My dear Global Yoga Community,

Lately I have found myself in the wave of emotions that come up when I keep on procrastinating tasks. I started to change my language from have to and need to into choose to. But this alone is not enough. Maybe you remember me talking about that 50% of the yoga practice is already done when you are on your mat?! 🙂

It is incredible how much resistance can come up or how many other to does come to mind to avoid what we have been procrastinating. And that even knowing how much better we feel afterwards or already while doing it! Is it really about overcoming our “inner pig dog” or is there more behind it?

I came across this great article you might enjoy as much as I did. (New York Times 2019)

If you are not up for reading the whole article here are a few of the interesting studies:
Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinare — to put off until tomorrow. But it’s more than just voluntarily delaying. Procrastination is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia — doing something against our better judgment.

“Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem”
Procrastination isn’t a unique character flaw or a mysterious curse on your ability to manage time, but a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks — boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt and beyond.

“We really weren’t designed to think ahead into the further future because we needed to focus on providing for ourselves in the here and now,”
Procrastination is a perfect example of present bias, our hard-wired tendency to prioritize short-term needs ahead of long-term ones.
Dr. Hershfield’s research has shown that, on a neural level, we perceive our “future selves” more like strangers than as parts of ourselves. When we procrastinate, parts of our brains actually think that the tasks we’re putting off — and the accompanying negative feelings that await us on the other side — are somebody else’s problem.

To make things worse, we’re even less able to make thoughtful, future-oriented decisions in the midst of stress. When faced with a task that makes us feel anxious or insecure, the amygdala — the “threat detector” part of the brain — perceives that task as a genuine threat, in this case to our self-esteem or well-being. Even if we intellectually recognize that putting off the task will create more stress for ourselves in the future, our brains are still wired to be more concerned with removing the threat in the present. Researchers call this “amygdala hijack.”

“Our brains are always looking for relative rewards. If we have a habit loop around procrastination but we haven’t found a better reward, our brain is just going to keep doing it over and over until we give it something better to do”
We must realize that, at its core, procrastination is about emotions, not productivity. The solution doesn’t involve downloading a time management app or learning new strategies for self-control. It has to do with managing our emotions in a new way.

To rewire any habit, we have to give our brains the “Bigger Better Offer” or “B.B.O.”
In the case of procrastination, we have to find a better reward than avoidance — one that can relieve our challenging feelings in the present moment without causing harm to our future selves. The difficulty with breaking the addiction to procrastination in particular is that there is an infinite number of potential substitute actions that would still be forms of procrastination, Dr. Brewer said. That’s why the solution must therefore be internal, and not dependent on anything but ourselves.

One option is to forgive yourself in the moments you procrastinate.
Another tactic is the related practice of self-compassion, which is treating ourselves with kindness and understanding in the face of our mistakes and failures. 


Healthier ways to manage the feelings that typically trigger procrastination

Cultivate curiosity
If you’re feeling tempted to procrastinate, bring your attention to the sensations arising in your mind and body. What feelings are eliciting your temptation? Where do you feel them in your body? What do they remind you of? What happens to the thought of procrastinating as you observe it? Does it intensify? Dissipate? Cause other emotions to arise? How are the sensations in your body shifting as you continue to rest your awareness on them?

Consider the next action
This is different than the age-old advice to break up a task you’re tempted to avoid into bite-sized chunks. According to Dr. Pychyl, focusing only on the “next action” helps calm our nerves, and it allows for what Dr. Pychyl called “a layer of self-deception.” At the start of a given task, you can consider the next action as a mere possibility, as if you were method acting: “What’s the next action I’d take on this if I were going to do it, even though I’m not?” Maybe you would open your email. Or perhaps you would put the date at the top of your document. Don’t wait to be in the mood to do a certain task. “Motivation follows action. Get started, and you’ll find your motivation follows,” Dr. Pychyl said.

Make your temptations more inconvenient
It’s still easier to change our circumstances than ourselves, said Gretchen Rubin, author of “Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits.” According to Ms. Rubin, we can take what we know about procrastination and “use it to our advantage” by placing obstacles between ourselves and our temptations to induce a certain degree of frustration or anxiety. If you compulsively check social media, delete those apps from your phone or “give yourself a really complicated password with not just five digits, but 12,” Ms. Rubin said. By doing this, you’re adding friction to the procrastination cycle and making the reward value of your temptation less immediate.

Monday 01.07.
Move with Ease
Slow Flow

Wednesday 03.07.
E-Motions
Flow

Thursday 04.07.
Open Theme
Yogis Choice

Friday 05.07.
Loving Kindness
Flow

Monday 08.07.
Commit to Yourself
Flow

Wednesday 10.07.
Sense to Receive
Flow

Thursday 11.07.
Open Theme
Yogis Choice

Friday 12.07.
Ground to Open Up
Slow Flow

Monday 15.07.
Consciously Connect
Adding-on Flow

Wednesday 17.07.
Bladder – Heart – Brain
Organ Flow

Thursday 18.07.
Open Theme
Yogis Choice

Friday 19.07.
Pelvis Awareness
Flow

Monday 22.07.
Let Love in
Slow Flow

Wednesday 24.07.
Enjoy the Journey
Flow

Thursday 25.07.
Open Theme
Yogis Choice

Friday 26.07.
Reconnect
Flow

Monday 29.07.
Giving ~ Receiving
Flow

Wednesday 31.07.
Midweek Detox
Flow

Thank you for being so committed to your yoga practice and this global community 💞

Love,

Nicole