Procrastination is a CURSE, I tell you. It's the devil whispering sweet things to you . It's like smoking. You know you're going to regret it . But you do it anyways because you're so addicted to how good it feels.
What is procrastination ?
Google says it is the action of delaying or postponing something.
I say, it is the ability to make the most ridiculous excuses at the most critical times for the most basic ,and possibly the most important, tasks.
If you are a procrastinating genie ,like myself, you probably have a an assignment , a pile of paperwork and a rack of books to sort and an entire section of your room awaiting your attention , for the last 2 months.
Procrastination is not easy. It takes a lot of creativity and shamelessness to avoid your inner voice calling you out multiple times a day and being as DHEET as you could be. Ask me , I'm a professional. With a PhD. Not exaggerating.
Why is it a problem ?
Living with procrastination means everything you do , and I mean EVERYTHING, will go through a filter of some questions like :Do I feel like doing it ?
Do I want to do it ?
Is it ABSOLUTELY necessary?
How much time do I have before I absolutely HAVE to do it?
What happens if I don't ?
Only the tasks that make it through this filter of approval, will get done. All the others will have to wait until 20 minutes before their deadline.
And procrastination does not discriminate. It does not matter if it's homework , cleaning, cooking, job work, shopping or even showering ! It is going to get delayed . For sure. At least once.
So why is it such a big problem ? Why is it even a problem ? Being lazy is a normal thing, right? It's actually healthy to sometimes just put things off and relax for a bit. Do nothing. The break is healthy every once in a while. But procrastination is a problem when it becomes a habit. One task to another and everything gets delayed everyday until the deadline is 10 minutes away and you hate yourself for the time you wasted. It can cost you a lot of damage - money, energy, important relationship events and sometimes even your job. Their is a reason why the quotes like "Now or never " and "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today" circulate all around us - because putting tasks off can really be detrimental.
Let's say you have a test the next day or an assignment to submit . You don't feel like doing it or you're simply not motivated. You think "there's plenty of time . I'll do it in the afternoon." It's 2 pm. Time to study yet? No. Time for a nap. Because you can't study if you're not fresh and bright. You wake up at 4. Tea time ! It'll help you wake up and get your mind "out of the laziness" . You know what , let's watch one YouTube video while you're at it. One video. Two videos. Tea is finished. 5 pm. Let's wash this cup and get straight to work . You know what , let's wash ALL these dishes because....why not ! 6 pm. Now you're tired. Need a break . Just one video. Promise. Surprise. 7 pm. Actually , let's face it . ? you're just not in the mood. It's fine you'll work better under under pressure. You'll do it tonight. It's 9 pm. Well, time for bed. You'll just get up early in the morning. Get it done in no time. Great. Alarm screams at 5 am. Snoozed. Again at 6 am. Snoozed. Because sleep is important. If you're tired and sleep-deprived, it's no use doing anything because your brain isn't fully "functional" ,right? 8 am. You wake up. Hate yourself . Don't get the work done. Get late. Or maybe just take the day off. Repeat the cycle again. THIS is why procrastination is a problem .
How to crawl out of it:
I'm using the word crawl because it's not just a two step thing to do. Wake up and get everything done and not be a procrastinator anymore, that's not how it happens, no matter how badly we want it too. Trust me, I know. It's baby steps , massive small changes in yourself and your routine and a lot of self-talk !
I say massive small changes because because they may seem small , but they're real difficult for someone who's a chronic procrastinator and make a huge change in their lives and daily routine. To them, it might not be as small of a change as it may seem to most people.
I'll share here some of the changes that I made, some that I'm trying to make and the ones that have been working for me .
I say massive small changes because because they may seem small , but they're real difficult for someone who's a chronic procrastinator and make a huge change in their lives and daily routine. To them, it might not be as small of a change as it may seem to most people.
I'll share here some of the changes that I made, some that I'm trying to make and the ones that have been working for me .
- To-do list
Make a list of the most important things you need to do every day. 3 new and difficult things that you need to do. And 3 small things that you've been putting off. If you have a long list of 20 things you need to do, it's probably WHY you keep putting them off in the first place and keep adding new things to them. A pile of dishes will keep piling up if you don't wash them right away. The mess will be scary to look at and return to. So, try breaking the list into parts. Complete it little by little. Do 3 things every day. But remember. Once you're done, DON'T let it pile up again. Be consistent and remind yourself about the huge mess that you had to deal with the last time you let things pile up.
- Making a routine and following it
We have all done this. Making a routine for ourselves. Scheduling our entire day and organizing it. But how many times have we ACTUALLY followed that routine ? You know it. We all know it. We're all guilty of it. But it's okay. We'll take ownership and we'll fix that. Try breaking your day into 3 parts.- morning, noon and night. Fit different parts of the list that you made earlier in these 3 parts of the day. Don't pack everything up and make a schedule of every hour and every meal . just make time intervals and put the most important things that you need to do in those intervals. the rest of the time is a bonus for everything NOT on the list. This will prevent you from getting exhausted and fatigued and will make sure your day isn't mechanical and that you have time for other things ,like socializing , as well , but at the same time , will make you value your time and know what things or plans will disrupt it and cause you damage later.
- Giving yourself a deadline
We procrastinators work best under pressure. Not having a deadline, or a deadline that is far away ,is the primary reason why we put things off for the last minute. Know yourself. If you know you have a presentation on Monday. Set your deadline for Saturday or Sunday. Trick your own mind . It's a challenge but it's worth it
- Bribing and rewarding yourself
If staying motivated to do something is giving me a hard time because I'm distracted by my phone and the TV, I use these distractions to bribe myself. "If I do this chapter by 7, I'll watch a YouTube video." "There's ice cream in the fridge. If I finish this assignment by 9 , I'll have a whole hour to relax , eat that ice cream and watch a show". This gives me an incentive to work faster but still effectively. I study with concentration because I want to EARN that video, you feel me?
- Evaluate and Re-evaluate
At the end of the day, evaluate what you did . Did you complete your list? If not, how much of it was still remaining ? Did you put something off ? Why did you put it off? What can you do to not let that happen again ? What plans or things disturbed your schedule? How can you manage such plans ? If it helps, write everything down. Know your flaws and errors and work on fixing them. Self-evaluation is vital for self-help.
- Self talk
Talk to yourself. Only you know what goes on in your mind during the day. Only you know the culprit you are. Only you know what your personal accomplishments are. When you take a small step towards making yourself better, congratulate yourself. Treat yourself. Similarly, when you make a blunder, talk to yourself. Think about why you did it. And talk about how to fix it. Work with yourself and overcome your flaws.
If you struggle with being productive as much as I did, and want to be productive as much as I do, take little steps to fix yourself. It will take patience and it will take dedication , but trust me ,the satisfaction of a good, productive day is worth it ! Make a decision to change what bothers you about yourself and take small decisions every day. You'll be able to make a lot of changes .
Make a list of the most important things you need to do every day. 3 new and difficult things that you need to do. And 3 small things that you've been putting off. If you have a long list of 20 things you need to do, it's probably WHY you keep putting them off in the first place and keep adding new things to them. A pile of dishes will keep piling up if you don't wash them right away. The mess will be scary to look at and return to. So, try breaking the list into parts. Complete it little by little. Do 3 things every day. But remember. Once you're done, DON'T let it pile up again. Be consistent and remind yourself about the huge mess that you had to deal with the last time you let things pile up.
We have all done this. Making a routine for ourselves. Scheduling our entire day and organizing it. But how many times have we ACTUALLY followed that routine ? You know it. We all know it. We're all guilty of it. But it's okay. We'll take ownership and we'll fix that. Try breaking your day into 3 parts.- morning, noon and night. Fit different parts of the list that you made earlier in these 3 parts of the day. Don't pack everything up and make a schedule of every hour and every meal . just make time intervals and put the most important things that you need to do in those intervals. the rest of the time is a bonus for everything NOT on the list. This will prevent you from getting exhausted and fatigued and will make sure your day isn't mechanical and that you have time for other things ,like socializing , as well , but at the same time , will make you value your time and know what things or plans will disrupt it and cause you damage later.
We procrastinators work best under pressure. Not having a deadline, or a deadline that is far away ,is the primary reason why we put things off for the last minute. Know yourself. If you know you have a presentation on Monday. Set your deadline for Saturday or Sunday. Trick your own mind . It's a challenge but it's worth it
If staying motivated to do something is giving me a hard time because I'm distracted by my phone and the TV, I use these distractions to bribe myself. "If I do this chapter by 7, I'll watch a YouTube video." "There's ice cream in the fridge. If I finish this assignment by 9 , I'll have a whole hour to relax , eat that ice cream and watch a show". This gives me an incentive to work faster but still effectively. I study with concentration because I want to EARN that video, you feel me?
At the end of the day, evaluate what you did . Did you complete your list? If not, how much of it was still remaining ? Did you put something off ? Why did you put it off? What can you do to not let that happen again ? What plans or things disturbed your schedule? How can you manage such plans ? If it helps, write everything down. Know your flaws and errors and work on fixing them. Self-evaluation is vital for self-help.
Talk to yourself. Only you know what goes on in your mind during the day. Only you know the culprit you are. Only you know what your personal accomplishments are. When you take a small step towards making yourself better, congratulate yourself. Treat yourself. Similarly, when you make a blunder, talk to yourself. Think about why you did it. And talk about how to fix it. Work with yourself and overcome your flaws.
If you struggle with being productive as much as I did, and want to be productive as much as I do, take little steps to fix yourself. It will take patience and it will take dedication , but trust me ,the satisfaction of a good, productive day is worth it ! Make a decision to change what bothers you about yourself and take small decisions every day. You'll be able to make a lot of changes .
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