The whirlpool of Procrastination — how to get out of it once and for all?
A “Thief of Time” — how does it sneak up on us?
Here is a small excerpt:
The weekend is just around the corner, and an event with my participation is scheduled for next week, the speech needs to be prepared by Monday.
So, let’s get started.
But before: pause your phone and email notifications, activate a screen time, close all tabs, or even better put the phone on airplane mode and you are ready.
This is how a productive day of an ordinary person would seem to look like.
Ideally yes. But it just seems like that.
While on the other side of my phone screen: a new episode coming out today on Netflix, a bunch of comments is already under my recent post on Instagram, and my Direct and Messenger have been littered with messages... but what about the speech? preparation?
Finally, the long-awaited voice from within breaks the silence:
“Hey, no worries, you can leave it for the evening right after dinner, or, it’s better to sit down to finish it this night, or maybe start tomorrow morning.. the next day, maybe in 2 days …”
And finally, ‘THAT DAY’ comes.
“Priceless” hours, and well-known “catchphrase”:
“I will finish it tonight.”
The diagnosis is clear: you got into a vicious circle of procrastination…
At least, it happens to every third of us..
Even the word “NOW” creates fuss with a spice of fear, whereas “LATER” brings an indefinite and reckless convenience, as it doesn’t oblige to act here and now.
Why We Procrastinate
Probably many of us are aware of what motivates us to procrastinate from a scientific point of view:
The two main parts of our brain (the limbic system), thanks to which we get pleasure and our initial instincts are based on it, and (the prefrontal cortex), which doesn’t allow us to relax in a bunch of important tasks, are literally at “war” with each other.
As a result of this “duel”, it’s determined whether we will start preparing for the exam, write an essay on time, pay all the bills without overpaying the fine, clean our room, don’t miss a workout, hand over the project, etc.
Why do we voluntarily postpone what we have planned?
Let’s have a look at our ‘Settings’:
We put off what we don’t like or care about and try to delay it as long as possible. Mostly it depends on personal perception.
In essence, procrastination is a conflict between “I need” and “I want”.
At first, this brings relief, as by doing more pleasant things and putting off more necessary tasks, thereby we give ourselves a break and avoidance of duties. But it’s worth mentioning that procrastination isn’t a replenisher of our resourcefulness, on the contrary, we are spending more energy.
After all, through emotional control, it’s possible to cope with the thoughts that distract us. Seems too hard? not at all.
The main rule here is to START.
Take the stress out of Procrastination with these 5 tips
- Enjoy the process
As mentioned above, we put off mostly those things that we don’t like or find difficult and tedious. Try to combine “pleasant with the useful”, to extract the positive sides even in everyday tasks. Gotta clean up — prepare like you’re having a workout and when you’re done with cleaning you’ll complete your daily routine. Think about what new things you can learn from given tasks.
2. Tell yourself “I choose” instead of “I have to”
We have plenty of excuses for looking at our responsibilities as a heavy load. Try to lighten them up. Yes, most likely you would rather watch your favorite movie than write another blog post. Visualize — how your mood will rise when you complete the article when you share something useful with your audience, a positive feedback that you will get from them.
3. Current self and Future self both are You
Even though your future version is at a different point in time, it’s influenced by your current self. Think about how your choices today can transform your future.
Instead of worrying about negative outcomes, lend a helping hand to your ‘future self, and what satisfaction will it bring, and do everything to make “him/her” feel confident and happy.
4. “Live” instead of “Dead” line
Until a deadline looms on the horizon- this is a habitual way of doing things. It’s worth remembering and reminding yourself why you need to complete a particular task, what you plan to achieve and how it will help you. Life is made up of choices. Put yourself in front of them and make your move.
5. Alternate
Monotonous tasks often encourage us to switch or turn off completely. Instead of “eating that frog” — which is unlikely to be at the top of our taste preferences, try to alternate your to-do list: combine one “boring and difficult” task with a more “easy and amusing” one.
Final notes
You may find a bunch of articles, resources full of tips and tricks, and action plans on how to deal with procrastination. But here our habits have a considerable influence.
Thus, it would be good to work out your own “Formula”.
The logic here is clear:
Either do it now and get another point in your favor or leave it to the last minute and finish with stress, leading to worse academic and job performance. Not to mention the deterioration of health.
Long story short, in your struggle against procrastination, constantly putting things off viz. “Procrastination” is not worth it.
