The Procrastination Fight: Fear of Unknown

We are working on our series about combating procrastination. As leaders and workers, procrastination can have a very negative effect on your impact, derail your followers hard work, and create unneeded stress in your life. Regaining control of your work day and making the most of your valuable resource of time, is priceless.

In our first segment of this series, we discussed The Procrastination Fight of finding and boosting your motivation. We determined the impact of motivation on fighting procrastination means you need to identify a goal for the task you are going to tackle, you need to own the goal, and the goal needs to have importance to you. And finally you need to protect and guard your motivation before you lose it. If you did not read part one on The Procrastination Fight, I recommend you read it.

Our second part of this four part series in our efforts to battle procrastination is dealing with our fear of the unknown. This is the same fear you have when you are watching a scary movie and your hiding behind a blanket, you hear a knock at your door when not expecting it and you sit dead still, or you are sitting in a doctor’s office after some tests not able to breathe. The fear of the unknown can create a universe which can distract you from what you are supposed to be doing because you have no idea what is around the corner. You effectively ignore what is in front of you because of the fear of the unknown.

In leadership, thankfully Jason from the Friday the 13th is not normally around your corner. But as tasks come to you, when your boss or the organization come to you with a project, task, or goal, it is possible you are not completely familiar with that project, task, or goal. The unknown in front can be paralyzing. The reaction can immediately be to start procrastinating on tackling the task.

STOP.

Redefining your process and your success means when your first reaction is not to jump in and learn, you are starting the vicious process of procrastination.

So let’s deal with the overall challenge of the fear of the unknown. It is a mental obstacle which stops you from making decisions. You lose opportunities, you lose options, you lose momentum, and you lose impact and effectiveness. This one mental obstacle cause you to not be a leader you need to be. So let’s look at ways to tackle the monster mental obstacle of the fear of the unknown.

First, we need to identify the challenge, the task ahead of us, or the goal to accomplish. When faced with an unknown, and we start the fear of the unknown, we begin to close down objective thinking. We no longer engage that part of our brain and experience were we can logically break down this task into categories of what we know and what we don’t know. Identifying your goal for the project means you know have a list of things you can work on and a list of things which you need to learn, grow in, or research to become smarter.

By failing to identify the goal and making your list of “knows” and “don’t knows”, you cannot move forward. This identification puts you back in control of the situation vice letting the situation and your lack of knowledge drive your actions toward procrastination. Identify your goal and make your lists.

Second, you begin to make your plan. And its ok to start with small manageable steps towards accomplishment. Depending on the disparity between known and unknown variable, your setting the foundation may take some time to accomplish. But setting forth a plan to accomplishing your goal means you are moving forward and making progress. It also keeps you from spiraling into the mental obstacle that you are incapable of doing the task at hand. Remember, we are fighting procrastination here. It is a battle. Be ready to fight.

The initiation of a plan is critical in procrastination busting. This plan, no matter how generic, gives you a foundation to build. It is similar to the recommendation for those with “writer’s block”; get something on the paper and soon the work will begin. Creating this plan catapults you out of world of nothing into the world of doing something. This positive momentum builds motivation and helps you to focus on the goal.

Third, you can find at this point an overwhelming successful or failure feeling about what you know or don’t know about tackling your goal. Remember, this is a goal you need to work towards. The mental obstacle is still there. It’s critical, it’s time to change your mindset from fear towards excitement. When you have framed this challenge in the realm of fearing you can’t accomplish it, you won’t. Your attitude and self-talk need to change towards the excitement. You’ll need to frame your mindset towards the feeling when you accomplish your goal and you use that as your motivation.

I have shared with many about my doctoral journey that what I learned more was about myself more than what I learned during the educational classes. One valuable lesson I discovered important to me was to stop dreading doing my dissertation. I feared it.

A wise pastor once shared that once I stop framing my dissertation as a negative event and made it a positive one, I would never go far towards reaching my goal. He was correct. The goal before you may be daunting, but you are the right person to accomplish it. You are the leader to tackle the challenge. Stop telling yourself otherwise.

Fourth, tackle your challenge head on. This is a important part in not letting procrastination to get a foot hold in the process. At any point, it is possible. But when you make a plan, you have identified what you know and don’t know…then move out. This mental obstacle is a battle, and if you relent, you’ll begin to slide backwards. Let me say, it happens sometimes by factors outside your control. If you have been inhibited from moving forward, then you as the leader when you have control again, need to refocus and move forward immediately.

Taking a break after plans are initially made means you have no momentum to move forward. You will have lost the excitement about getting started. Careful planning means you set forth your plan and you stick to your plan. You will always continue to assess and make adjustments to the plan. But you need to start tackling the challenge head on once the plan is made.

Fifth, invite some joy and celebration into your process. If you know me, this is such a practical way to invigorate innovation into your plans. You may be tackling a difficult challenge with no perfect solutions. And you may have some missteps along the way. Celebrate both the successes and failures of your process.

When you relax enough to also find some joy in your learning, then you create new avenues for solutions you may not have considered. Literature is full of evidence on the power of creativity on innovative solutions. Be the one who allows and creates this fun in your work. So, take any opportunity to have some fun.

There is such a psychological pull when facing the unknown. It is the strong battle between a new opportunity and the challenge of unfamiliar experiences. The mental obstacle of the fear of the unknown is a battle in your fight to stop procrastination. Take the opportunity now to identify your challenge, make your plan, make the mental change from fear to excitement, tackle your plan head on, and celebrate often in the journey. You do this along with keeping your motivation functioning and you are one your way to fighting the procrastination which can cripple your leadership.

Leading with you,
Dean

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