Is procrastination getting in the way of meeting your fitness goals? Here’s what to do about it.
It’s very easy to make yourself too busy to exercise. We’re not talking about the very real responsibilities you’ve got (like childcare or your job), but all the unnecessary ways in which we put off our exercise. Pre-workout procrastination is an absolute killer when it comes to motivation.
When I ask some of the Strong Women readers if and how they procrastinate before exercise, the answers ranged from being on their phones to over-planning – to the point that they end up unmotivated or run out of time. “I do so by unnecessary extra map checking or route planning for runs or bike rides,” says editor Kiera Jamison.
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For writer Gabriella Ferlita, it’s “scrolling on Instagram, shuffling songs on my workout playlists on Spotify to find the *right* one to warm-up to, and if I’m doing a home workout, watching pointless videos on YouTube before I put the workout video on.”
Meanwhile, outreach manager Laura Slingo says that she puts off her exercise by “waiting for the right time to get up. For example, if I’ve missed 7am, I’ll wait until 7:05am as it’s a ‘rounded’ number.”
Procrastination in itself might not be a problem – many people are served well by exercising later in the day when they have everything else done and dusted and can focus on themselves. However, some people get frustrated when they can’t seem to focus on the task at hand, or find they procrastinate to the point that it stops them meeting their goals.
Why do we procrastinate?
“Procrastination is the delaying or avoiding of a task, which is counterproductive, irrational, or unnecessary. More often than not, procrastination is an active process – we are choosing to do something different to that task on our list,” says Fionnuala Barnes, consultant psychologist for personal training platform P3RFORM.
Before you beat yourself up, procrastination isn’t just due to laziness, nor is it “down to poor time management,” says Barnes. “It is often associated with a person’s ability to self-regulate their behaviour. Procrastination is driven by shorter-term emotional gratification to avoid the experience of negative emotions, adversely impacting longer-term achievement and wellbeing.”
While it makes sense that we might procrastinate ahead of clearly unenjoyable tasks, like filling out a tax return, why do we procrastinate before exercise – something that can be so full of benefits?
Well, given that so much of the language around exercise is linked to perfectionism, success, or long drawn-out punishment, it can be pretty hard for many of us to be excited about it.
“No matter how healthy or positive exercise may be for us, if we do not feel like we have the ability, the opportunity, or the motivation to do a task, we will find it very hard to engage in it,” says Barnes.
She points out the four reasons for procrastination that are particularly related to our workout routines:
- Expectancy: we don’t have the belief that we are going to achieve what we want to from the task. For example, we fear that we aren’t fit enough to get through the session, and put off doing it
- Value: we lack a connection with the task and how much we care about it. That’s true if we are following a random programme that isn’t specific to us, or being dragged along to a class we don’t enjoy with a friend
- Time: we might struggle to see the task as a priority, and therefore want to spend our time doing something that feels more productive (exceptionally true in the world that focuses on work success over health and life goals)
- Impulsivity: some people do just thrive off the adrenaline associated with working under the pressure of last-minute deadlines, such as the rush to get your run done in less time than you had planned
How to stop procrastinating
If procrastination is stopping you from meeting your goals, then it’s important to notice when you’re doing it. As previously mentioned, procrastination can serve some people well but if you’re not one of them, then here are a few tips to help break the impasse:
Increase task expectancy
“Find someone to help guide and support you through your workout to increase your self-belief,” says Barnes. “Working with professionals can help to push and challenge you further, maintaining variety and excitement in your workouts.”
Increase task value
“Spend time thinking about why you are doing this workout. Is it to be stronger for daily life? To be able to play with your grandchildren? To be able to set yourself new physical challenges, like running a 10km race? When we have a clearer idea of why we are doing what we are doing, we are less reliant upon motivation and rather it becomes embedded into our lifestyle,” says Barnes.
If the reason is rooted in the expectations of others – such as wanting to look a certain way or be better than someone else – it is really hard to truly connect with your reason. You’ll probably find that movement you actually believe in is harder to procrastinate from.
Reduce task impulsiveness
“Create a plan which outlines your goals and how you are going to achieve these. Break down your lofty goals into smaller, actionable tasks which you can tailor to your own schedule and work well within your daily routine,” says Barnes.
“Another thing to consider is whether your environment is set up in an optimal way to see you succeed?” For example, if you always end up procrastinating by logging in to your emails or lying in bed for longer, you might need to find ways to actively get away from your laptop or out of your bed.
Reduce delay for completion
“Focus on how you will feel at the end of the workout – in the next 60 to 90 minutes,” says Barnes. Rather than thinking of how tough it will be, think about how much you will have achieved when it’s over.
Do it before things get busy
The old trope of doing it first thing is actually very useful (if you’re not procrastinating by staying in bed, of course). “I do it first thing because I don’t know what’s going to happen in the rest of the day. My ‘but’ and ‘if’ responses are always stronger in the evening once I’ve started other tasks and don’t want to stop to start moving,” says Vanessa Gebharet, training and mindset coach at Freeletics.
Tell yourself you can quit
This might not sound motivating, but it can be useful the days you really, really want to put off your session. “If it hurts or if something is just not feeling quite right, you can always say ‘I tried’. But often we don’t know if we are ready to push through or not before we start,” says Gebharet.
For more tips to improve your fitness routine, sign up to the Strong Women Training Club.
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