Procrastination is not actual laziness. It merely means delaying or postponing a task at hand with something else usually trivial. For instance when a university student has to meet the deadline of its college essay but dreading to work. And he turns on the tv or switches to Netflix to watch his favorite series instead of work. He is a procrastinator. We all at some point or another suffer from this terrible inclination to kill time with anything but work. What are the factors behind it and how can we fix them for good is a topic worthy to ponder upon.
Procrastination is not some psychological illness or personality disorder. It’s just a tendency to put off more urgent work and replacing it with some pleasurable activity. Let’s examine what are some of the common but mistaken approaches behind that?
Perfectionist approach is flawed
Those who seek perfectionism in their matters of life often end up with nothing. As the saying goes, practice makes the man perfect so every important task starts with imperfection. Gradually imperfection leads to perfection. Failure is a stepping stone for success. But many feel scared from undertaking any challenge because they fail to deliver immaculate results.
Always consider yourself a learner and don’t care if the outcome of your hard labor wasn’t what you expected. Eventually, it will surpass your expectations.
Low Self-esteem
Every one of us has that friend who would express an inability to carry out any task efficiently. Even if they have all the potential, they just don’t want to experiment. Those who are prone to looking down upon themselves are ones tend to escape from hard work.
Increase your confidence level by following the ‘modelling’ technique. According to which lookout for examples who managed to overcome urges of procrastinating before you.
Lack of organization
Disorganized people are the ones more susceptible to procrastination. Those who can’t set their priorities or manage their time shall naturally end up wasting their time. Manual or mental time management is arduous. So having a staff time monitoring software can make one organized and vigilant of their time.
Some quick tips to discipline yourself
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Keeping a phone away means to keep distractions away
Foremost is to remove any form of social media distractions. Keep your phone away in some locker or switched off in the bag. As it acts as the biggest attention grabber if it keeps lying in front of you. It often starts with little notification. You resolve to give only 5 minutes to it and then after half an hour, you realize 5 minutes never ended. But then your mind is so occupied with a conversation you were just having with a friend. Or might be jealous of seeing someone’s travel post or relationship status. You may end up wasting your precious hours as a result of that useless temptation. So keep it at bay.
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Ask someone for scrutiny
If you aren’t working in an office environment or a student. You need someone to keep a check up on you. In some traditional cultures, it’s often the parents. Or on the western side, it can be a teacher. Ask them to be vigilant upon you. Hold you accountable when you waste time. So next time you fear wasting your precious time. But please don’t ask your partner for a job. Either you won’t feel afraid of them or if they act strict, it can affect your relationship. So don’t make an irrational choice.
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You have a whole life to watch movies
Netflix has released the next episode of your favorite series and you have the work or college assignment to do. Now you have one option to choose and you felt you can’t miss the episode! You can always watch it later on but once you miss the deadline it’s hard to make up for it. Just imagine a later regret for getting embarrassed before your colleagues or classmates for performing below the mark. Game of Thrones’ characters won’t come to save you with the help of magical realism. There are important phases to build or progress in a career. Once you miss it, you may find yourself short of money for Netflix subscription.
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You need to make the right time happen, it won’t develop automatically
Some have great tendency to say ‘’oh I am not in a mood to work’’. Or setting conditions like that thing should happen to make you willing for this kind of work. These ‘this and that’ don’t happen, it’s all about your state of mind. Once you put your brain on start button it will feel programmed to stay activated until you finish the task. It’s all about your determination to work. Just start doing it. Meditating for longer makes one procrastinate.
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Get rid of guilt
You might be suffering from regret for procrastinating previously and lagging behind in your work or educational career. Eradicate it. You won’t be able to improve next time if you keep living with lingering thoughts of old follies. If you can’t forgive yourself nobody else will.
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Distribute task into chunks
Sometimes a lengthier task may deter many to postpone a task. Divide it into numerous shorter ones. This way you will feel more comfortable in carrying it out.
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Environment means a lot
Moreso if you are a freelancer. You don’t have an office. All you have is home and multiple distractions that may include kids or pets. You opted for this kind of job because you didn’t want to get handled with micromanagement. But it made you too relaxed to act cautiously. Again, use staff time tracking software and get the feeling of being in office. It will monitor just as you are watched in a proper desktop job, in fact much better. Its real objective is to make you more disciplined and productive.
Conclusion
Your strengths and weaknesses are from within yourself. And every sane human is bestowed with the ability to overcome their weaknesses. Nothing is an impossible ordeal. All it needs the determination to overcome obstacles to shine in your life. Be it personal or professional.
