Beat career procrastination

By Hannah Woolley, Careers Consultant.

This insight is part of our career wellbeing series.

“I’ve missed another job application deadline. Why didn’t I start earlier? I need to get on top of this, I should research career options and write a CV. I’ll just check Instagram, tidy my room, binge-watch Netflix… what am I doing?

OK, re-focus, but there is so much information about sectors, roles, companies… I don’t know where to begin! It's too much. I need a break, I’ll watch a couple of TikTok videos, colour code my socks… What am I playing at?! Everyone else has this stuff sorted”

Sound familiar? Procrastinating over career activities is fairly common, but if left unchecked, it can feel demoralising or stressful. Read on to find out how to break the cycle:

Consider why you’re putting it off

Perhaps the idea of making career decisions feels too big or complicated and you don’t want to get it wrong. Perhaps you fear failure, so you reason that if you don’t apply for any jobs, you can’t be rejected. Perhaps you like being a student and leaving the security of university to start work feels unsettling. Acknowledging your feelings can be a positive first step.

Replace should with could

Saying “I should explore my career options” implies a sense of duty and correctness, so when you don’t do what you should be doing you might experience negative emotions, like frustration or guilt. Saying “I could explore my career options” opens a choice. It empowers you to decide if now feels like the right time. If it doesn’t, perhaps it’s because you have other things going on and you want to prioritise those, and that’s OK.

Avoid making comparisons

Often, feeling like you should be doing something can creep in when you compare yourself to others. Maybe you notice that friends are attending employer events, creating LinkedIn profiles, or doing work experience, and you criticise yourself for not doing similar. Instead, try to see this as a source of inspiration, as actions you can take if they feel relevant to where you’re at career-wise.

Take one small step

Getting started is often the hardest part, especially when the task feels too big. So, try to identify one small action you can take to get the ball rolling. Pick something straightforward that you know you can achieve quickly. For example, complete one of the activities suggested here.

Break it down

Once you’ve got going, capitalise on this. Continue with bite-sized activities and tackle these in short bursts of action. For example, when researching career options, allocate a specific amount of time and set yourself one question to focus on or one resource to work through. This will help you to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Reach out for help

Trying to take in and make sense of lots of information can lead to cognitive overload! Which in turn, might cause you to stall and slip back into procrastination because the task feels too tricky. To avoid this, reach out for specialist help and book a careers appointment. This will allow you to clarify your thinking and work things through with the support of an adviser.

Let yourself off the hook

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, you’ll get distracted, but giving yourself a hard time is unlikely to help. Instead of dwelling on what might have been if you’d acted sooner, think about what you can do now. Letting go of the past and focusing on the present will allow you to move forward with positivity.

Eyes on the prize

Another motivation tactic is to visualise what you’d like to achieve. Think about how satisfying it will feel to smash your career goal. Picture the benefits this would bring. Write this down. Then, whenever you feel the temptation to reach for the short-term gratification you get from procrastinating, revisit the vision you recorded as motivation to stay on track.

Remember that you are not alone when it comes to careers decisions and applications. Book an appointmentCareers appointments to talk to an adviser.