Procrastination and How to Avoid it

Many people suffer from procrastination throughout their daily activities. Even those adept at staying focused and goal-oriented tend to stray from the path here and there. The issue with procrastination is simply that it is a disastrous slippery slope that causes tremendous bottlenecking in regards to productivity and perseverance.

Once you have dismissed a task or objective, it becomes easier to do the same thing continuously with successive tasks. In doing so, a person might think they are initially putting off one thing, but in turn, are putting off much more than they have even considered. Its easy to bite off more than you can chew. In some cases its better to give yourself a lighter more manageable load, than to overwhelm and succumb to the possibility of procrastination. It may sound strange, but a task not taken on is better than one accepted and dismissed.

Procrastination can lead to stress, health problems, and poor performance. People who procrastinate can have a harder time sleeping at night, resulting in a lack of full-potential, making it even harder to accomplish goals. Even more, procrastination can lead to morale issues, causing feelings of shame and guilt. The main causes of procrastination seemingly stem from the fear of failure, perfectionism, or low energy levels. One common misdiagnosis of procrastination is being “lazy.” Laziness and procrastination are two different, but similar beasts. Yes, they can go hand-in-hand. But more often than not, procrastinating and being lazy are not correlated, and therefore not caused by or because of the other. There are many different ways a person can put off doing a particular objective. However, there is simply only a few reasons a person will not do ANY task or objective. This is the clear difference. Laziness can definitely be bred from untreated, long-term procrastination. And that is something easily avoidable. Simply putting off a particular task does not make you lazy. However, not attempting to correct and apply a fix to the behavior could contribute towards that undesirable title of “Lazy.”

Following this are a few ways to help deal with procrastination and hopefully keep on the right track of being committed to yourself and your own success.

• Just get started: Regardless of any foreseen reasoning or purpose to your task; getting started simply pushes you past the hardest part of procrastinating. Once the delayed objective has been initiated, it is seemingly much easier to stay committed and finish with purpose. If the task at hand is completely unbearable, make a commitment to yourself. Promise yourself and follow through with the minimum of getting started. If you can not continue for whatever reason, walk away. In this step, you aren’t expected to complete the totality of what is required; rather, you start the project with intent.
• Write it down: For especially those who find themselves delaying a task, while normally keeping well-prioritized; keeping a list of what is needed and as a reminder, can help influence and motivate completion. Even for those finding themselves procrastinating on a regular basis, writing things down can help organize what is needed to be accomplished and make what seems to be an impossible task much easier, with clear and concise steps to follow. It is also important to note that people tend to get caught up, focusing on how much they “hate” doing said task. Writing things down tend to relabel personal abhorrence for the task to something more manageable.
• Acknowledge the productivity: Take a moment to notice what can be accomplished by completing your task. What sort of feelings can come from finally having finished your objective, and think about the sweet relief it would bring to no longer worry about it anymore. Once having started your task, do you feel better about it than you thought you would? Sometimes we as people tend to overanalyze the severity or requirements of a task, and dread doing it; when in reality, it may be something we can accomplish simply in a short moment.
• Have someone else do it: This option isn’t exactly a long-term solution and may very well lead to future procrastination. However, in the immediate scheme of things, if you can not or will not do it, someone likely will for the right price. Of course, this might not be a financially suitable option for those with limited income and budgets. Maybe you could find a friend or family member that would trade tasks. You might not be putting off doing everything, only just a particular thing. And that family member might also be in a similar situation with a different activity. Offer to do their task, which you may enjoy doing more, in exchange for them to do yours.

In short, there are some key things you can do overall if focusing on one solution doesn’t quite work.

Make the rewards for the task more immediate. Treat yourself for completing the objective. At the same time, you should make the consequences of not finishing more severe. Understand the importance of finishing what it is you are supposed to do, and do not brush it off. Breaking a promise to yourself should be the ultimate punishment. If all else fails, break the task down into smaller, more achievable goals. Regardless of this all, remember that a promise to yourself is most important of all. It will be hard to continue living a productive lifestyle if you do not value your own self-respect.