If you haven't noticed, there is a relationship between procrastination and sleep. If you procrastinate, your sleep suffers. Learn how to stop procrastinating here:
If you find it hard to get started and finish what you began, you're procrastinating. And that won’t let you sleep well.
"Fear is hidden behind what you're procrastinating."
Every decision to act or not act is based on the consequence, the benefit, or reward we expect to receive. So, if you're procrastinating or not doing something you should, it’s because, in some way, it pays off. You procrastinate because you're afraid. The reason why you sabotage yourself and don't finish that project that you know would be a success is because of fear… for example, fear that your peers will envy you, or that you will lose your friends if it’s a huge success, or on the contrary, fear that it will be a failure and they will laugh at you.
Generally, fear is hidden behind what you procrastinate, and by not finishing what you started, you don’t have to face what you're afraid of, and therefore it pays off not to do it. Procrastinating is “safe.”
We can give you some advice on procrastination and sleep, to help you fight those fears and stop procrastinating.
Fighting Fear to Move Forward
If you are unable to move forward, achieve your goals, get excited about your projects, and have motivation wake you up in the morning eager to work on them from start to finish, these tips will help you regain the confidence and energy you need to move forward and achieve your goals.
What statement would you make about yourself if you weren’t afraid, ashamed, etc., of it becoming reality? Write it down and read it aloud every morning when you wake up, so it gets fixed in your subconscious, and every night before going to bed. Think big, dream big, and set a date. For example: "By March 1, 2021, I will have lost 20 pounds" or "In May 2021, I will own my own business." This simple exercise, described by Napoleon Hill in his book "Think & Grow Rich," helps the idea of achieving your dreams get fixed in the subconscious. The subconscious controls about 95% of what we do in our lives, and only 5% is done consciously. Almost everything happening in your life now is controlled by your subconscious without you realizing it, so if you can fix your dreams in it, you are more likely to do what is necessary until they are fulfilled, thus you will carry out the projects you are now procrastinating.
Related to this idea and based on the same principle, create a "Dream Board." Stick your affirmation and pictures of your ideal life or everything you would like to achieve in the future on it, from the most realistic ideas to the craziest ones, like buying a Ferrari. Why? Because the subconscious works with images; if it sees your dreams, they will be fixed even better than if you just imagine them, and what you do will be oriented towards achieving them, because what you do is always aligned with your subconscious. This will give you an advantage in not procrastinating.
"The Procrastinator's Calendar." That's right, take a calendar and write 30 things on it, one for each day of the month, that you've been resisting. Do it now, don’t procrastinate on this!! They can be as simple as "Day 1: make the bed", "Day 2: call to make a pending complaint", etc. It’s proven that willpower is like a muscle; the more you train it, the easier it becomes to exert it. When you consistently start doing what your mind has been resisting, you begin to reprogram your mind to have greater willpower, and you will start feeling better due to the power you regain, which had been deposited in what was resisting. Let’s say you start winning the battles, and that makes you feel very good and capable of beating procrastination. After 30 days, you will find yourself with more energy, and no task on your to-do list will resist you.
Exercise as a powerful productivity tool. Every time something resists you, start doing high-intensity sports; you don't need a lot of time, about 30 minutes will be enough to start the secretion of hormones such as endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and that boost will give you the energy, mental clarity, and the desire to finish everything pending.
Avoid physical and digital distractions and disorder; they all make you stressed and shift the focus from the task you are doing and stop doing it – it’s the height of procrastination! because you do it without an internal motive, such as fear, and without even realizing it. There are multiple apps that block notifications and messages for the time you schedule so that nothing interrupts your concentration during that time.
If you put these tips into practice, you will see how stopping self-sabotage and procrastinating what you want or have to do will free you from unnecessary stress and allow you to fall asleep more effectively.
More tips for sleeping well on our Youtube channel.