ABCs of getting things done
B: The mood related to the task and its effect on getting it done
People mainly tend to avoid tasks that are related to a negative mood or feeling such as anxiety, nervousness, fear, boredom, or sadness. On the other hand, if the activity is interesting, inspiring, fun, or relaxing, it is much more intuitive and easier to get started with it. The challenge with procrastination lies often in the fact that as you start getting things done, you must face your own difficult emotions. That is a challenge for all of us. However, when one manages to complete a task that might feel very boring or scary, this can cause amazing feelings on a more long-term basis. Next, you will find some exercises, with which you can try to sense your own feelings related to procrastination and start getting along better with them. Submit your exercises below in the folder below if you want feedback.
1) Write down one thing / task with which you procrastinate
2) Use the following wheel of emotions as your aid and try to recognize the kind of a mood that is related to doing this task. It could be that there are many emotions related to it, some positive and others negative. Is the mood strong or weak? Does it push you towards doing or avoiding?
3) For five minutes, start working on a task that you procrastinate with. What is your mood now? Can you now better figure out what your mood tells you and where it comes from?
4) Learn more about regulating your own emotions from these Aalto pages .