What Is Procrastination?

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Procrastination and avoidance are subtle, incremental, and often disguised as “busyness.”

The first step in dealing with procrastination and avoidance is recognizing it is a choice.

By identifying the smallest possible action, you can begin deactivating the procrastination cycle.

Procrastination and avoidance. There they are, subtle, incremental, and often disguised as “busyness.” Yet in the back of your mind, you know they’re still present. No matter how many distractions you create, the underlying issue remains exactly where you left it; you are procrastinating and avoiding it, whatever it is.

The first step in breaking this self‑imposed choice is recognizing that procrastination and avoidance is a choice. One of the most effective ways to interrupt the pattern is to break the task into its smallest actionable unit.

Why Tasks Feel Overwhelming and How to Break Them Down

Avoidance and procrastination often arise because the task feels too large. By deliberately thinking through the task and identifying the smallest possible action, you have then started the potential to begin deactivating the procrastination and avoidance cycle. If no action is taken, nothing changes. And if thinking does not change, again, nothing changes. And the important point to note here is that thinking and action are choices.

Another strategy is setting a time boundary. When you decide to begin, commit yourself to working for a small, undefined number of seconds or minutes. This can begin by simply physically moving to where the action needs to happen. As........

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