Procrastination is not that hard to deal with as it is a habit and intentional. Many struggles to find strategies to coping with procrastination. Believe me, oh wait; believe in yourself, it is very easy to overcome procrastination.
I think overcoming anything needs self-belief first. Everything starts from trust and believe, let me rephrase it, everything starts from self-approval. I remember a quote ‘A man can not be comfortable without his own approval’ – Mark Twain.
To know about procrastination and its reasons, check out my previous blog https://waybloggerss.com/2020/10/26/procrastination-and-its-reasons/. To get rid of delaying your task till tomorrow, follow any of these tips to back on track.
Ask “Why and What” – A procrastinator tends to focus on the short-term goals instead of long-term. They have the habit of ignoring their task because they do not know the importance of it. A procrastinator finds completing a task in the last hour saves time and effort, but the reality is different.
For them, the first step is to ask themselves “WHY”, why do they need to complete this task? Why is the need for the deadline? Why does everyone talk about punctuality? Why should they complete a task before the deadline? What are the benefits of completing this task? What is the learning associated with it? Asking such questions increases curiosity which sharpens the brain and makes an individual act or react accordingly.
Be Realistic – A procrastinator is always away from the real-time effort. They try to avoid their task as soon as it comes in their hand. Know the value of time and effort, be on time, focus on the present instead of the future, and always believe in the process no matter how slow it is. For being realistic, you need not punish yourself by setting up a hectic schedule. Follow your daily routine and bring some necessary changes to it. For example, if you are not a morning riser but love to work late at night, shift your workout to the evening rather than scheduling it in the morning that is impossible for you.
Avoid Excuses – An excuse is a defensive explanation for a fault or offence. It is nothing but a way to define you as an irresponsible and uncredible person. I am not in a mood now, I love waiting until I have time, this is not the right time to do it, does these sound familiar? If yes, stop it immediately.
Be honest with yourself. Start believing and acting in the present because tomorrow never happens. So, say no to excuses and yes to responsibility.
Avoid Unnecessary responsibilities and Learn to let them go – Many people are keen to take a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. Reasons may be like either they are workaholics or ambitious or immature (because they do not differentiate between their and other’s responsibility), or they do not trust others.
Try completing one task at a time, know your responsibilities and role. Accepting unnecessary responsibility puts you under stress. Make a schedule, day planner, note down important meetings, activities, and prepare yourself accordingly.
Let it go if anything does not align with your capabilities, interest, and schedule.
Break your task into shorter deadlines – Sometimes, setting up a high goal leads to procrastination. If you are into this, stop this, and learn to break your task into a shorter deadline. For example, if you aim to workout for one hour a day, then start your workout with 15 minutes and gradually reach the target of 60 minutes a day instead of starting 60 minutes a day from day one. If you aim to give 60 minutes of speech, then start it with 10 minutes of speech.
The shorter the deadline, the better the result will be. A shorter deadline motivates the doer, cultivates curiosity in the doer, and reduces the tendency of delaying a task.
Minimize Distraction – Distraction prevents from concentrating on something. Our daily life is flooded with distractions like a bombardment of emails, text messages, social media posts, Gossip, and many more. Checking out social media posts and feeds regularly during work is becoming normal these days, which results in delay in task completion.
It is better to set up our priorities and act responsibly. We can try time-blocking to get rid of distractions, in layman language bringing discipline in life.
The Last Corner
Procrastination is normal but can be a trap depends on the practice. I believe “stating nothing is impossible for a strong will-powered person” looks good either in the books or in a motivational speech. We should consider procrastination a serious problem but not as serious as cancer. It can be easily handled by bringing a small change in our lifestyle and habits, making us more disciplined, focus, and goal-oriented.
Do let me know if the above tips work for you to deal with procrastination or not?
Waybloggerss 