Don’t Wait! Just Do It: Uprooting the Anxiety that Causes Procrastination

A familiar adage asks, “Why put off tomorrow what you can do today?” If procrastination could be summed up in a few words, that phrase would capture it all. Many have been touched by the effects of procrastination. The stress of waiting until the last minute, the angst of an expired deadline, and the remorse of a missed opportunity can sometimes be tied to avoidable delays.

When we procrastinate, we overestimate the actual time that we have and underestimate the effort required to accomplish our objective, complete our project, or arrive at our destination. When we continue in these cycles, fueled by anxiety, we stress and burn ourselves out. We sometimes blame others or even shame ourselves in what seems like an endless cycle.

Often, we can deceive or try to convince ourselves that we work better under pressure and the task at hand is not completed to the best of our ability. Other times, we can delay completing assignments or responsibilities due to unchecked anxiety all while we are making things harder or more complicated in our head than they are.

When we count the costs, procrastination is too expensive for our physical, emotional, and mental health to sustain over time. If we look at procrastination with fresh eyes, we see anxiety working to keep us from completing what God has for us to do.

Anxiety can overwhelm us with busy work unrelated to our desired goal. It can also numb us into idling for a perfect “someday” when we will finally begin a project. Combine these factors with flawed humans in a fallen world, and we find procrastination’s result: a destiny that has been distracted, delayed, and derailed.

Breaking Cycles of Procrastination

We have the potential to disrupt the pattern and influence of procrastination in our lives. We may enact all the programs and strategies to interrupt the cycle. Yet, apart from the Spirit of God, the pursuit is short-lived and futile. With God, however, it is possible because His anointing is activated in us. His strength alone enables us to do what we otherwise could not (Philippians 4:13).

All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. – Isaiah 28:29, NIV

As with many behaviors, change begins with our mindset. – Les Brown stated there is nothing more powerful than a changed mind, possibly because of the influence and energy in our thoughts. The most important transformations occur in our thoughts before manifesting elsewhere.

It is common to feel guilt or regret about putting off what is essential. The trouble enters when we punish and insult, shaming ourselves into better outward performance. That yields the opposite effect, producing less of what we do want and more of what we do not.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. – Romans 7:18, ESV

Breaking the Anxiety Trap

God does not treat us in a disparaging manner. Neither does He want us to blame and shame ourselves for what needs to shift. Whether it is sin or a weight that is holding us back from running further and faster, He wants us to drop the excess. Focusing on Him gives us fuel and fervor for a fruitful pursuit with Him.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. – Hebrews 12:1, NIV

God has created us with purpose in mind and there are things He wants us to do with Him. Our doing emerges from our being. The anxiety that has given rise to procrastination must be uprooted from the gardens of our minds. We must intentionally exchange fear-based emotions for the power, love, and sound mind that belong to us in Christ (2 Timothy 1:7).

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. – Philippians 2:13, NIV

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7, NIV

He is able to help us to pinpoint anxiety, develop a strategy to overcome procrastination, and make good use of our time (Ephesians 5:16). We do not know when whatever we are putting off will need to be ready for a moment that only God knows about. Procrastination delays the destiny God wants to usher into earth through our obedience and partnership.

Responding readily to God instead of dragging our feet reveals our hearts as cheerful givers. Instead of feeling ashamed and unprepared for destiny moments, we can go with ease, confident that we followed the Holy Spirit’s lead in the time He provided.

Only God knows the future. While we may have a vision for it, we do not know what the messy middle entails. Sometimes that is where we get stuck. We stop applying ourselves to what God has given to us and we stall before finishing our course. We burn energy on the wrong focus or direction. It is as if the enemy planted seeds in our minds and what we are growing alongside life-giving wheat are the tares or weeds of anxiety that consume time, energy, and attention.

Activating a Blueprint for Success

While it may require a mental reset, it is essential to address the anxiety and unbelief that cause us to wrestle internally. Acknowledging our belief in the negative what-ifs that halt positive progress is an important step. That opens us to partner again with God to stir the dream He’s placed within. We can further build anticipation for our God goals by connecting our actions to existing habits.

Activate your senses

Sit with the Holy Spirit to listen for God’s heart. Gather His vision for your life, your project, or the change you are wanting to see. Place your five senses in it. Envision what it would be like. Engage your faith and your mind to experience the reality of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling what He’s revealed.

Activate your sixth sense

Mobilize the gifts, skills, and resources you have right now. Put the Word in you to work. Find a scripture to meditate on. Savor and read it aloud, receiving it as a personal affirmation of God’s heart. Experience it unfolding in your imagination and in your life, by faith.

Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:17, ESV

Activate your imagination

The soul is composed of the mind (intellect), will, emotion, memory, and imagination. The Father created us to be like Him, with imagination. When we allow scripture to transform us, we welcome Him to stretch and shape us into what God planned for us before the world began (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 2:10). We can ask our Father, “What is the masterpiece that you see in me? How do I partner with you to bring what you have imagined into the earth?”

At the core, anxiety, worry, and fear cause us to persevere in negative possibilities. We can cast down these empty imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:4,5). Instead, we can imagine with the Holy Spirit and rehearse what is good and true with the Holy Spirit, releasing good intentions (Philippians 4:8).

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. – Ephesians 3:20, NIV

Activate your plan

What are the steps you need to take? Seek the Lord and ask Him for the timeframe. He will establish your plans and course-correct when you get off-track. Will anxiety show up and try to shut you down? Of course, it will.

Anxiety will try to stall and prevent you from taking the next step forward to block the achievement of God-given purpose and goals. The enemy wants to disrupt God’s plan by distracting you with all the reasons and activities why you can’t start or finish what God has for you at this time.

Make a flexible plan to address setbacks. You do not have to punish yourself. Instead, receive God’s refreshing empowerment. Repent, reset, and resume the good work with Him. Repeat, until you have met the goal.

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. – Psalm 94:19, NIV

In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. – Proverbs 16:9, NIV

Activate your team

Who are your support people? Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him and with others (John 17:22-23). Man was designed for relationship, first with God and then with others. Find your people and cultivate the kinds of relationships that allow you to dream aloud and to safely share where you feel like you have failed (James 5:16).

Christ is the champion who has gone ahead to do what you cannot (Colossians 2:15). Now you need like-minded others to cheer you with accountability and support.

Next Steps to Overcome Procrastination

Lastly, consider seeking a counselor as you uproot the underlying tares, that is, the issues that have cropped up and threatened the fruitful and good. Explore our site and make an appointment with a therapist. They can help you explore underlying issues that feed anxiety and procrastination. Reach out today to schedule an appointment.