Overcome procrastination by untangling The Knot
This is my first blog post about ADHD. I’d like to share with you one of the ways that I have made creating this possible!
This is the kind of activity I could avoid endlessly. Why? Because it has the hallmark of a classic procrastination-inducing task - The Knot. (Cue alarming atmosphere music.)
What’s The Knot?
It’s what happens when a task has elements that are challenging in different ways: needs new skills, has an emotional twist, has unknown parts… and so on. When these elements are knotted together, it’s difficult to do the task - for anyone, but especially for ADHDers.
Using crafting this blog post as an example, there are certain technical skills that I have to learn, like how to touch up and insert photos. Then there is the emotional element (anxiety and who-the-hell-do-I-think-I-am-to-do-this, thanks for asking). Also I don’t know the all steps yet, so that makes motivation more difficult.
So as you push yourself to complete the task, you get frustrated trying to master new skills, while getting emotionally wound up by some aspect of the task, then you can’t see what to do next…and then you walk away and decide to take up a career in dog-walking instead.
Untangling the knot
So what can we do with The Knot if it’s causing us to avoid something we choose to do? We do what we do with any knot…We untangle it, by tackling the strands one by one.
For example, while learning a new skill, I can separate this off by making a game of it, or by making a ‘silly’ version that I won’t use. Then it’s easy to activate my curiosity and my love of learning.
For the emotional part, I can tell myself I don’t need to post the blog, but just to ‘try it out’. Then for the last part, when the nerve-wracking reality arrives, I can ask for support or follow up with a nerve-soothing activity.
For the unknown steps, I can visualise being at the end of the process, to help me keep my cool. Then I can work in half-hour chunks, wth breaks in between, aiming simply to sit with the task for that time, rather than obsessing over outcome. This magically moves me forward.
It’s not surprising that we procrastinate around tasks that we don’t know the steps of, don’t have all the skills for, and feel wound up about. Pulling apart the threads of The Knot lets you work with them one at a time.
Apply it to your life
And that is the story of how I wrote my first blog post about ADHD!
Are there any complex tasks that you’re avoiding because of The Knot? (Hint: a task that continues to appear on your to-do list for several days in a row without you taking any action is likely to have features of The Knot.)
What distinct threads are challenging? How could you work on them one at a time? What strategies might you bring to each one? You could map this out on a piece of paper so you can easily see what you’re dealing with. Many steps may be relatively easy, so identifying which specific bits are off-putting will help you get started on the ones you know how to do.
By untangling The Knot, you can often overcome procrastination and move forward with complex tasks - and feel so much better.
If you want to overcome your procrastination, book a free introductory chat with me to find out how I can help.