"I’ll Do It Later": Procrastination and Lying to Yourself?

Ep14.

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[00:00:01.040] - Oliver (Host)

Hello, I'm Oliver. And before we begin today's episode of English and Beyond, I have a small confession to make. I've been procrastinating, and not just in general. I've been procrastinating regarding this very episode. I usually publish on Mondays.

[00:00:21.520] - Oliver (Host)

That's the plan, that's the system. But today, well, it's not Monday, it's a few days late. And in fact, this has been the case for a couple of weeks consecutively. I've been pretty busy, yes, but also I've been doing that thing we all do sometimes avoiding the important tasks I'm supposed to be doing. So if you ever find yourself doing anything and everything except the task in front of you, that is, if you've ever watched six YouTube videos about how to be productive instead of actually working, you're not alone.

[00:01:04.720] - Oliver (Host)

You're in very good company with yours truly, that is, with me. So today we're going to talk about procrastination. What it is, why we do it and how we could deal with it. And if you stick around until the end of this episode I'll share three real, natural English expressions you can use when you want to talk about procrastination, especially if you want to laugh about it with friends or colleagues. Before we get started, please remember that for every episode of English and Beyond: Intermediate English Podcast, you can access a transcript and flashcards for the difficult vocabulary used in this episode for free at www.morethanalanguage.com.

[00:01:56.240] - Oliver (Host)

So what is procrastination? Procrastination is when you delay doing something you need to do. You don't cancel it, you don't forget about it, you just move it later, tomorrow, next week, some other time is the point. The word comes from Latin pro, meaning forward, and crastinus, meaning of tomorrow. So literally, to procrastinate means to push something off until tomorrow.

[00:02:26.660] - Oliver (Host)

Now, that doesn't sound so bad, does it? Everyone needs a break sometimes. Everyone needs to rest. But procrastination isn't always rest. Sometimes it's an uncomfortable kind of delay, one that actually makes us feel guilty or anxious because you know the feeling: you should be finishing an email, you should be writing that report, you should be studying vocabulary or reading that article for homework. But instead, you're cleaning the kitchen, you're organising your sock drawer, or a personal favourite of mine, you're researching how to be more productive for an hour online. That is procrastination. So what does procrastination really look like?

[00:03:18.960] - Oliver (Host)

Let me paint you a picture. You've got an important task in front of you. It's vital, in fact, you sit down at your desk, you prepare everything. Your notes are out, your pens are lined up, you've made a cup of tea, you are ready. Except - wait. You're a bit hungry, no? Maybe a little snack first will help you to concentrate. And since you're in the kitchen, you might as well make a coffee for that energy boost so that you can really concentrate. And while the kettle's boiling, maybe you should send a quick message to your friend to see how they're doing.

[00:03:59.530] - Oliver (Host)

And now you're on Instagram. How did that happen? Half an hour has passed and you sit back down. But now, now you're too tired to start, despite the coffee. There's no point doing a bad job if you're exhausted.

[00:04:13.940] - Oliver (Host)

You'll do it better later, once you've had a chance to rest. Right? Right? We all know this dance. The moment of avoidance.

[00:04:23.780] - Oliver (Host)

The feeling of being very busy, but somehow never doing the thing that you most need to do. So why do we do this to ourselves? That is the big question, and there are lots of answers. Some people say it's a time management issue, that we just don't organise our time properly. Others say it's a motivation problem, we don't want it enough.

[00:04:51.850] - Oliver (Host)

And recently, I've noticed a new idea online that keeps being suggested to me in Instagram adverts that procrastination is actually a trauma response. Some psychologists claim that procrastination comes from difficult past experiences, that we avoid tasks because they remind us of feelings like fear, shame or failure. And honestly, that might be true in some cases, I don't know. But I don't think it explains everything. Sometimes, personally, I'm just tired or bored or frankly, a bit lazy.

[00:05:31.700] - Oliver (Host)

Sometimes I avoid a task because it's big and intimidating. However, other times, I avoid a task even when I know I'll enjoy it once I begin. Like this episode, for example. I actually like writing podcast scripts, but for some reason I kept putting it off. And that's the strange thing.

[00:05:53.590] - Oliver (Host)

Procrastination doesn't always make sense. It doesn't always follow a pattern. It just feels like something all humans do for some reason or other. So what can we do to prevent procrastination? Here are a few things that work for me, and maybe for you too.

[00:06:14.870] - Oliver (Host)

Number 1: Shrink the task. If something feels too big, break it into tiny pieces. Don't write the full report. Just open the document and roughly outline the task.

[00:06:26.520] - Oliver (Host)

Don't study all the vocabulary, just review 10 words or so to begin with. Sometimes just getting started is half the battle. Number two: set a short term timer. This one is quite similar, but it's been really genuinely useful to me in the past, although I often forget about it and it doesn't occur to me in the moment. So I need to work on building it into my life as well as a pattern.

[00:06:56.340] - Oliver (Host)

What I have to do is to say to myself, okay, Oliver, five minutes. Just five. You persuade yourself to agree to do a task just for five minutes, and almost always you'll find that you keep going after that five minutes is up. But even if I do stop after five minutes, which as I say, rarely happens, I've made a start and that feels good. And it's much easier to persuade myself to begin something for just five minutes than the hours that it might actually last.

[00:07:29.170] - Oliver (Host)

Number three: change your environment. Sometimes I move to a cafe or even just a different room. A small change can help your brain reset and get you focused on your task. Number four: let go of perfection. A big reason we procrastinate is because we're afraid of doing something badly.

[00:07:52.340] - Oliver (Host)

So we do nothing at all. I think the thing here is that you really do need to let go of perfection and just get something down on paper, anything at all. Because it's really easy later to perfect what you've already got. And even if you don't, something imperfect is always better than nothing at all. So, yes, as I said at the beginning, this episode itself has been the victim of procrastination.

[00:08:22.080] - Oliver (Host)

I delayed it, I put it off. I let other things take priority. The next time you find yourself avoiding a task, don't be too hard on yourself. Acknowledge that you're doing it and try one of the strategies I've mentioned. And if not, maybe use one of the expressions I'm about to share.

[00:08:42.310] - Oliver (Host)

Here are three real natural English expressions for talking about procrastination in everyday life. A) But this is productive procrastination! We use this when we're doing something useful to avoid doing what we really need to. For example, I cleaned my whole flat instead of writing my essay, but it was productive procrastination. B) I'm easing into it.

[00:09:10.640] - Oliver (Host)

This is a way to say you're warming up before starting a difficult task. Yeah, I'm going to start the report soon. I'm just easing into it for the moment. C) I'm waiting for inspiration to strike. It's a fun excuse for not starting something creative.

[00:09:29.200] - Oliver (Host)

No, I haven't started the design yet. I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike. You can find these expressions and many more in the free vocabulary flashcards and transcript for this episode on www.morethanalanguage.com. So, what about you? What do you delay the most in this way?

[00:09:51.680] - Oliver (Host)

Work? Homework? Language practice? Let me know.

[00:09:56.400] - Oliver (Host)

Leave a comment on the YouTube or Spotify version of this podcast or send me an email at oliver@morethanalanguage.com. Thank you so much for listening. And don't forget, even if you're going to procrastinate, listening to a podcast in English is a very good way to do it productively. Thank you, take care and see you next time.