Paul Catmur: How to deal with procrastination - read this immediately

Procrastination can lead to setting yourself a ceiling that doesn't have to exist. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION:

'Dear Paul, You seem to know about stuff (or at least are good at pretending that you do) so could you help with my procrastination? If I am given two weeks to do a task, I always leave it to the last minute then finish it in a panic the night before. This has gone on all my life, and I absolutely hate it. Thanks Gerry'

Paul Catmur:

Gerry is a friend of mine. I have known him for thirty-five years and this is the first time he got around to mentioning how badly procrastination affected him. Which in itself says a lot about the problem. And I would suggest that it is a problem, rather than a charming idiosyncrasy.

I consider myself very fortunate that despite my long list of failings, procrastination is not one of them. For example, this weekly article is far more likely to be written a day early than an hour late. This may mean that I'm actually a pre-castinator (which is a great attribute for a writer, less so for a lover).

In a country which is renowned for suffering from poor productivity, procrastination is something which we should really look to fix. As well as holding back careers and causing issues in our private lives, it also annoys the hell out of co-workers, even if they're generally too polite to say. So, I'm saying it for them.

I do not accept the oft-repeated claim that 'I haven't started the job yet because I work best under pressure'. This is nonsense. It's not that some people work best under pressure, it's that because they procrastinate so much they only ever work under pressure. Pressure that they created themselves. Pressure that they cheerfully spread around everyone close to them in the form of stress. We have all at some stage sat around waiting to do a job that we can't start because somebody else hasn't done their bit yet.

Procrastinators eventually turn up late with their work explaining how they were toiling all night to get it done and expecting gratitude and sympathy for their incredible dedication. Of course, everyone else knows that this self-sacrifice was because the person concerned had been scrolling through TikTok videos and binge-watching Love Island UK for the previous two weeks when they were supposed to be getting it done. There is no chance to review the work, no time for a run through, and half-baked ideas full of mistakes are presented. We're supposed to be grateful for this. Yes, everyone is late on occasion, but if it happens: Every. Single. Freaking. Time. Then there's a problem.

If you're both a procrastinator and a genius, then you get cut a bit of slack because of the genius bit. Publishers put up with Margaret Atwood's famous procrastination because she's Margaret Atwood. However, if instead of being a world class novelist you are a mid-level employee looking to climb the greasy pole, then you are building yourself a ceiling and holding back your career.

Why do people procrastinate?

The good news is that procrastination is not laziness or stupidity. It's all about short-term bias: putting immediate needs ahead of long-term goals.

If doing something makes us feel negative ('I don't want to fill in that tax form because it's hard and will take ages') then not doing it provides relief and makes us feel better. As we find ourselves rewarded for avoiding the onerous task, we continue to not do it until we absolutely can't wait any longer.

How do I solve it?

I'm afraid I can't show you how to fix it, I'm just here to say that you need to. If you have a look online there are plenty of options, one of which I'm sure will help. As with alcoholism, the first thing you must do is accept that it is a real problem that is holding you back. We're not judging you for the problem, just for not doing something about it.

Many methods have been tried throughout history. Herman Melville supposedly got his wife to chain him to his writing desk to get Moby Dick written. (At least that's his story.) Similarly, French author Victor Hugo would strip naked in his study and instruct his servant to return with his clothes after several hours had passed. With the recent popularity of working from home this method may be worth a try, providing you have a spare servant. Anyway, whatever remedial efforts you make, could I ask that you start today, not in another 35 years' time. We don't want you turning up late for your own funeral.