Why do we procrastinate? An age-old question that seems a hell of a lot harder to unpack than I had originally thought. *wink*

But let’s face it… we’re all guilty of dragging our feet + procrastinating, at some point. Even as a professional organizer, I must admit  — I’m a tad bit of a procrastinator myself *gasp!* 

Guilty. As. Charged.

Honestly friend, what can I say? I’m a mother, a wife + a wildly ambitious business owner. But truth be told, I’m also a woman with beautifully imperfect flaws. 

And so, the question becomes, how do I juggle it all + fight (my internal dialogue) of, “Oh, you’ll get to it later, Sherri?”

Well… let’s dive in.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Now, according to my dear friend Mr. Webster…

PROCRASTINATION | pro·cras·ti·na·tion |  is the action of delaying or postponing something. Yep... that sounds about right!

Did you know that  95% of people occasionally procrastinate + a whopping 15-20% of people fall into the category of chronic procrastinators?

So call me crazy but it’s probably not a terrible time to stop beating yourself up or feeling guilty about lollygagging when you really know there’s something better you ought to be doing.

You see, procrastination is a trap that every single person  falls into + while it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone, the bigger question is…why do we procrastinate? 

Well, you might be surprised to learn that two of the most common reasons why we procrastinate are: avoidance + extreme perfectionism.

Procrastinating Because We Want To Avoid Something

As humans when something is perceived as boring, or takes up too much time for us to complete, we’ll often go to great lengths to avoid it or find something else to busy ourselves with instead.

Think about it. We avoid doing laundry, washing dishes, organizing the closet, reorganizing the pantry. Certainly the list goes on + on but in the off chance you’re fall into the 1% of population who never procrastinates, procrastination generally looks a lil’ somethin’ like this …

The washer beeps letting me know that the spin cycle is finished + clothes need to be moved to the dryer.

BUT…

I’m literally in the middle of re-watching the 2nd season of Good Trouble (yes, I’m currently obsessing!)

I think to myself… 

SERIOUSLY! Right now?! But Callie + Gael are about to have another moment!

So it’s at this point, I could either ONE...

Pause my current Netflix binge to flip the laundry, fold clothes + check it off my to-do list 

...or TWO

Get to it later. After all, a little over indulgence every once in a while is a good thing, right?!

So, instead of doing what any responsible / non-procrastinating adult would do in this situation –– shhh this is no judgement zone *wink* –– I shrug my shoulders + say ‘eh... it’s just laundry. It can wait.’ Then I grab another handful of buttery popcorn + nestle even deeper into the oversized sofa we nicknamed Maxwell.

Long story short, the load of laundry never gets flipped over + I end up spending twice as long doing what should’ve been an easy (+ relatively non-time consuming) task. 

Not to mention, I’ve wasted laundry detergent + I use up twice the amount of water I should have.

Needless to say, both my fingers + toes are crossed in hopes that this next time the laundry makes it from the washer, into the dryer, onto my folding table + put away.

You see, when we take a step back, it’s easy to recognize that procrastination is an active process of poor decision making. Yes, sometimes your favorite designer + organizer recommends you do as she says not as she always does *wink*  

But the reality my friend is the cycle of avoidance continues to play out (over + over again) in our lives from cleaning out the clothes in the closet to organizing the pantry — until eventually we’re so frustrated, stressed out + feeling overwhelmed that we’ve reached a breaking point.

If avoidance isn’t the exact reason you’d say you were procrastinating then maybe it’s this next one...

We Procrastinate Because Of Extreme Perfectionism

Another way procrastination tends to manifest itself, is in the form of extreme perfectionism. Surprisingly, perfectionists are often procrastinators. Yeah, ya girl falls into this one TOO!

If you don’t know how-to do something exactly right or feel that we don’t have the skills to do it adequately… instead of doing it imperfectly, we avoid doing it all together.

And that’s crazy right?!?! But it’s true + maybe you can relate. 

You’re fed up with the walk-in closet being over stuffed, hard to maintain + full of clothes that don’t fit anymore.

But where do you start? What do you do with all the nice clothes you really don’t want to get rid of but probably won't wear? How do you declutter + organize but also make room for new clothes? 

Should you categorize by color, by clothing type or simply not at all?

You move some things, then move some more + suddenly realize you have little to no idea what to actually do. Afraid that you won’t do it right, that the time you invest won’t last, you stop. You do nothing + the thorn in your side that your closet is, remains.

What Science Says About Procrastination

Well… let’s put it this way. Procrastination is bad for our health. In a research study published by psychologists, Dianne Tice and Roy Baumeister, they found that procrastination leads to higher stress levels, more illness + lower well-being. 

But what’s really interesting is that ultimately they discovered that procrastination was self-defeating + that a level of self-forgiveness is required in order to move beyond it.

This is absolutely incredible because this illustrates that as humans, we’re all beautifully imperfect — we make mistakes. However, to ensure we aren’t consciously making the same mistakes over + over again, it explains how we need to start by being forthright with ourselves. 

Sure, for some of us, it comes pretty naturally. We’re able to chalk something up + laugh at ourselves for dilly-dallying while for others procrastinating (even as it applies to home) is a much deeper struggle. 

So oddly enough forgiving yourself is a huge part of uncovering the why behind why we procrastinate around the house.

Procrastinating Around The House Sounds Like...

Beyond avoidance + extreme perfectionism there’s some straightforward reasons, or root causes, for why we procrastinate around the house.

I don’t have the energy to ______ (insert your to-do) 

When we lack energy or enthusiasm in checking something off of our to-do list, we usually don’t know where to begin + this my friend, is the catalyst that keeps us from getting going.

It’s also why we say, Plan your work…

Everything feels out of our control

When things feel like they’re too big to take on all at once (looking at my toddler who is literally destroying his playroom as I write this now) then we need to narrow our focus + work our plan. 

In other words, take on bite-size phases to the larger project.

I don't have a system in place

When we don’t have a system in place to keep the clutter at bay, we need to ask ourselves, what would make it easier for us to routinely do ________ (insert task) without a lot of extra effort?

And I absolutely love this quote because what Allen is referring to is the fact that everyone l-o-v-e-s new beginnings but it’s the finishing + follow through that’s oftentimes the hard part. It’s also when we’re tweaking, maintaining + re-evaluating organizing habits + routines.

After all, if a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing late right.” –– sorry Frederick Oliver I couldn’t help but to further your thought in a different direction :)

How To Overcome Procrastination

Like most habits, we can quite easily overcome the challenge of procrastinating around the house.

With over a decade of experience as a professional organizer, what leads us down a path that makes us feel guilt, embarrassment, overwhelmed, frustration, stress, anxiety, discontent.

...and a whole host of other negative emotions is deprioritizing simple tasks that seemingly have no negative response in the moment but compound over time to create those negative feelings. 

In fact, a friend of our, Rory Vaden, who just so happens to have written a New York Times best seller on the topic of procrastination says, “easy short term choices lead to difficult long term consequences. But difficult short term choices lead to easy long term consequences.” 

In other words, I should be saying, “get your butt up off the couch Sherri + switch over the laundry” *wink* because the harsh reality is, procrastinating is only going to make things more difficult, take more time + steal the joy long term.

However, a huge part of procrastination is also this…

Procrastination Is Lacking Clarity In The Moment You Procrastinate

What’s the opposite of procrastination? Pre-crastination. And of course, nobody ever uses that word *lol* so, let’s simply call it highly motivated. 

And if you’re highly motivated, you’re energized to declutter + organize your home… to really dig in + do the work. You’re not simply hopped up on caffeine.  

No, you’re clear about why it’s important to you.  In other words, your clarity gives your actions meaning. It makes your intentions purposeful + that’s what keeps you going… even when you’re tired. Even when you don’t really feel like doing it. 

Because you understand that creating a home with everything you need is incredibly important to you — you’re willing to make that short-term sacrifice for the joy of the long haul.

In our house, John’s in charge of cleaning up the kitchen after dinner + let me tell you... 

Scrubbing pans + loading the dishwasher is anything but exciting but truth be told, nothing motivates him more to get it done before sitting down to relax like the thought of stumbling downstairs tomorrow morning only to discover a sink full of dirty dishes *UGH!* 

Simply put he’s motivated by not only the thought of putting himself through the 3:00a.m. gut-check of a sink full of dishes (look how kind he is to his future self.. you go pal!) but he’s also motivated by the lessons he’s teaching our son Brooks about maintaining a beautiful home. And that's why… the lessons Brooks might glean from even the most uninteresting activities dad can do.

So, let me ask you… wouldn’t you rather...

• Be checking things off your to-do list?

• Learning + uncovering what you need –– by doing? 

Procrastination is the seed of self-destruction. It robs us of too many opportunities + so much joy.

Now, go on. Give yourself a Tony Robbins-style pep talk + start doing. 

Be decisive. 

Experience the wave of in-the-moment-accomplishment that washes over you + don’t let your future self feel the emotional repercussions of procrastination.

At Elegant Simplicity, we never fall short, especially when it comes to dishing out tips to help with understanding why we procrastinate but the reality is my friend, decluttering + organizing is a continuous journey + it takes time.

Which is why, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of declutter + organizing, then let’s chat. 

P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.