Lazy You… Procrastinating During the Holidays?
It might not be laziness!

You have a ton of things to do to get ready for the holidays. Yet you put things
off. You find yourself reading, watching TV and playing games on the computer.
Then the stress builds, you start the negative self talk. “I should be
accomplishing more. What am I going to do if I don’t get it done?” Then comes
the last minute scramble… shopping on Christmas Eve… wrapping presents until
2 am… the tension builds until you are too tired to enjoy Christmas. The
aftermath includes mentally beating yourself up and promising that you’ll never
do that again!

Procrastination is the thorn in our sides, the burr under the saddle and the pea
under the mattress. It can be persistent, annoying and a bad habit. Some people
make procrastination a huge part of their lives as a daily battle, and others
find it occasionally getting in their way, like at the holidays. You might call
yourself lazy, but is it really laziness? I don’t think so. I believe it is a
deeper issue and has many components to it.

So what drives us to procrastinate if it isn’t laziness? Procrastination is
driven by perceived internal and external motivators. Perceived internal
motivators are thoughts, feelings, and beliefs we create or perceive within our
own minds. These include feeling inadequate (in intelligence, know-how,
attention span, family role), experiencing apprehension and fear, having a mind
that gets distracted easily, a need for gratification, a feeling of
powerlessness, and experiencing a lack of control.

Procrastination is also driven by external motivators which are things that are
outside of us and not always in our control. They include having inadequate
resources (car, education, tools, technology, time), health issues, financial
issues, legal problems, other people who influence our behavior or decisions,
and obligations we have to others.

Believe it or not there are also procrastination styles! We have the
Perfectionist Procrastinator who is reluctant to start or finish a task because
they don’t want to produce anything less than perfect. They tend to be self
critical and all or nothing at all thinkers. “I should” or “I have to” are big
in their vocabulary.

We have the Dreamer Procrastinator who doesn’t like details which make
implementation of tasks difficult. They are passive, fanciful and vague and have
“I wish” on the tip of their tongue.

We have the Worrier Procrastinator who has a huge need for security so they fear
risk and change causing them to avoid finishing projects. They are fearful,
indecisive, cautious and are concerned with “what if?”.

We have the Deifier Procrastinator who is the rebel that bucks the rules. They
set their own path that no one can predict or control. They are
passive-aggressive, resistant, oppositional and non-conformists. Their most
powerful thought is “Why should I?”

Then we have the Crisis Maker Procrastinator who is addicted to the adrenaline
rush of living on the edge. They tend to be over emotional, dramatic and need
attention. You might hear them exclaim “Unbelievable!”

Finally we have the Over Do’er Procrastinator who is unable or unwilling to make
choices and priorities so they say yes to everything. They feel compelled to
keep super busy, are self reliant do-it-alls and can’t say no.

It is a cop out to call someone lazy or to consider yourself lazy and accept
procrastination in your life. You won’t like the end result which is anxiety,
stress, and unhappiness. As you can see, the issues are not always conscious
ones. The procrastination driving motivators and issues lurk within our inner
subconscious minds and need to be rooted out and resolved. The best tool to
beat procrastination is hypnotherapy, a process of ‘turning inward’, learning
about your personal blocks and sabotage, and finding that you are completely
capable of overcoming them!

When you catch yourself procrastinating at the holidays or anytime, think about
possible internal or external motivations. Decide what procrastination style(s)
you exhibit. Understanding your behavior is the first step to resolving it. You
are capable of learning and adopting new ways of thinking which translates into
less procrastination with new ways of organizing your life. The resulting relief
allows you to enjoy, feel free and be on top of your “to do’s”. So STOP calling
yourself lazy!

© 2011, Hypnosis Concepts.

Laurie Miller is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with more than 28 years of
experience helping people achieve their goals in the shortest time possible.
You can work with Laurie in person if you live in Orange County, CA by visiting
http://www.HypnosisConcepts.com or you can purchase her prerecorded hypnosis
sessions Beat Procrastination and Beyond Limitations or a customized session on
CD or MP3 at http://hypnosisconcepts.com/store/index.php