105: Breaking the Cycle – Procrastination Journal Tactics

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[00:00:08] Laurence: Hello and welcome back to the ADHD Goals podcast. Let me hit you with a familiar scenario. You’ve got a task to do. It’s not even that big, but instead of doing it, you suddenly feel an overwhelming need to. Reorganize your books by color or deep clean the inside of your microwave.

Or let’s be honest, scroll for 45 minutes looking for the perfect productivity app. Sound familiar? If you’ve got ADHD. Procrastination isn’t just a bad habit, it’s a survival strategy, but the more we avoid. The worst we feel. That’s why today we’re going to flip the script on procrastination with a simple, powerful tool, the procrastination journal.

And [00:01:00] yes, you can download it totally for free. Take a look in the show notes, and click the link, download it onto your desktop. So how do we use. Are you ready? Let’s start with why this happens. People with ADHD have unique executive function challenges. That means we struggle with things like starting tasks, especially boring or ambiguous, especially boring or ambiguous ones.

Shifting between tasks. Or keeping long-term goals in mind when short-term distractions feel so tempting. Procrastination isn’t about being lazy. It’s about our brains desperately avoiding discomfort, stress, or even boredom. We crave [00:02:00] dopamine and let’s be real. Scheduling a dentist appointment or wait or writing a budget spreadsheet doesn’t exactly light up the reward centers.

So what’s the cost? Stress builds from leaving things until the last minute. Shame creeps in, especially when others don’t understand opportunities are missed. Not because we don’t care, but because we can’t get started, and worst of all our self-esteem takes a hit, as Dr. Tim Phytchl puts it.

Procrastination is not a time management issue. It’s an emotional regulation issue. The more we judge ourselves, the more stuck we feel. But what if, instead of shaming the pattern, we studied it, enter the procrastination journal.

This little worksheet is a way to shine some light on your procrastination habits. [00:03:00] It’s designed to help you catch the moment in real time, reflect without judgment, and get back on track bit by bit. So let me walk you through how it works. Just a reminder, you can download this and if you have downloaded it, you can walk through with me.

So you’ll see in the worksheet that you have at table and some columns. In the first column we have got when, and I want you to write down the day and time that you’ve noticed yourself. Procrastinating. Patterns often hide here. Certain days or times or moods might be triggering for your procrastination.

In the next column, what is it that you are procrastinating on? What are you avoiding? Be honest. Is it writing a report or sending a difficult email or tidying your workspace [00:04:00] in the next column? How are you avoiding it? Are you finding yourself scrolling? Instagram cleaning, suddenly obsessed with reorganizing your apps?

Awareness is key here. And then I want you to look at the next column, and this is where it gets interesting. Pause.

Next up is why are you avoiding it? Now, this is where it becomes interesting. [00:05:00] You’ll see above that column, there are a list of different examples. For example, is it boring? Is it frustrating? Is it difficult? Is it ambiguous? Is it unstructured? Is it not intrinsically rewarding, or does it lack personal meaning?

Understanding what it is that you are feeling right now at this moment of understanding why you might be avoiding this allows you to take the steps for reversing that and finding ways to overcome why you are procrastinating. So that leads us to the next column, which is, what is the reverse?

So what is the reverse of what you wrote in the fur in the previous column? If it was boring, then we need to find a way to make it exciting. If it was [00:06:00] frustrating, we need to find a way to make it pleasant. If it’s difficult, then we need to find a way to make it easy. If it is ambi ambiguous, we need to find a way to get some clarity.

If it is unstructured, we need to find a way to make it structured if it isn’t intrinsically rewarding. We need to find a way to make it intrinsically rewarding. And if it lacks personal meaning, then we need to find a way to give it strong personal meaning. And then that leads us to the next column. Now that you know what you need to do in order to overcome the roadblock.

That is making, causing the procrastination. I want you to brainstorm some ideas of how you can either make it more exciting, more pleasant, easier, clearer structured, intrinsically [00:07:00] rewarding, or give it some strong personal meaning. This is where you need to get creative and come up with some ideas of how you can make that happen.

And then in the final column, it’s called Next Small Step. Now the clue here is sometimes part of the reasons why we procrastinate on something. Is it because it feels overwhelming and things can feel overwhelming when we are looking at the whole task or the finish line and feel like it’s. A difficult thing to achieve or a difficult place to get to in order to get started and overcome that roadblock.

What is the next small step that I can take? What is the literal next action I can take? That is the first step along the way [00:08:00] to achieving that task that you are avoiding. And I want you to write that down and then it would be best.

And then once you’ve identified what that small step is, you can have a go at starting.

So here’s a pro tip. Keep a few copies of this printed out and nearby, whether it’s on your desk or in your planner, or clipped to the fridge, wherever. And I want you to catch those procrastination moments in the wild. And here’s where the real magic happens. Over time, you’re gonna start to notice some patterns.

You might realize that you always procrastinate on admin tasks after 3:00 PM or you avoid ambiguous or open-end projects the most, or you put things off when you’re tired, [00:09:00] hungry, or overscheduled. This awareness or this self-awareness is a game changer. Once you can name the pattern. Once you can name it, you can tame it.

Once you can see that pattern, you can do something about it. Struggle with vague tasks. Add structure before starting. Get stuck in the afternoon. Save high resistant tasks for the morning, avoiding things that feel meaningless. Then connect them to a bigger goal or reward. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

If this is resonating with you, then I’d love you to download the Procrastination Journal. It’s completely free, and I promise you, it’s not just another form to fill out.

It holds a mini mirror to your habits in the kindest way possible. So grab your copy from the show notes, let it sit on your desk, print a few out and start logging those. I should have been [00:10:00] doing X whilst I’m doing Y moments. You’ll be amazed at what you uncover. I,

Well there, we have it. Thank you so much for listening this far. If you want to hear more episodes, then please subscribe on YouTube or whatever podcast platform you use. It really helps us spread the word. So if you know anyone, this episode could help, then please share it with your friends. If you want to follow me on social media, I am on Instagram at ADHD underscore goals. And you can find me on Facebook too. If you want to get into touch with the show, then you can email me at hello@adhdgoals.co And finally, if you’re struggling to manage your ADHD and you would like me to be your coach, then please head over to my website and get in touch. Until next time. Bye for now.