Productive Procrastination

I started to think of this term because contrary to what you might think, our clients are doers. They are highly capable, accomplished people who have all kinds of successes and accolades behind them. So why do they invest in accountability coaching?

For many of them it’s productive procrastination. Which means they get a lot done but there is something important that they are putting off or not doing consistently, that they are no longer willing to ignore. I have no doubt that when our clients share that they had an accountability coach, the people in their life say with a good dose of incredulity, “You? Why in the world do you need an accountability coach?”

Productive procrastination is sneaky. Here are some of the ways it shows up:

• You are really good at taking care of other people’s needs – clients, family, friends, you are someone who always shows up. The problem is, do you show up for yourself in the same way?
• You go for quantity over quality. You are someone who likes to get things done. You have to-do lists that are a mile long because dopamine is real and those check marks give you just enough of a rush. But there is no order of operations. No prioritization so you miss the high value tasks in favor of a lot of smaller ones.
• You stay in your “doing” comfort zone. No one likes to feel uncomfortable and usually the things that we avoid are on a growth edge for us. You might mess up, be imperfect, fail, show that you don’t know how to do something. Productive procrastination lets you feel productive but not exposed.
• You feel good in the short term. Productive procrastination masks angst, removes your ability to think about things you don’t want to, and you get to see positive outcomes even if they aren’t the ones that are most important to you. Take it too far and you don’t make real progress aligned with your goals and you end up feeling even further behind.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with productive procrastination. The trick is knowing how to deal with it: 

1. Catch yourself doing it: Notice when you are being a “productive procrastinator.” Awareness is huge. It means you are being honest with yourself and that is the first step towards getting out of your own way.
2. Get curious: Why am I doing this right now? What am I avoiding?
3. Give yourself a break: This type of procrastination has likely been a habit for a long time. You don’t have to break it overnight.
4. Decide what to do instead: The thing about productive procrastination is that it doesn’t address the angst you get because you are avoiding something more important. Only addressing that thing will. So what is one thing you can do to address that thing instead? Even if it’s the smallest step imaginable, it will be a step in the right direction.

Productive procrastinators are some of my favorite clients to work with because they love to get things done and they thrive when the most important things are named and prioritized. When we work together, a client’s essentials might look something like this:

1. Finish taxes on time
2. Reach out to 10 people each week
3. Hire a part-time assistant

It makes it harder for them to get lost in doing, and easier to focus instead on doing the important things that make the biggest difference and foster the change they want. 

If you’re getting a lot done but not the right things, that’s exactly what we help with. Let’s talk.