Procrastination and motivation to get work done...

Pocket10s

Pocket10s

Pocket10s

Associate
Joined
4 Oct 2014
Posts
517
Hi all,

This is something I've suffered with for a while; and I feel with a new job I've started it's hit its worst.

This new job is everything I wanted in terms of difficulty, industry and pay. I always start new jobs well as I want to make a good impression. Sometimes the procrastination kicks in later but it's kicked in so early into my new job I'm actually appalled at myself.

The problem is not that I don't know what to do at work; I'm very capable once I get going - it's that I feel I have absolutely no desire to. I will just sit there and honestly feel like the very last thing I want to do in the world is that task.

It's a horrible circle as instead of logging off and feeling like I accomplished something - I feel incredibly guilty every evening. Then each morning I'm anxious about all the tasks I've left un-done. I'm constantly anxious that my colleagues are noticing and want to get rid of me - it does leave me mentally exhausted.

It's easy to say "just get the work done" but honestly, each morning I try and I just end up giving up/ I don't see where the time goes.

When I do get the work done; I always get praise so I feel this is a massive problem for me that is just getting worse.

Has anyone else been through this?
 
Procrastination is a misused word. Its lack of purpose and competition I expect that's causing your apathy. Basically your wasting your talents on jobs you don't find fulfilling leading you down a path of misery.

I suspect most people go through the same, the mundane 9-5 struggle just so you can earn money.

What's the solution?

Find another job or retrain otherwise it will be the same old thing .
 
Pocket10s said:
It's a horrible circle as instead of logging off and feeling like I accomplished something - I feel incredibly guilty every evening. Then each morning I'm anxious about all the tasks I've left un-done. I'm constantly anxious that my colleagues are noticing and want to get rid of me - it does leave me mentally exhausted.
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This is called imposter syndrome though and we all suffer it. It's that notion that they hired us and expect us to know everything and really we're all just winging it trying to work it out as we go. The sooner everyone realises that everyone is properly winging it, the better it feels. You feel like you can't ask as you're now "expected to know what to do" but it's BS. You have to ask, or find out, or you'll get ****** at some point. Each company is completely different and when you start a new job, I've rarely had a great onboarding where I felt I knew everything I needed. Hell, not even 30% in most cases. The rest of it you have to ask people, or find out. It's a good way to get to know people anyway as well.
 
This is quite the list of woes. Before I say anything I think you should speak to your loved one's if you haven't already. You maybe should also consider some counselling, and not because this is crazy, quite the opposite.

Let's get into it.

Pocket10s said:
This new job is everything I wanted in terms of difficulty, industry and pay.
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Fantastic, by the sounds of it you're most blessed! By the sounds of it you've done the hard part getting here.

Pocket10s said:
it's kicked in so early into my new job I'm actually appalled at myself.
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Calm down and think this though before blaming yourself.

Pocket10s said:
The problem is not that I don't know what to do at work; I'm very capable once I get going - it's that I feel I have absolutely no desire to.

I will just sit there and honestly feel like the very last thing I want to do in the world is that task.
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Do you actually know you're behind? Have you asked your superiors or clients for feedback? Is this all just your own opinion of your performance?

Pocket10s said:
I'm constantly anxious that my colleagues are noticing and want to get rid of me - it does leave me mentally exhausted.
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Has anyone actually said that? People can be asshats for no reason you know...

Pocket10s said:
Has anyone else been through this?
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Yes absolutely. Starting a new job isn't easy, especially if you're scared or concerned of your new work mates. In many cases previously I personally overreacted to my circumstance. Many people get these feelings of inadequacy - you're certainly not alone.

Off the top of my head, I can make three suggestions:

Firstly is getting some firm targets set either by yourself or your superiors. If you're hitting deadlines, or have rational explanations as to why they were't hit, then no your working just fine. You can also try comparing your progress to your peers if said is applicable and appropriate. Most of the time you'll find either that you're doing just fine in terms of productivity and holding yourself to a high standard.

Secondly, It's not a crime to ask for a review or personal evaluation. If I was working at HR or head of a department/business I'd much rather my employees come to me looking to improve rather than sitting on a problem. Not telling anyone about your struggles is a great way not be given a chance to resolve them (assuming they even exist).

Thirdly, if you are legitimately the problem (that sound unlikely), then you should identify what's distracting you, and try and change that. If you find yourself or youtube or Reddit during the day, maybe try Cold Turkey (software). If you're working from home and you're just bumming around, clean up your work space and enclose yourself in a more professional environment of your own creation. If you work in a more manual job, maybe just plan in breaks into your day and work though until you get to them.

Point being my dude is that I've felt this way before several times. Usually it's all in your head, or it's causes by your circumstance (such as starting a new role). The worst thing you can do is stay quiet and suffer.
 
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Thank you everyone for the replies.

I have been told I suffer greatly from imposter syndrome but I am not doing the basics in my job and I have people chasing me for stuff I know I have to get done/ I have the time to get done.

I've taken the following steps so far - again thanks for the help:

- Downloaded Cold Turkey and blocked YouTube; I'll block other websites if I find myself lurking on them
- Setup a meeting with my manager to ask about my performance/ am I doing what is expected

More to come
 
Log all your work somewhere visible, there’s no hiding then....

Could it been diet related? Causing you to lose focus? Too much sugar or caffeine? Booze?

Also ask yourself, what are the outcomes from not delivering, what are the consequences...
 
I rarely feel like this with work tasks, maybe writing documents on occasion, can be difficult to get going and easy to just put it off in favour of reading and responding to emails. I liken what you describe to the 'Christmas week' shift where people are working between Xmas and NY but there is a sort of malaise with no hubub going on around you where people aren't that productive, with remote working it's kind of like that all the time in some places I expect.

I think the issue I have is more one of prioritisation at times when I have more work than time to do it, I will tend to favour the more enjoyable or simpler tasks. Do 18 10 min tasks rather than 1 3hr task etc.
 
Make sure you've got a good plan drawn up of what tasks you're going to complete for the day, including time frames and notes on the steps that are required. That will make it easier to get into a task, rather than just having them all floating around somewhere in your head. Having a good structure planned for your day will probably help avoid just coasting through.

Make sure you're taking regular breaks as well. If you're working on something that takes 2 hours, split it up into smaller tasks and take 5 minutes away from your desk between each sub task. While working from home I've found doing some light exercise e.g. squats and push ups has helped stop me from wanting to lie down on the floor beside my desk and sleep.

I can definitely relate to your post as I've struggled with motivation quite a lot recently (partly because I just don't really like my job much any more). If you're WFH then it's definitely easier to imagine that your colleagues all think you're a useless waster as well.
 
You can't be performing that badly or the management is terrible. If you really weren't getting anything done then it would have been pointed out by now.

When I go into the office I see people wasting hours of their day on news sites, chatting or with undiagnosed bladder issues in which they need to take a 10 minute **** every hour.

The reality is even if you worked like a madman all day, you'd just be given more work or be sat around with nothing to do.
 
Pocket10s said:
This new job is everything I wanted in terms of difficulty, industry and pay.
Click to expand...
Good start. There are millions of people out there who never get even close to achieving this.


The problem is not that I don't know what to do at work; I'm very capable once I get going - it's that I feel I have absolutely no desire to. I will just sit there and honestly feel like the very last thing I want to do in the world is that task.
It's a horrible circle as instead of logging off and feeling like I accomplished something - I feel incredibly guilty every evening. Then each morning I'm anxious about all the tasks I've left un-done. I'm constantly anxious that my colleagues are noticing and want to get rid of me - it does leave me mentally exhausted.
It's easy to say "just get the work done" but honestly, each morning I try and I just end up giving up/ I don't see where the time goes.
When I do get the work done; I always get praise so I feel this is a massive problem for me that is just getting worse.
[/QUOTE]
I'm going to disagree with jsmoke - this sounds like a genuine case of procrastination.

Procrastination is a self-fulfilling cycle.

You need to do something (what it is, is unimportant)

If it does not have a set deadline, it just does not get done and the cycle stops at this point.

If it does have a set deadline, you will be aware of this deadline, but do very little to work towards it. Generally you convince yourself as the deadline looms that you have everything in hand and you can pull it off with an all nighter or something along those lines. You will instead waste your time, disappearing down a black hole of Wikipedia, or YouTube, or whatever.

When the deadline really hits home (if we are talking a single task like an email or a small document, it could be an hour before the deadline. If the task is larger like a project it will likely be earlier, but quite often not a lot!) then panic mode kicks in and all distractions are swept aside - you plough everything into the task because the prospect of not completing it is more terrible than the prospect of having to actually do it - particularly when you know it's a critical task - it's often at this point that you start thinking about ringing in sick, or inventing a dying relative, or deliberately having an accident to injure yourself.
By the end of that you probably really do feel physically sick, maybe you won't have to invent something at all!
You then think through all these plans and realise they are not credible, you knuckle down and get the task done.
Everyone gives you praise because the work you did was great, you receive a monster dose of endorphins and normality resumes.

Until the next important task.

And then your brain tells you that whatever you did last time worked perfectly, so you just repeat the above cycle.

Does the above sound about right? If so you are not alone, but you do need to set yourself up with some coping strategy because after an extended period it can be mentally exhausting and you are constantly on the edge of failure (in your mind) so your overall productivity as a human really drops.

Great TED Talk on true procrastination here:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator?language=en
 
Lopéz said:
Good start. There are millions of people out there who never get even close to achieving this.


The problem is not that I don't know what to do at work; I'm very capable once I get going - it's that I feel I have absolutely no desire to. I will just sit there and honestly feel like the very last thing I want to do in the world is that task.
It's a horrible circle as instead of logging off and feeling like I accomplished something - I feel incredibly guilty every evening. Then each morning I'm anxious about all the tasks I've left un-done. I'm constantly anxious that my colleagues are noticing and want to get rid of me - it does leave me mentally exhausted.
It's easy to say "just get the work done" but honestly, each morning I try and I just end up giving up/ I don't see where the time goes.
When I do get the work done; I always get praise so I feel this is a massive problem for me that is just getting worse.
Click to expand...
I'm going to disagree with jsmoke - this sounds like a genuine case of procrastination.

Procrastination is a self-fulfilling cycle.

You need to do something (what it is, is unimportant)

If it does not have a set deadline, it just does not get done and the cycle stops at this point.

If it does have a set deadline, you will be aware of this deadline, but do very little to work towards it. Generally you convince yourself as the deadline looms that you have everything in hand and you can pull it off with an all nighter or something along those lines. You will instead waste your time, disappearing down a black hole of Wikipedia, or YouTube, or whatever.

When the deadline really hits home (if we are talking a single task like an email or a small document, it could be an hour before the deadline. If the task is larger like a project it will likely be earlier, but quite often not a lot!) then panic mode kicks in and all distractions are swept aside - you plough everything into the task because the prospect of not completing it is more terrible than the prospect of having to actually do it - particularly when you know it's a critical task - it's often at this point that you start thinking about ringing in sick, or inventing a dying relative, or deliberately having an accident to injure yourself.
By the end of that you probably really do feel physically sick, maybe you won't have to invent something at all!
You then think through all these plans and realise they are not credible, you knuckle down and get the task done.
Everyone gives you praise because the work you did was great, you receive a monster dose of endorphins and normality resumes.

Until the next important task.

And then your brain tells you that whatever you did last time worked perfectly, so you just repeat the above cycle.

Does the above sound about right? If so you are not alone, but you do need to set yourself up with some coping strategy because after an extended period it can be mentally exhausting and you are constantly on the edge of failure (in your mind) so your overall productivity as a human really drops.

Great TED Talk on true procrastination here:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator?language=en[/QUOTE]

Thank you for this; that sounds like me to an absolute T. Ive seen that ted talk but will watch it again.
 
It’s something I’ve just accepted in this current work from home state we have. For me it is far more productive being in the office. I have found getting deadlines for things can help. Even just requesting a deadline for something if it’s not given should help motivate.
 
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