7 Reasons You May Be Procrastinating When You Should Be Getting Things Done

How to overcome the “I’m not doing enough” syndrome

Do you ever feel absolutely overloaded with things to do, but you still feel like you don’t do enough? Maybe you expected to be further along in life than you are now.

No matter what you do, it never seems to be enough. Seeing other people’s triumphs can exacerbate feelings of inferiority. Setting high standards for yourself can lead to the belief that nothing is ever good enough.

And with that thinking, why do anything, right? Procrastination, indecisiveness or simply putting things off becomes an unforgiving habit.

And when you start to feel like you’re not doing enough, it’s easy to become even more overwhelmed. Feeling obligated to do more just adds to the strain on your already overburdened shoulders.

After some self-reflection, I have learned where these feelings come from and some steps I have taken to end the self-sabotage.

#1 We live in a society that values accomplishment over contentment.

A part of our culture teaches us that achieving things is better than feeling at peace or having inner harmony or balance. This comes from a place of wanting to do more, be more successful, be prettier — whatever it might be for you personally — and then feeling guilty for not doing enough or accomplishing enough in life.

Society tells us to value success and accomplishment. This is the story that we’re told. A big part of this is money and status, but it’s okay if you don’t want that. It’s about doing something with your life. You should make an impact in another person’s life, so you can look back and feel proud of what you have accomplished.

#2 You feel you should be doing more.

The reality is that everyone is just doing the best they can with what they have. So, what can you do?

Take it one step at a time.

Focus on your strengths and remember to be proud of yourself for the things you have done so far in life! If there is something that worked for you in the past, try doing it again — or let yourself gracefully move on from it.

Be honest about what is and what has not been working lately, and feel free to change up your routine if something is not serving you anymore. By allowing yourself this flexibility, you may find new ways to improve your life that are tailored to who you are right now!

#3 You look at other people’s journeys too often.

So you’re working hard and hustling, but you still feel like it’s not enough. You might just be trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

There is a difference between measuring yourself against your own past self and holding yourself up to other people for comparison.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of comparing your insides to their outsides, or your behind-the-scenes work with their highlight reel.

This is where the danger lies in using others as a barometer for success: Not only are we comparing ourselves to those who have been working towards their goals for a long time, but we also tend to forget that our peers have resources available to them that we can use, too — like the support of friends and family cheering us on versus going it alone.

#4 You’re harder on yourself than anyone else in your life.

The fourth reason you feel like you’re not doing enough? You’re too hard on yourself. Have you ever had inner dialogue that sounds like this:

“I don’t try hard enough. I slack off too often. I fall victim to distractions too easily. Why can’t I get my act together?! Why am I such a failure?!?” — Me on my worst days.

The problem is, while it’s true that we all make mistakes and have less-than-perfect days, the way we think about them is so much more negative than how we think of others’ missteps — and it’s probably even worse than the way other people think about our slipups!

The truth is, most of the time people aren’t paying attention to your perceived flaws as closely or harshly as you are yourself. We need to cut ourselves some slack and be kinder — to ourselves and each other!

Remind yourself: You don’t always need to give 110 percent; it’s okay to take a break sometimes (and run with 50 or 60 percent instead). We are all human beings trying our best, struggling through life just like everyone else, and nobody can be perfect 100 percent of the time.

#5 You might just not be comparing yourself to the right people.

If you’re constantly comparing yourself to people who are out of reach, have completely different lives, have been working towards their goal for a long time, or have more resources available to them, you’re going to feel inadequate.

Comparison is the thief of joy — but it’s hard not to compare yourself to others.

When you’re used to seeing people at the top of their game and crushing it in their careers and personal lives, it can be daunting when things aren’t coming as easily for you.

Thanks a lot, social media…

If you feel like this, take a step back and look at what’s actually happening.

• Are these people really better than you? No.
• Have they been working longer towards their goals? Not necessarily.
• Do they have more resources available to them? Quite possibly.
• Is your comparison simply unrealistic? Yea, probably.

It’s important that we push ourselves by setting high standards and big goals. But if those standards are based on what others have accomplished rather than what’s realistic based on our circumstances, we’ll never meet them.

Don’t make comparisons between yourself and other people. Instead, focus on making comparisons that challenge you in a productive way — and being OK with the fact that sometimes those comparisons will tell you that your goals might be too big for where you’re at right now. Give yourself time to get there.

#6 You might be setting the bar too high for yourself.

When it comes to self-improvement and goal-setting, you cannot get anywhere if you don’t know where you want to go.

But just like a map won’t help you if you are trying to climb Mount Everest without any equipment, having clearly defined goals won’t help your self-esteem if they are unachievable with the tools you have right now.

Setting realistic goals does not mean you stop dreaming for bigger and better. Realistic goals are essentially S.M.A.R.T goals.

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
• Achievable (agreed, attainable)
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
• Time-bound (time-based, timely, time-sensitive)

Set yourself up for success by setting achievable goals. Even if you fall short of your goal, which can happen, it will be clear that the problem is not a failure on your part — the problem was the plan you set for your goal. Plans can be adjusted.

#7 Sometimes you’re just not getting enough rest.

We’re constantly bombarded with information about diet and exercise, but we don’t hear much about the importance of rest and recovery.

The amount of sleep you need each day depends on your age group. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults ages 18–64 get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. If you are older than 65, you need no more than eight hours a night.

Too little sleep has been linked to numerous chronic diseases and conditions, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke as well as obesity, depression, and lower life expectancy overall.

How can you make sure you get enough rest?

Try keeping a regular bedtime schedule and getting out of bed at the same time every morning. Limit alcohol consumption before bedtime because it disrupts REM (rapid eye movement) sleep — the most important type for memory consolidation — and because it can cause middle-of-the-night awakenings into light (non-REM) sleep stages that otherwise would be quiet times when the body heals itself.

This also applies to caffeine consumption; restrict coffee drinking to earlier in the day if possible so it doesn’t interfere with your sleeping hours.

Bonus: It’s ok to give yourself space

It’s important to remember that it is okay to give yourself space and not just at work. It might be that your home life is overwhelming or you feel like you need to keep doing more and more in order to feel worthy.

The truth is that it’s okay to say “no” sometimes, even when we know what the answer should be. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with messages telling us how we should be living our lives.

As much as these messages can help us learn new things or improve ourselves in some way, they can also be harmful if we internalize them and think of them as universal truths.

Everyone needs space from time to time; whether this means taking a half hour before bed each night for yourself or finding a quiet place where you can go for a jog every morning. You might find that having some extra time makes everything else seem less stressful!

There’s no predicting the future. If you’re reading this, then there is a good chance you’ll live to see tomorrow. And that means there’s also a good chance — no matter how small — that something unexpected could happen to change your life in an instant.

Thankfully, though, most of the bad things that we could possibly imagine never happen. That leaves all of us plenty of time to do the things that we want. Worrying less about what might happen or what has not happened yet. Enjoy what is happening right now.

Hello there, I’m Divad. Learn more about me and click here to receive an update every time I publish a new article, like this one: