Many people occasionally have a “need to start doing something” condition, but we constantly procrastinate. We can start working, then chat on social networks, browse the feed, watch videos, bet on our favorite sports via 22Bet, or read light books. It’s difficult to make ourselves work under such conditions, why this condition arises, how to deal with it and whether it’s possible to force ourselves to work when it’s necessary.
Why Is There an Unwillingness to Work?
You’ve probably noticed that sometimes you can work literally in the same breath, and sometimes you feel like a squeezed lemon. The first state is the norm, which must be achieved. The second state is associated with the internal problems and desires of the body.
In the second state, it’s unreal to make a person work. He himself is happy to do something but can’t.
Our body uses energy for every action. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing: watching a movie, flipping through a social media feed, or working on a report. It’s all about using up your internal energy. And for the body to work at its usual pace, it needs to take energy from somewhere.
The desire for idleness comes from the fact that work does not promise us instant rewards.
Case in point: You have a reserve of energy. You can either use it to watch a funny YouTube video or to work. If you choose the first option, then:
- You’ll spend less energy.
- The reward will come instantly (positive emotions).
The positive emotions from the video will come almost immediately. The situation is different with work and procrastination. You need to spend your energy twice: on overcoming unwillingness to work and on the work itself. This expenditure of inner energy makes you take your time, spend your time on something more interesting, or look for an instant benefit.
We come to a simple conclusion: we don’t work because our body doesn’t want to expend extra energy, which means that idleness is not such a bad thing. It allows us to save the necessary resources.
Now let’s move from the main reason for not wanting to work and procrastination to the psychological reasons that increase energy expenditure.
Psychological Reasons for Procrastination
Besides the objective reason in the form of energy conservation, there are several other psychological reasons why people can’t get to work. Here’s a general list of them:
- You don’t like what you do.
- You’re not resting properly.
- You’re afraid you’re not going to make it.
Each of these reasons affects your energy expenditure: it makes you spend a lot more energy.
To close the excessive expenditure of inner energy, you will have to solve your inner problems and contradictions.
You can do this in different ways: you can dig in yourself and negotiate with yourself or solve problems with the help of a psychologist – there are a huge number of ways. But you need to understand an important detail: without having worked with internal problems, in a moment, you may become a helpless and lazy person who can not pull himself together and make himself do something.
Simple Techniques to Make Yourself Work in the Here and Now
Sometimes there are moments when we have to work. And in the process of rocking, we lose money, put ourselves in an uncomfortable position, and can finally and irrevocably screw up the deadline.
This condition usually occurs the night before a deadline. When all deadlines are lost, there is one day left to solve all the problems that have accumulated over the past week.
The first way: minimal steps. For example, you need to prepare a report: find information, sort it, choose the most important, and finally write. Do a little bit at a time. Write a couple of lines, make a structure, a small draft, etc. Gradually you’ll get immersed in the work, and you won’t be able to tear yourself away.
The second way: work by inertia. Before you start a difficult and monotonous task, start it with the minimum. For example, cleaning – many people find it hard to make themselves clean. Start dusting: first the desk, then the closet. Take a deep breath, and keep going.
This way allows you to do monotonous tasks. Overcome the first resistance, start with difficulty, and then you will continue, thinking about something else entirely.
The third way: do nothing for a while. Stand in the middle of the room. There should be nothing in your hands, no distractions. Spread your arms out to your sides and stand quietly. As soon as you get tired of doing nothing, you can get to work.
This method is a little strange, but it works. It works if you don’t feel like doing anything. For a while, you will feel the rush of desire to do something.
Fourth way: promise yourself a reward. Before you sit down to work, promise yourself that if you successfully complete all your plans, you will allow yourself something special.
Fifth way: make a plan. It sounds a little corny, but the steps written down on paper really help. You can write down all the mini-steps you have to do to reach your goal. That way, you’ll have a plan that’s much easier to follow and an instant reward system in the form of crossed-out items.
Sixth way: try to tune in to a particular job through music. The music should match the work and your own musical tastes. Before I sit down to work, I turn on the rock, get in a state where I have to do something active, and work quietly.
Folk-rock, lyrical or classical music is more suitable for leisurely work. This way helps to generate energy, tune in, and make the brain work better.
These ways will only allow you to get to work in the here and now. They don’t solve the general problem of procrastination. You have to get to the underlying psychological causes and deal with them.