Why you procrastinate is down to several reasons
By Shane Lukas, Managing Director, AVN
We human beings are a lot less rational than we like to think we are. And we’re very good at justifying our irrational actions – or inactions – to ourselves. How many times have you told yourself you’re saving money because you’ve bought something on sale? Even when you would never have bought it at full price?
We do this in our professional lives just as much as we do in our personal lives. Particularly when it comes to making changes to the way we work. We know what we need to do, but somehow there are very good reasons for not doing it just yet.
Do you recognise this behaviour in yourself? Procrastinating even when you know taking action will benefit you?
I see this all the time with accountants. They keep on doing the things that make them stressed and unhappy even when they know what to change to stop the stress and unhappiness! It’s not that they’re too lazy to change, it’s just that they’re paralysed by procrastination.
I’ve identified seven reasons why you procrastinate. Which of the following applies to you?
1. Overwhelm
Every day you deal with a constant barrage of emails, phone calls, meetings, client queries and questions from your team – not to mention the actual work you’re supposed to be doing. There’s just so much of it you can never reach the end. It’s hard to sift out what really matters and what could help you to move forward because you’re so busy dealing with everything else.
2. Confusion
You know you need to make changes and you might even have an idea of what to do. But where to start? Which is the most important area to focus on? What will bring the fastest results? When you want to make fundamental changes to your entire practice, it’s difficult to know where to begin, so you never actually start.
3. Perfectionism
You just want to be sure that everything is right but you’re not quite ready yet. And somehow, you never reach the point where you are ready. Perfectionism is an admirable quality in many ways but it can stop you from ever taking action. I’ve seen many projects that never get off the ground because they’re never quite good enough for the accountant.
4. Fear
What if it all goes wrong? What if you upset your clients? What if you mess up? Fear can drive you to take action, but it can also have the opposite effect. We all have fundamental fears – of failure, rejection, conflict or insecurity – and these can paralyse you before you’ve even taken the first step.
5. The bright and shiny
You know what your goal is, you know what you need to do, but what if this new software could make it easier? Or what about this consultant who’s promising so much? The ‘bright and shiny’ comes in many forms so it’s not always easy to recognise. But it distracts us away from reaching our main goals.
6. Comfort zones
The changes you need to make mean you’ll have to do something new and that makes you very uncomfortable; much easier to stick to what you know. This can be a big hurdle to taking the action that will make things easier in the long run. We all know that change isn’t always easy.
7. Not enough pain, not enough gain
You’re working too many hours, for not enough income, for clients who don’t value what you do – but that’s just running an accountancy practice, isn’t it? You’ve got used to it and you can’t see there’s any real alternative. Well, I can tell you that this isn’t the norm and you don’t have to work this way.
Do any of these feel familiar to you? You might find that there’s more than one reason why you procrastinate and sometimes you have to dig quite deep to identify the real cause. But you can’t tackle it unless you know. That’s the first step.
Of course, the next step is to learn how to overcome it. And you’ll be glad to know that no matter the cause, you can do something about it.
My recommendation is to book a discovery call with one of the AVN team. We’ll find out a bit about you and your practice, take a look at the challenges you’re facing (including procrastination) and suggest a route forwards.
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