3 Reasons Why You Procrastinate

Do you find yourself procrastinating often? These are three reasons why you procrastinate and never finish a project or reach a goal.

Why do you procrastinate? Have you ever wondered why you allow distractions to prevent you from being productive? These are three reasons why you procrastinate.

You Fail To Plan

First, you fail to plan. If you do not have a plan, you will be part of someone else’s agenda. That is the reality. You will remain stuck when you have no plan for how you would like your life to look and the steps needed to get there.

In contrast, if you have a clear goal with a plan for how to reach it. You are more likely to succeed.

You Always Make Excuses

Second, you always make excuses. You continue to come up with reasons for why you are not successful. You always have some excuse that you give yourself. Many of the most common include:

• “I don’t have the time.”

• “I don’t have the money.”

• “I could never do that.”

• “I could never be like x or y.”

• “I have always been a failure, so there is no way I can change that.”

What excuses do you tell yourself? Write them down in a notebook or on your computer. Tell yourself you won’t allow the excuses to control you when they arise.

You Enjoy Distractions

Third, distractions. You can be distracted by news, politics, entertainment, doom scrolling on social media, or doing something fun instead of what you know you need to do. Stop allowing distractions to control you.

News

The news is a distraction. Whether it is from the mainstream media or alternative news does not matter. You become fearful if you read, listen, or watch the news too much. You are afraid that the latest country is going to nuke you. Or, you allow the news to divide you by issues.

Politics

“Secondly, I don’t vote because I believe that if you vote you have no right to complain.” - George Carlin

Here is a secret: No politician is coming to save you. It does not matter what party they are affiliated with. Here is another secret: The worst personalities go into politics. They are there to enrich themselves through the special interest groups and the rotating lobbying doors between big businesses and the government. How else do you explain politicians' multi-million dollar net worth in the United States when their annual salary is $174,000?

Politics is a distraction to make you believe that someone in a political party is coming to save you. You then give up your self-responsibility to act in your life to a so-called “public servant.”

Entertainment

Entertainment is yet another distraction. It could be watching Netflix, or YouTube TV, following a social media personality, or wanting to go to the movies. That is valuable time that you are wasting when you could be productive. While entertainment is not inherently wrong, it becomes a problem when it becomes your primary focus.

Entertainment should be a reward, not a primary focus. It is often flipped the other way around.

Secure Single’s Algorithm recommends:

Social Media

There are now many social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, et cetera. You find yourself doom-scrolling through your social media to keep up with your “friends” who are not your friends. You may have social media addiction. Social media was designed to be addictive since you are the product, and the more time you spend on a platform, the more ad revenue a company can earn.

Fun Activities

You have a problem doing things that are fun instead of using them as a reward for your accomplishments. You are mixing up your priorities by emphasizing fun. By focusing only on doing things that are fun all the time, you waste your time enjoying yourself at the moment rather than practicing delayed gratification.

Solutions

Make A Plan

You start planning the steps you need to do to reach a goal. This will help you know everything you must do to accomplish an objective. Some things may change while you work to complete a goal, but you have a general strategy of what you must do.

Make a plan to start strategizing the steps it will take to improve your life.

No More Excuses

You can stop making excuses. Once you begin to do this, you begin to practice self-responsibility. This will better help you to reach your goals. You will also start to be more disciplined.

Self-discipline, self-responsibility, and goal-setting are the antithesis of excuses. You are taking action!

Eliminate Distractions

You can stop being distracted by listing the tasks you want to accomplish. You can turn off your distractions or set them aside somewhere where you know your phone is. This will help you to be less distracted. You can use entertainment and activities as a reward when you complete a task or goal, which will incentivize you to finish a goal. This is referred to as gamification.

There is a psychology behind gamification. Smartico writes, “Gamification has been shown to increase motivation and engagement, which can help improve performance and encourage behaviors that are good for people’s health.” Gamification can help you to reach your goals.

Gamification can help reward and incentivize you to do better, change habits, and achieve important milestones you have set for yourself.

Secure Single’s Algorithm recommends:

Summary

You procrastinate for these three reasons: failure to plan, making excuses, and being easily distracted. You can resolve these problems by goal-setting, no more excuses, and eliminating distractions. You will then discover that you have more time to be productive.

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Views expressed in this article are the author's opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of Secure Single. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment, financial, or legal advice. Consult with a financial or legal professional before making investment or legal decisions. James Bollen is the author of Thriving Solo: How to Flourish and Live Your Perfect Life (Without A Soulmate). It is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.