“I’ll do it tomorrow, next Monday, next month…” Of course, we wish to improve (exercise more, eat better, quit smoking, etc.), but life is so busy that it is hard to accomplish everything we want in one day. So, we postpone it (once more). The problem is that procrastination can become a (bad) habit, impeding you from achieving your best. Why does it happen so often? Do we lack the drive to move forward, or are we just overwhelmed by the change?
More often than not, people are not prepared to execute their plans. Actually, most of the time they don’t even have a clear plan of action, just a good intention. Unfortunately, if all you have are good intentions, chances are that you won’t get anywhere. For example, let’s say that you want to lose weight. You know you must change your diet and exercise habits in order to see the pounds drop. The question is, “How can you create a plan that is both easy to follow and effective?” Probably, that’s where many people get confused and overwhelmed. How can you act if you are not sure what to do? This uncertain situation leads to paralysis and consequent procrastination.
To overcome this obstacle, you must make your “change” doable. Start by choosing one single behavior to improve. By behavior, I mean a small, concrete task that is totally under your control and doesn’t depend on other people’s actions or on the environment. An example of a good behavior goal is “to eat one fruit per day.” An example of a poor one is “to ask my husband to take me to the gym.” In this case, your success depends on your husband’s cooperation, which is not under your control.
If you are not sure how to get there, try breaking down large goals (such as weight-loss) into small manageable steps (attend yoga class three times per week, for example). Shrink your goal until you get something you know you can handle. For instance, if attending yoga classes three times per week is still too challenging, aim for less. There is no shame in that. Make your change so small that you are 100% confident you can manage it. This may mean switching from regular to diet soda or parking the car far away from the store entrance to make you walk more. I know that you may be thinking “this is so small that it won’t get me anywhere.” However, small changes increase your confidence level, empowering you to pursue bigger challenges. Besides, doing something is always better than doing nothing. Moreover, tiny changes can be incorporated immediately, putting an end to the bad habit of procrastinating.
Most people try to change too many things at once, and end up not changing at all. A recent study[1] showed that when people try to change one habit at a time, they have an 85% chance of succeeding. However, if they try to implement two new habits at once, the success rate falls to 35 percent. Three habits and you have less than a 10% chance of being successful. The bottom line is: stick to a single behavior first. Practice this behavior for a month before attempting a new one. The objective is to transform the behavior into a positive habit that will become automatic. You know what they say: a habit is hard to break.
If you have trouble starting a new behavior, you may want to set an action trigger. An action trigger is a way to link the desired behavior to a simple daily task. For example, I’ll take my vitamins (desired behavior) after breakfast (daily task). According to the psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, an action trigger is a helpful strategy to build instant habits because it “protects goals from tempting distractions, bad habits, or competing goals.”
Finally, if you want to succeed in the long run, tell your goal to other people. This creates a sense of accountability and improves adherence. After all, once you tell your friends what you are trying to accomplish, they will want to know about your progress, and I’m sure that you won’t want to disappoint them.
References
Bauer, K, et al. Nutrition Counseling and Education Skill Development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 2012.
Heath, C. et al. “Switch. How to Change Things When Change is Hard.” New York: Broadway Books. 2010.
Paleo for Everyone. Using Change Psychology Instead of Nutritional Dogmatism. Krista Scott-Dixon. Available at http://www.precisionnutrition.com/paleo-for-everyone-2. Accessed in May 2012.
[1] Available at “The Power of Less” by Leo Babauta.