Anxiety driven procrastination?

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chic

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I have this and didn't even know it was a thing or that there was a term for it. I always thought of it as a coping skill. It's when you put off doing things because of too much stress or unknown outcomes. It has always worked for me to think of this condition as coping at my own pace when I have too much to cope with in the first place. I'm not happy multitasking so usually avoid that.

Are you an anxiety ridden procrastinator? How do you handle it? Just curious.
 

Yes, most tasks, even small ones, stress me out. Any extra step seems to pose an extra mental challenge, and it can feel overwhelming. I've learned to ration out the tasks or steps when possible.

For example, yesterday I resolved to find out if I could get my tax slips online. If the answer was no, I could phone -- another day. I'll do my taxes another day, and then buy the stamp and mail the forms another day. This way I can tell myself, "Come on, you can survive an hour of this cr@p." Instead of trying to do it all in one day.

Similarly, I break my exercises into 15- or 30-minute bites, because I can't face it all in one chunk.

Developing habits, e.g., housework routines, helps too. Then the unpeasant task isn't taking up so much of my awareness.
 
Anxiety driven procrastination?
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I see this as a chicken vs egg thing, which came first. Is it anxiety due to procrastination, or procrastination due to anxiety?

Either way, I get this condition, it seems to help alleviate the anxiety when I push through it and complete the tasks I've been putting off....I get the "feel good" endorphins of mission accomplished, rather than the defeated feeling of failure.
 
Like Beezer (above), my motto is>

"Never do today what I can put off until tomorrow."

Must be an age-related thing? Never felt daunted by tasks until recently-within the last year or so. Seems everything is becoming a challenge. Not a physical challenge. A mental one. Even hobbies I once enjoyed. Not certain if it is a case of mild depression, or what. I'll think of something to do; followed quickly by all the reasons it can't be done. Really weird.
 
ArnoldC said:
Must be an age-related thing? Never felt daunted by tasks until recently-within the last year or so. Seems everything is becoming a challenge. Even hobbies I once enjoyed. Not certain if it is a case of mild depression, or what. I'll think of something to do; followed quickly by all the reasons it can't be done. Really weird.
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I think it is age related, for me anyway. Instead of just "getting dressed," I have to do 10 things: Open the closet door. Put on my shirt. Put on my pants. TWO socks! Etc. Close the closet door. Then I'm worn out.

Whenever I think of crafts or other things I used to enjoy ... ugh, forget it. And I need several hours to recover from the simplest errand or outing.
 
ArnoldC said:
Like Beezer (above), my motto is>

"Never do today what I can put off until tomorrow."

Must be an age-related thing? Never felt daunted by tasks until recently-within the last year or so. Seems everything is becoming a challenge. Not a physical challenge. A mental one. Even hobbies I once enjoyed. Not certain if it is a case of mild depression, or what. I'll think of something to do; followed quickly by all the reasons it can't be done. Really weird.
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I have been suspecting that as well. Generally, being retired we don't have to be constantly productive, but something in the back of our minds "shames" us for being a 'slacker'.
 
I knew a fellow Trooper that was always afraid to make a decision. He asked me if I thought he should buy a car he had wanted and now he could afford it. He told me he was unsure whether this would be a good time. I wasn’t sure what he meant. After that encounter, I found out he had asked a few other guys what they thought. I asked him the next day what he decided about the car. He didn’t know if he should or not. I told him, if he’s this unsure, why not just wait. Of course he says he really wanted to get it. I told him I didn’t know what else to tell him. I don’t think he ever bought the car before he was transferred several months later. The problem is that this wasn’t the first time he played that game. When he first came to our Troop, it was an apartment. Should he rent a 1 bedroom or a 2 bedroom. That went on for a few months. He was always afraid to make a decision. In our business, not being able to make a decision could be dangerous.
 
Nathan said:
I have been suspecting that as well. Generally, being retired we don't have to be constantly productive, but something in the back of our minds "shames" us for being a 'slacker'.
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Haha, I feel no shame! I do what I want when it suits me, like dishes, windows, etc. A few things like paying the bills and feeding the critters are on a schedule, but the rest is whenever it suits. I lived on other people's time most of my life. Its MY time now.
 
NorthernLight said:
I think it is age related, for me anyway. Instead of just "getting dressed," I have to do 10 things: Open the closet door. Put on my shirt. Put on my pants. TWO socks! Etc. Close the closet door. Then I'm worn out.

Whenever I think of crafts or other things I used to enjoy ... ugh, forget it. And I need several hours to recover from the simplest errand or outing.
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You are describing my daily "getting up" routine! And heaven help me if some unforeseen factor ruins my rotation of things to do.
 
Nathan said:
Either way, I get this condition, it seems to help alleviate the anxiety when I push through it and complete the tasks I've been putting off....I get the "feel good" endorphins of mission accomplished, rather than the defeated feeling of failure.
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You get "feel good" endorphins? Huh. I didn't know those were real never having felt such a thing myself. :unsure: (Can't imagine...must be nice...oh well.)
 
Well, that mobile in a park I made an offer on has been taken off the market by the seller. She supposedly "had to move" out of state but I don't think that was the case. I think she needed a certain amount from that place and if she couldn't get it, then that was that.

There is another place for sale in my stepfather's park. But it's older, early 90's. And further away from work and I have to go feed the cats there daily. So I don't know if I even want to look at it. Anxiety procrastination for sure. Glad I know there is a term for it.
 
Remy said:
Well, that mobile in a park I made an offer on has been taken off the market by the seller. She supposedly "had to move" out of state but I don't think that was the case. I think she needed a certain amount from that place and if she couldn't get it, then that was that.

There is another place for sale in my stepfather's park. But it's older, early 90's. And further away from work and I have to go feed the cats there daily. So I don't know if I even want to look at it. Anxiety procrastination for sure. Glad I know there is a term for it.
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Aw, I'm sorry about that mobile, Remy. What in the world is going on with real estate here in this state?! I keep looking at houses for sale--even though Huzz refuses to move--but I keep hoping I can change his mind and I look only in a large neighborhood that has nice houses most of which I think we could afford and it's within walking distance of lots of things which I need now and he's gonna need sooner rather than later inspite of what he thinks, and this neighborhood is composed of at least 15 streets, several blocks of each and for about the last 5 years, there has only been ONE house come up for sale in the whole area and they wanted a couple hundred thousand more than what we could afford. I guess it's because of the Fire and real estate all over but it seems to just keep getting worse and worse.
 
911 said:
I knew a fellow Trooper that was always afraid to make a decision. He asked me if I thought he should buy a car he had wanted and now he could afford it. He told me he was unsure whether this would be a good time. I wasn’t sure what he meant. After that encounter, I found out he had asked a few other guys what they thought. I asked him the next day what he decided about the car. He didn’t know if he should or not. I told him, if he’s this unsure, why not just wait. Of course he says he really wanted to get it. I told him I didn’t know what else to tell him. I don’t think he ever bought the car before he was transferred several months later. The problem is that this wasn’t the first time he played that game. When he first came to our Troop, it was an apartment. Should he rent a 1 bedroom or a 2 bedroom. That went on for a few months. He was always afraid to make a decision. In our business, not being able to make a decision could be dangerous.
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There was an old saying about if you don't know what to do don't do anything at all. I have used that saying a few times myself and it helps get rid of the "not doing anything" guilt. It always works out.

Right, in your profession I could see that being a real problem. Fortunately any time I had a real emergency the adrenaline kicked in and I just handled it. The thinking about it came later. :sneaky:
 
Nathan said:
I'm sure you experienced a sense of satisfaction for some achievement...? It's your nervous system's way of patting you on the back for a 'job well done'. ;)
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Naw, I'm lucky if I merely get a sense of relief that a particular chore is done for a while. (The only one I can think of is getting our tax stuff together since it'll be a year before I have to do that again; every other of my many boring chores happen often enough that there's no time for relief.)
 
I have anxiety about other things, but not making decisions. I managed a sales team in my career and was ultimately the only one they could come to when a "situation" was beyond their scope of decision. I was always the final decision maker, and it was exhausting. Now, I just don't want to have to make decisions that aren't crucial to my well-being.
 
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Growing up (in the dark ages LOLOL) , we had to do our chores/homework before having fun (play with friends/watch telly, goof off). I still make sure the house is reasonably tidy (ie clean and tidy the house before bedtime)
 
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I even procrastinated a reply here, though not because of anxiety. It’s because of guilt about not sorting and scanning the family photos. My desk is covered with them.
 

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