Anxiety and Procrastination
Procrastination Anxiety and “Inverse Prioritization”
There are many behaviors corelated with anxiety symptoms, and putting off doing an activity that appears worrisome and effortful (procrastinating) is one of them. It is so easy to occupy ourselves with “to do’s” that are much less threatening somehow; less labor intensive, less emotionally challenging, stuff we know we have to do but can mindlessly execute.
You’ve been there. For example, you are unhappy at your job and know it would be a good idea to get a new one.
Instead of looking into what this would take, you watch a show you like, do your laundry, help a friend clean their garage, go grocery shopping, go on social media for a couple of hours, make something to eat.
I mean these things need to get done, right? And how can you say no to a friend?
Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make Easier to do What Matters Most proposes the idea of “inverse prioritization.” This postulates that “the most important thing in our lives at any given time is the least likely thing to get done.” He reasons that because of its significance, the risk of failing at it is so high we put it off. We want to avoid these feelings of failure by making excuses on not doing “the thing”- I’m not in the right headspace, not the right environment, I feel physically tired, sick, etc.
The “what if’s” may come in- What if I do it and it’s not my best (perfectionism at its finest)? What if they say no? What if I don’t get the desired result?
Anxiety has you thinking of the worst result. “It’s pointless.” “It won’t matter.” “It will just be a waste of time.” “They probably will hire someone else.”
Anxiety has you scanning for threat and wants you to be safe and comfortable. If it had its way you would be living in a plastic bubble.
So doing things that matter to you can be perceived as threatening if it disturbs the status quo and asks you to take a risk, even a small one.
How do you ever get anything meaningful done?
You take small, less threatening, steps.
Let’s say you have anxiety about finding a new job. Anxiety will tell you all kinds of things that may not be true- you won’t get it, it’s out of your league, it’s not perfect, you might not like it, it could be worse than your current job, etc. It’s such a trickster! Now stressed by anxiety creating this negative outlook you get overwhelmed at the idea of updating a resume. What do I add? What font should I use? Do I subtract or omit any jobs or activities? What levity of paper should I use when I print it out? Do I need to stick with one page or can I use more? And now what about going on an interview? What do I wear? What colors should I avoid?
All of this seems like too much. You are starting to get a headache and stomach ache. Your head feels foggy. Better put if off until you feel better or in a better place. So, you continue to work unhappily in a job that you dislike. You want to do meaningful work since this aligns with having a purpose and doing activities that correspond with your values. But you fail to do the first action needed to begin the process of finding another job out of fear that you won’t get it- fear of failure.
Does this feel familiar? The overthinking, physical and cognitive anxiety symptoms rushing in again?
How do you begin to experience the symptoms and do it anyway?
You accept the discomfort and take small action steps. Get resources you need for research, make or update a resume. Lower your expectations if you have perfectionistic tendencies. Find support from the internet (there are many free resources available online for resume construction), a trusted friend, family member, or professional guidance counselor or teacher since you may not know where to start.
It is about taking action, no matter how small, no matter what the feelings are physically and mentally, and then giving yourself credit for taking the action.
Each step proves to the brain that it does not need to protect you right now.
You’ve got this- get going!