Procrastination

Anxiety around success may seem like a bit of a contradiction. While one would imagine that achieving success should be satisfying and fulfilling, many people actually find themselves gripped by unexpected dread or even self-sabotage as they approach their goals. This anxiety tends to be less about failing, but more of a fear of success itself. This particular form of anxiety can be confusing because it goes against how we believe we're supposed to feel about accomplishment.

What Is Success Anxiety?

Unlike (though in some ways similar to) fear of failure, success anxiety emerges when you’re actually doing well. It’s the uncomfortable feeling that starts to show up when things are going right. When you get the promotion, when your relationship deepens, when your creative project gains recognition, when you're earning more money, etc. Your body might respond with familiar anxiety symptoms: racing thoughts, tension, or restlessness, for example. But the trigger in this case isn’t an upcoming challenge. It’s the achievement you’ve already reached or are about to reach.

This type of anxiety is unconscious. You might find yourself sabotaging opportunities without understanding why. Or you might achieve something significant only to feel empty or worried rather than fulfilled or joyful. The anxiety attaches itself to success, creating a psychological trap where moving forward feels dangerous.

The Root Cause of Fearing Achievement

Success anxiety typically develops from complex psychological and emotional experiences from early in life. Growing up where achievement caused envy rather than praise can teach your mind to fear success. Perhaps standing out or doing well meant losing connection with people who felt threatened by your accomplishments. Maybe success brought unwanted attention or pressure that felt overwhelming.

For some, achieving what parents couldn’t can create an unconscious loyalty conflict. Surpassing a parent’s accomplishments can feel like betrayal, even if they want you to do better than them. The deeper emotional worry is that succeeding where they struggled might hurt them, in some way. This can become internalized as anxiety about your own achievement. Going further, it becomes more complex in that when you achieve beyond your parents' achievements, it can increase anxiety because you don't have a reference point for what this success would look like. It wasn't modeled for you at home, so you become in the unknown of uncharted territory.

The Imposter

This also links to the idea with success that the more you have, the more you can lose. Achieving the promotion, creative success, the deeper relationship, or anything else can leave you feeling a sense of fragility. If you don't feel deep down that you deserve the success, or if there is some imposter syndrome, it can feel precarious. Like everything you have gained is only temporary and a part of you is waiting for the shoe to drop. This can also be the case if you're used to things not going the way you want, and when it starts to, it feels like you have to stay on guard for what's going to go wrong to take the good away.

Success can also feel dangerous when it threatens your sense of identity or relationships. If you’ve defined yourself through struggle, achievement disrupts that familiar self-concept. When you view success as a threat to your character, anxiety can prevent you from accomplishing it. And if you equate achievement with losing loved ones, you may be unconsciously tempted to choose safety over success.

What Success Anxiety Looks Like

This anxiety manifests in various ways. You might procrastinate on the final steps of important projects, finding endless reasons to delay completion. Or you might downplay your achievements immediately after they happen, minimizing what you’ve accomplished. Some people unconsciously create problems or crises whenever things are going too well, as if calm success is intolerable.

The anxiety can also appear as imposter syndrome. That’s the persistent belief that you don’t deserve your success and will eventually be exposed as a fraud. This isn’t simple self-doubt. It’s a deeper conviction that achievement itself is somehow wrong or dangerous for you specifically.

Your Relationship with Achievement

Working through success anxiety requires exploring the unconscious meanings you’ve attached to achievement. For example, how success looked in your family, or what happened when you did better than others or reached past their goals. How did the important people in your life respond to their own successes and yours? These aren’t questions with simple answers, and they often need time and space for reflection to fully understand.

It's necessary to understand why achievement and success feels threatening in the first place. The idea isn’t to force yourself to feel differently about success or to push through the anxiety with willpower. When you can make sense of the deeper patterns driving your anxiety, you create a place for a different relationship with your own accomplishments, one where success doesn’t have to feel dangerous.

#Anxiety #fearofsuccess #Success #selfsabotage #Procrastination #PanicAttacks #MentalHealth

My brother is in hospital and I'm having problems with my electricity supply.
Might have to get them to send me a key in the post.
Its my own fault because last year I needed a new card metre and when they came they made a mistake.
They basically never fitted the new meter.
Trying to cope with these things alone has been tough.
The only thing keeping me occupied is my painting and swimming.

Tomorrow is my birthday.

I just ate dinner and am now trying to relax.
I'm proud of my painting.
It's nearly finished!
Watercolour.
A man in a boat.
#Anxiety #Depression #Procrastination
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So #Yesterday my #social #battery was #okay , but #today it's #empty 🥴 #Feeling like #everything can #Work #Relationships daily #tasks can & will have to #wait 🫷🏾#Autism #PTSDSupportAndRecovery

#MentalHealth #Procrastination

GET ORGANIZED

You are more likely to procrastinate if you don’t have a set plan or idea for completing your work. Investing in a planner is a good idea. Start keeping track of all your assignments and their due dates. When you're organized, it gives you a more orderly and measured framework within which to work.

ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

Getting rid of distractions is another tip to avoid procrastination. By limiting the number of distractions around you, you're more likely to get done what you need to do. Shut your phone off, retreat to a quiet place and listen to classical music or white noise to drown out any noise.

PRIORITIZE

Prioritizing your work and assignments is another way to help you avoid procrastination. Every week or so, make a list of what needs to be completed. Make sure you address the most critical or time-sensitive assignments first. Then work your way down the list. Get the hard stuff out of the way first, so that everything that comes after it will seem more manageable.

SET GOALS

Part of the reason you might procrastinate is because what you have to do seems overwhelming. It’s a lot easier to get started on a project when you establish simple, reachable goals rather than face a big, vague plan. Instead of telling yourself, “I’ll study chemistry tonight,” you might instead say, "I’ll study chapter six tonight." This makes your goals less intimidating and more attainable.

SET DEADLINES

Another tip to avoid procrastination is to set deadlines. Many students get stuck in the “I'll do it tomorrow or eventually” cycle when in truth that day or eventually never comes. It's important to set a specific date for when you want a project or assignment to be completed. Aim to have your projects and assignments completed one or two days in advance. That way, if something unexpected happens, you still have extra time to complete them.

TAKE A BREAK

Another tip to avoid procrastination is to take a break from your school work every now and then. Take a 10-15 minute break. Listen to music, take a walk or scream into a pillow — anything that takes your mind off of your school work and allows you to relax. An Oregon State University study shows that taking a break can increase focus, reduce stress, and help you better retain information.

REWARD YOURSELF

Rewarding yourself may create an incentive to complete a task and help avoid procrastination. After studying for a test or completing an assignment, consider giving yourself a reward. It could be as simple as, "Once I finish this assignment, I can watch an episode of my favorite show."

HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Holding yourself accountable for completing your assignments on time, studying for tests and getting good grades is another tip to avoid procrastination.

You can refer to this:

resiliens.com/resilify/program/dealing-with-procrastination

In the fast-paced world we live in, it's no surprise that many individuals find themselves caught up in the whirlwind of daily responsibilities, leaving little time for self-care and relaxation.

One phenomenon that has gained significant attention recently is revenge bedtime procrastination. This peculiar behavior occurs when individuals deliberately delay their bedtime to reclaim a sense of control over their personal time, often at the expense of much-needed rest. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of revenge bedtime procrastination, its potential impact on well-being, and strategies to overcome this detrimental habit.

Understanding Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Revenge bedtime #Procrastination is a term coined to describe the act of intentionally staying up late despite feeling tired. It's a response to the desire to regain a sense of freedom and autonomy over one's own time after a day consumed by obligations and responsibilities. While it may seem counterintuitive to sacrifice sleep, revenge bedtime procrastination provides individuals with a fleeting opportunity to engage in activities they enjoy without external demands.

The Negative Consequences

Although revenge bedtime procrastination offers a short-lived sense of freedom, it can have severe repercussions on both physical and mental well-being. Lack of sleep, as a result of staying up late, can lead to a myriad of health issues, including fatigue, reduced cognitive function, impaired concentration, weakened immune system, and increased risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, the constant cycle of sleep deprivation can contribute to heightened stress levels, anxiety, and even depression.

Breaking Free from Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Recognizing the detrimental effects of revenge bedtime procrastination is the first step toward reclaiming control over your sleep routine. Here are some effective strategies to help you break free from this habit:

Prioritize Self-Care: Understand that self-care is not a luxury but a necessity for your overall well-being. Make a conscious effort to allocate time for activities that rejuvenate your mind and body. Establish a Bedtime Routine: Set a consistent bedtime and create a relaxing routine leading up to it. This can include activities such as reading, taking a warm bath, practicing mindfulness, or listening to calming music. By following a routine, your body will learn to associate these activities with sleep, making it easier to unwind and fall asleep faster. Create a Digital Detox: The blue light emitted by electronic devices interferes with our body's natural sleep-wake cycle. Limit your exposure to screens, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime. Instead, engage in calming activities that promote relaxation and prepare your mind for sleep. Manage Your Time Wisely: One of the underlying causes of revenge bedtime procrastination is poor time management. Prioritize your tasks, set realistic goals, and establish boundaries to ensure you have ample time for both responsibilities and leisure activities. This will help you regain a sense of control over your daily routine. Seek Support: Breaking habits can be challenging, but it's easier when you have a support system. Reach out to friends, family, or even consider joining a support group where you can share experiences and strategies for overcoming revenge bedtime procrastination. Learn more about revenge sleep procrastination: productive.fish/blog/revenge-bedtime-procrastination

#Wellbeing #Sleep #SleepBetter #Productivity

#MentalHealth #Procrastination

Procrastination is the action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so. The word has originated from the Latin word procrastinatus, which itself evolved from the prefix pro-, meaning "forward," and crastinus, meaning "of tomorrow." Oftentimes, it is a habitual human behavior.

It is a common human experience involving delay in everyday chores or even putting off salient tasks such as attending an appointment, submitting a job report or academic assignment, or broaching a stressful issue with a partner. Although typically perceived as a negative trait due to its hindering effect on one's productivity often associated with depression, low self-esteem, guilt and inadequacy, it can also be considered a wise response to certain demands that could present risky or negative outcomes or require waiting for new information to arrive.

From a cultural and a social perspective, students from both Western and non-Western cultures are found to exhibit academic procrastination, but for different reasons. Students from Western cultures tend to procrastinate in order to avoid doing worse than they have done before or from failing to learn as much as they should have, whereas students from non-Western cultures tend to procrastinate in order to avoid looking incompetent, or to avoid demonstrating a lack of ability in front of their peers.

It is also important to consider how different cultural perspectives of time management can impact procrastination. For example, in cultures that have a multi-active view of time, people tend to place a higher value on making sure a job is done accurately before finishing. In cultures with a linear view of time, people tend to designate a certain amount of time on a task and stop once the allotted time has expired.

You can refer to this:

resiliens.com/resilify/program/dealing-with-procrastination

#MentalHealth #Procrastination

Figure Out Why You Procrastinate – There are many reasons people procrastinate. Figuring out your reason(s) is the first step to overcoming them. Is it self-doubt or do you just need more information? Do you need more time for the information to percolate in your head, or do you simply need the stress of the deadline to activate? Are you unclear if the task is important? Or do you just hate doing it? Understanding the cause of our individual brands of perfectionism helps us move into action.

Trick Your Brain – Start with an easy task to stimulate your brain. Take advantage of the “pleasure seeking” chemicals and as soon as you finish the easy/fun task move to one of the “harder to complete” tasks.

Identity Motivation –Use a character trait you like about yourself to help you activate. i.e. – I am a learner, I have perseverance, I am a problem-solver. Then ask:

-What kind of situation is this?

-Who am I?

-What does someone like me do in a situation like this? If you consider yourself to be thoughtful – then you’ll ask yourself – what does a thoughtful person do in a situation like this? If you consider yourself to be a problem solver then you’ll ask yourself – what would a problem solver do in a situation like this?

Body Doubling – Body Doubling is having a partner share your space to help keep you on task. They don’t need to do anything in particular. Their very presence helps move you to action.

-Meet a friend at the coffee shop and work on your “hard” project alone – together.

-Meet a colleague in the conference room and set your Pomodoro timer.

-Ask a family member to sit with you while you are getting started.

-Hire a NAPO Professional Organizer or other consultant to work on your project with you

Change Location – A unfamiliar space can provide just enough stimulation your brain needs to move into action. Weather permitting try working outside, a new coffee shop, or even a new location at work or home. Simply changing chairs at your kitchen table may be enough to shift how your brain is processing the environment.

You can refer to this:

resiliens.com/resilify/program/dealing-with-procrastination