Career Center, Career Files, Lawyers

One and Done: How To Stop Procrastinating

Every single lawyer I’ve ever known has struggled with procrastination.

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This week I launched a new podcast – The Lawyer Stress Solution – and it’s no accident that the very first episode is about procrastination. Every single lawyer I’ve ever known has struggled with procrastination. (And if you’re thinking “I don’t procrastinate, I just work best on a deadline,” here’s a free coaching tip for you: That’s because you’re procrastinating the rest of the non-deadline time).

The reason lawyers find it so hard to stop procrastinating or being deadline-driven is that they don’t actually know why they are procrastinating. Most of my clients will say “I don’t know what happens, I just stare at my computer and I can’t start.” Occasionally they will say “I just don’t like that kind of work.”

But the truth is, the reason you are procrastinating is actually very simple and easy to figure out, and it’s not because you don’t like the work. It’s because the work makes you anxious. Whatever you’re procrastinating doing – whether work or anything else – you’re putting off because thinking about doing it creates anxiety.

And when humans experience anxiety, their tendency is to avoid the source of the anxiety. Which means avoiding working on the project or assignment at hand.

Avoiding it up until the deadline begins to loom. At that point, the source of the anxiety switches from the work itself to the deadline. And the only way to resolve deadline anxiety is to do the work.

So if you’re someone who thinks “I just work better under a deadline,” this is why. Initially the work itself makes you anxious so you avoid it. Then at some point close to the deadline, the deadline itself starts to cause more anxiety than the work itself, so your brain switches over to trying to avoid the deadline. And the way to avoid the deadline is to do the work (or get an extension, which a lot of you probably do as well).

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The good news is that because that anxiety is caused by your thoughts, it can also be changed by your thoughts. The first thing you have to do is figure out what you’re thinking. For most of my clients it’s either “I don’t have enough time to do this” or “I’m not going to do a good job.”

Both of those thoughts create a lot of anxiety. I’m anxious just reading them and they aren’t even my thoughts! My procrastination thought was always “I don’t know how to do this.” Even if it was writing a kind of document or doing a kind of research I had done before, if I had to develop any new legal analysis or find any new research my brain would yell “I don’t know how!” and then flip over like a turtle on its back and play dead. Once I realized that was my thought, I was able to start counteracting it.

The same is true for you. First you need to figure out what you’re thinking that makes you feel anxious about focusing on a particular project or assignment. The best way to do this is just to write down all the thoughts that come into your mind when you think about doing the work. Or you can even just ask yourself “why don’t I want to do this work?” (Just make sure you don’t accept “I don’t know” as an answer!)

Once you know your stress-causing thought, you have to figure out what you can think that would help alleviate the anxiety. For me it was “I’ve always figured out how to do new things before.” For a client of mine who got easily overwhelmed it was “I just need a plan.” Whatever you come up with, it should be a thought that alleviates some of the anxiety and makes you feel capable and competent to do your job.

If you’d like to hear more about procrastination and how to solve it, you can check out Episode 1 of the The Lawyer Stress Solution, available on iTunes now!

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Kara Loewentheil is a former litigator and academic who now runs a boutique life coaching practice for law students and lawyers. Intimately acquainted with the unique challenges lawyers face in their professional careers and personal lives, Kara teaches her clients cognitive-based techniques for dealing with stress, anxiety, and lawyer brain so that they can build the lives and careers they want.  Kara works with individuals, law schools, and law firms to improve productivity, efficiency, job satisfaction, and professional development at all stages of a legal career. Kara is also the host of a new podcast, The Lawyer Stress Solution – and to celebrate the launch of the podcast, she’s giving away one free coaching session a week for the next few weeks! You can get all the information, subscribe to the podcast, and enter to win at www.thelawyerstresssolution.com/itunes. 

 

 

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