CONQUER PROCRASTINATION
Monday morning, the alarm rings. You arise with a start. Today is the last date to present the project. You start with a frantic pace, cursing yourself for delaying it. Does it appear familiar? What went wrong? You were monitoring the news leisurely, scrolling the social media, or managing other issues evading the deadline, just procrastinating. Well, we are all occasionally guilty of procrastination.
But when you dither, and it begins to hinder your lives, you need to nip the bud. When you are anxious about an assignment, for temporary relief, you procrastinate. At times the voluntary delaying is doing more self-harm, lowering the self-esteem due to self-doubt. One feels that one will have more time in the future, but the guilt and the stress make it worse. “My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!” rightly states Charles Dickens.
Poor decision making or lack of organization, ruminating and admonishing oneself will lead to stressful situations. It will impact both physical and mental health. Feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start makes it difficult to accomplish even a simple task. Sometimes it is just our way of coping with bad moods, strenuous tedious tasks, or the fear of failure. Giving in to the impulse of postponement can have serious consequences. It can lead to reduced productivity, feeling of guilt, etc. In the long term, stress, anxiety, hypertension, and distress can lead to poor health.
Once we recognize the reason for postponing a task, we can defeat it. It is a common human tendency to put off difficult things temporarily. One must understand the cost-benefit analysis of the circumstances; visualize the end and the advantage of completing the job instead of despairing about the tedious work. Be kind to yourself and take at least one step to make the benefits of action seem substantial and abundant.
Start with one small step; picture your future self and the satisfaction of achievement. Someone rightly said an inch of movement brings you closer to your goal than a mile of intention. At times the mind uses a defense mechanism to avoid the task and hopes it will go away. If you break the cycle by being aware of your habit loops, you can overcome your weaknesses. Do not fight the procrastination feeling; set a schedule for a task for which you are procrastinating. Plan and stick to it. Mark Twain advises, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
Put aside the distractions and prioritize your work. If you are interrupted, eat some brain food and start again. Do not blame technology as procrastinators were there since a long time ago. Rather technology can help one kick the can down the road if used wisely. What works for me is to create a deadline to beat procrastination. Picture your future self, plan, and stick to it.
You might not succeed every time with these measures, at least you are making progress in taming your procrastination. Compassion, good intentions, and embracing yourself will reduce the distress and get you out of it. Reward yourself when you have accomplished as it provides tremendous motivation. You have to find a way to move future rewards and punishments into the present.
