When you have an urgent task to complete, do you find yourself doing something completely different that suddenly seems to be more urgent? You are not alone 20 % of the population are chronic procrastinators and most people procrastinate at some point.This weekend I urgently needed to organise my tax paperwork for an appointment with my accountant. I had set aside a couple of hour to complete this, but instead I embarked on a thorough cleaning session of my house. Although organising paperwork is not a job I would say I enjoy, doing household chores is usually something I enjoy even less! I am not new to procrasti-cleaning. When studying, my house has always been its cleanest when I have had an assignment to complete or an exam looming. Never mind there is always tomorrow! The next day was a lovely warm sunny day and so I found myself procrasti-gardening, again not something I really enjoy. Today I really have to do the tax paperwork. That’s OK I’ll do it as soon as I have finished this procrasti-blogging.Does any of this sound familiar? So why do we procrastinate? Previously, it was thought that procrastination was an avoidance strategy, caused by fear of failure or perfectionism; or a time management problem. Recent research conducted by researchers at Ruhr University, Germany and published in Psychological Science, suggests that procrastination is a result of how our brain is wired. They scanned the brains of 264 people and found that procrastinators had a larger amygdala (the amygdala is the centre of emotion in the brain) and a weaker connection between the amygdala and the DACC (or dorsal anterior cingulate cortex), which uses information from the amygdala and decides what action the body will take. So if procrastination is caused by wiring in your brain, can you change it? According to the researchers, the answer is ‘yes.’Watch out for next blog for details about how you change your procrastinating behaviour. But for now, I have to organise my tax papers!
To help me focus and keep on track, I am diffusing a blend of Rosemary, Lime and Wild Orange Essential Oils (doTERRA of course). It is working well so far.