Think about where you can streamline your schedule, delegate to others, or even say no to events and tasks that are not immediate or urgent,” says Angela Ficken, a psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety and OCD.

Use the reward system

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination is less when you begin to reward yourself for accomplishments.

You’re never too old to reward yourself. So, often setting up small rewards can be one of the most effective ways to motivate yourself to get organizational tasks done.

“Focus on how you will feel when your home is organized and clean, how exciting and fun it can be to plan your wedding, how responsible you will feel when you complete your taxes,” says Dr. Nancy Irwin, a psychologist with Seasons in Malibu.

“Then reward yourself for a job well done. Positive reinforcement ensures the next project can go as smoothly and informs you that you are bigger than the anxiety,” she says.

Incorporate mindfulness

Nonetheless, staying in tune with your body and mindset as you practice breaking patterns can be extremely beneficial.

Self check-ins are critical, especially if you’re prone to honing in on the smallest details. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to take a step back to give yourself breaks and reminders.

“Mindfulness is key,” says Ficken. “A relatively easy mindfulness skill is to take yourself outside for a walk or to sit out on your stoop. Being out in the elements can be an easy visual and sensational cue to bring yourself into the present moment.”

The Worrier’s Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

The Worrier’s Guide to Overcoming Procrastination: Breaking Free from the Anxiety That Holds You Back Paperback – January 1, 2011

You know that postponing things you need to do can result in negative consequences-overdue bills, unhappy supervisors, disappointed friends and romantic partners, and feelings of guilt or dread-but something inside keeps you from taking action.

Likewise, for many of us, that something is anxiety-fear of failure, firmly entrenched perfectionism, or even fear of success.

With The Worrier’s Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, you’ll develop the skills you need to understand and conquer the anxiety that lies at the root of your chronic avoidance.

Moreover, these proven skills for overcoming procrastination will help you to work productively, enjoy guilt-free leisure time, and free yourself from the anxiety that holds you back.

Sum It All Up

When tomorrow never comes: the anxiety of procrastination can be beat. Everyone has procrastinated once during their lifetime.

Rather, it’s when it causes anxiety, is the problem. You keep putting it off until the very last minute and then the anxiety hits.

I’m just as guilty as the next person. I want to start this new crypto way of making money, but I keep making up excuses why I haven’t.

“I don’t have the money.” “I’ll start it next month.” “What if I screw it up?” Obviously, I probably will mess some of it up because I’m learning something new. Unchartered territory.

It took me a long time to start this blog. I’ve messed up plenty of times. It’s just that same old fear of making a mistake that’s haunted me my whole life.

And probably will continue to do so. I keep reminding myself that it is a learning process, but the anxiety wins out. I will adventually start crypto… sometime. Until next time…

Articles About Procrastination and Anxiety

-The Link Between Procrastination and Anxiety

https://khironclinics.com/blog/the-link-between-procrastination-and-anxiety

-Why You Put Things Off Until the Last Minute

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/procrastination

-Break the Cycle of Procrastination!

https://lsc.cornell.edu/break-the-cycle-of-procrastination/

Have a Good One,

Cindee Murphy, One Voice In The Vastness Of Emotions

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln

“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.”— Victor Hugo

“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”— Attributed to Greg S. Reid

“My mother always told me I wouldn’t amount to anything because I procrastinate. I said, ‘just wait.’”— Usually attributed to Judy Tenuta

Coping With Paralyzing Anxiety(Opens in a new browser tab)

Mindfulness For Anxiety(Opens in a new browser tab)

Zen Zone: The OCD and Anxiety Treatment Center(Opens in a new browser tab)

Breaking Point: The Link Between Headaches From Anxiety(Opens in a new browser tab)