The 6 Self-deceptions That Lead Us to Procrastination

Procrastination is the pattern of behavior by which some people tend to delay the start of any activity, obligation or daily task that they must attend to, whether work-related, professional, social or family-related.

Under the appearance of rational thinking, we often tend to cover up irrational decisions with words and false logic that lead us to delay the start of any work.

In the case of procrastination, these types of thoughts are ideas with which we deceive ourselves to postpone the moment of starting to work and at the same time try not to feel bad about it. They are mental traps that lead us to fall into the temptation of continuing to rest, have a good time or do anything other than the obligation we must attend to and that keep us distracted without thinking about the worries related to the accumulated work.

Table of Contents

The main forms of self-deception that lead us to procrastination

Below we present a list of self-deceptions and “mental traps” that lead us to fall into “I’ll do it later.”

1. “I can get some hours of sleep”

Believing that we can use hours of sleep to work is a mistake and an unhealthy habit, since if we do not rest well enough hours at night, we will have problems concentrating the next day.

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Health professionals recommend sleeping between 7 and 9 hours each night, since this is the time our body needs to rest properly and recharge energy to perform better the next morning.

The self-deceptions that lead us to procrastination

It is evident that a poorly rested brain of a sleepy person who does not get the required hours of sleep You will perform worse and will be less fresh both to concentrate and to face any type of work obligation.

2. Believing that we have not yet rested enough

Often breaks during work periods and procrastination before starting a work day are done to regain energy before getting down to work with our work obligations.

In some cases we may delay the time to start working excessively because we consider that we have not yet satisfied our desire to have fun, that is, that by thinking about distractions or having fun, we would feel too frustrated to stop doing that and get to work.

Thinking that we need to rest a little more because that way we will perform better is counterproductive, since precisely when we finally start to get down to work it is because we have managed to finish that time of rest, taking into account that the most difficult thing is to start.

3. Believing that a lot of accumulated work will motivate us

Another of the self-deceptions that our brain conceives and that leads us directly to procrastination is to consider that having a lot of work or many accumulated tasks will motivate us more in the future when we start working.

This happens due to having a distorted view of our performance in times of crisis or under pressure and because we consider that we perform better in critical situations, when the truth is that it really happens the other way around.

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People tend to perform better when we organize ourselves better and when we have a lot of pending work we usually tend to get stressed, perform better and feel intense discomfort from having a large number of pending tasks.

4. Thinking that we will work better under pressure

Thinking that it will be satisfying to test ourselves and submit to the pressure of getting everything done at the last minute is another of the self-deceptions or thought models that prevent us from starting our work as soon as possible.

On the contrary, what really reinforces one’s self-esteem is moving from ideas to facts and having the discipline to manage time well to achieve good results, instead of doing things quickly and poorly, in desperation.

Work organized and carried out with enough time for things to be done well will ensure true success in the final product, and positive recognition from our superiors.

5. “I am not prepared”: fear of failure

The fear of failure is another of the classic reasons why people tend to procrastinate in their daily jobs, and one of the great obstacles that arise daily in the minds of millions of people and that prevent them from performing at their best in their job. job.

Considering that we will not do it well or being certain that we are not fit to successfully carry out the tasks that have been entrusted to us is a way of thinking that prevents us from getting the most out of ourselves.

Instead of being anchored in fear, it is important to modify our way of thinking and start harboring thoughts that are not more positive, but more constructive about the future and about our daily performance. The fact of believing that we are not yet prepared to carry out our work obligations is closely related to the fear of doing it wrong.

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This type of thinking consists of considering that we need more preparation or that by resting a little more we can begin our task with greater diligence and greater chances of success.

Again, this is a thinking model that acts as an excuse to avoid getting started with our work, which is related both to the fear of failure, as well as to internal indecision and a general lack of organization.

6. I need to overcome indecision sooner

Indecision on the part of a worker is also usually enough reason to procrastinate and delay the time to get to work to the extreme. In this case, Self-deception is assuming that these types of problems are resolved in a phase prior to getting to work to solve the problem, when in reality the best way to make complex decisions is to get involved in our tasks.

We understand indecision as a series of difficulties in carrying out any work in a diligent, organized manner, with motivation and with the conviction that we are doing it well at all times.

Some people feel like they have to wait a while to start working on anything because they believe they won’t be able to do it successfully or that they aren’t good enough to succeed.

Instead, it is important to start working as soon as possible, believing in yourself, in your own possibilities and that effort and hard work will pay off sooner or later.