We have a tendency to think about procrastination as a unhealthy behavior.
However what if we used it for good?
That’s a suggestion neuroscientist and psychologist Albert Moukheiber makes on this week’s episode of our psychological well being podcast, Mentally Yours.
Albert suggests we do one thing he calls ‘stress procrastination’; basically, the act of ‘procrastinating’ our worries for later.
‘Generally I inform individuals in remedy: procrastinate your stress,’ Albert tells us. ‘We all the time discuss procrastination as a nasty factor, as a result of we’re procrastinating the issues we ought to do.
‘However it's also possible to procrastinate the issues we shouldn’t do.
‘Create some type of non permanent displacement – fear about this in two hours and see if it’s nonetheless helpful.’
The concept is that once we’re hit by an anxiousness spiral, we inform ourselves that we’ll postpone that stress for a later second, for a scheduled ‘fear time’ once we give outselves permission to emphasize out.
This isn’t about ignoring or dismissing adverse feelings, however merely mentally shifting them to a different time – so we will get on with no matter else we wish to be doing within the second.
‘The advantages of delaying a deal with disagreeable emotions is that it permits them to be expressed whereas becoming round your life in a method that's productive,’ Marios Georgiou, psychological wellbeing practitioner at Non-public Remedy Clinic, tells Metro.co.uk.
‘After you have observed that you're worrying an excessive amount of or that it's occurring at time that aren't useful or acceptable, you possibly can think about siphoning off time devoted to permitting your self to specific these emotions.
‘What occurs then is you are feeling aid for accepting that the emotion is there and is asking to your consideration, and that the necessity shall be met, whereas respecting the truth that you should prioritise necessary elements of your life to make sure you don’t fall right into a fear cycle that spirals uncontrolled and different areas of significance are affected e.g. relationships, work, your well being.’
There’s one other large profit to ‘fear procrastination’ – usually, you’ll discover that when your scheduled ‘fear time’ hits, the factor that was inflicting you anxiousness has resolved itself, or it now not issues.
It’s necessary that should you’re going to present ‘fear procrastination’ a go, you do it in an efficient method. Right here’s how.
Find out how to interact in ‘fear procrastination’
Interrupt the thought cycle
Step one: recognising whenever you’re worrying and taking a second to acknowledge and interrupt the sort of pondering.
‘There are a number of remedy approaches which might be fast to be taught and work efficiently to interrupt the sample of fear/anxiousness pondering,’ says psychologist Sally Baker.
‘Some strategies are bodily, so that you break the maintain worrying ideas have by doing one thing bodily; others are about clicking your fingers or saying a sound in your thoughts that acknowledges a thought is only a bullsh*t worrying thought.
‘Think about there’s an imaginary swap that may be embedded in your aware thoughts that may be thrown to show off anxiousness when worrying ideas really feel overwhelming.’
Inform your self you'll fear about this challenge later
Discuss to your self for a second, telling your self that when you’re allowed to fret, it’s not one of the best time to do it.
Inform your self a time when you possibly can work via these anxieties. Marios recommends making a observe in your cellphone or diary so you possibly can bear in mind to handle the concern at a later second.
Marios recommends: ‘Even when it’s a recurring fear, attempt to be particular about what type that is taking as we speak e.g. “I'm anxious about my subsequent efficiency evaluate at work” and “I'm anxious I can't get my bonus this yr and I would like one” could also be in the identical space of labor however it's best to specify how the concern manifests on that day.’
Create a ‘fear time’
‘Both have an everyday slot each day or weekly (relying on how usually these worries are impacting your life) blocked out in your calendar the place you permit your self to discover these emotions,’ suggests Marios.
‘Attempt to do that in the identical place, whether or not it’s a room at residence or someplace else you are feeling protected and capable of chill out earlier than you start the train.’
Throughout ‘fear time’, work via your listing of stresses
‘Undergo your listing and both assume via or write out precisely how you are feeling and why you assume you are feeling this manner,’ Marios advises. ‘Writing or talking out loud are preferable to only internally fascinated about the issue, as a result of the latter is a little more amorphous, whereas sentences we write or say will give construction to your ideas and emotions, which helps
‘When you’ve spelled out one in every of your worries, begin to query what that fear actually means, some questions you may ask are:
- If that is true, it worries me as a result of … (and when you reply this, repeat the query for the reply you gave till you possibly can’t reply it once more, it will get to the basis of your worries)
- How will I really feel about this challenge in a yr? How about three years? How about 5 or 10 years? (this places it in perspective)
- What am I in command of with reference to this fear? Out of the issues I'm in command of, what subsequent step would I wish to take to place myself in a greater place?
- If my greatest buddy or different cherished one had been on this precise place, what would I counsel them to do and the way would I acknowledge their worries?’
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