Procrastination

Procrastination is to put off intentionally and habitually the doing of something that should be done or the action of delaying or postponing something. The word has its origin from the Latin procrastinates which itself evolved from the prefix pro, meaning “forward,” crastinus, meaning “ of tomorrow.” Procrastination is a habit to put off doing things, leave them to the very last moment or sometime even spend their time staring on the wall or doing trivial things. It typically implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy. You will be surprised to know that even highly accomplished people also procrastinate. One that almost everyone procrastinates on their wills almost 70 to 80 percent people when they pass away, have no will or an out of date or incomplete will. We all can fall into this trap with every excuse under the sun. Most of the top tasks people delay are cleaning, advancing their career, taking care of their health, and planning their finances. Whatever the motivation (or lack thereof) it is not good for us. Delaying a diet or exercise programme may increase your heart disease. Not having seen doctor when your illness was easier to treat may shorten your life. If you understand how it shows up for you, you can replace this habit with a better one. Causes of Procrastination Procrastination can be attributed to many factors including lack of self –efficacy and self-confidence. One of the common cause of procrastination is fear of failure. Another cause of procrastination is down to a loss of self-control. What this means is that whilst we know deep down we should do something, we are not able to do it. It is this gap between ‘intention’ and ‘action’ that we need to learn how to overcome. You can imagine self-discipline or self-control as a moment when you give yourself orders, but you are having a hard time following them. It is not the primary cause of procrastination, but an important compound. To be self- disciplined you need to have the correct type of motivation, and learn to maintain and work on positive habits. Strategies to stop procrastination: We need to set straight our values and personal visions and to cultivate our positive habits. This is the essential thing that can help us overcome not only procrastination but all other obstacles that life brings. There is a Japanese proverb “Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is a nightmare.” The personal vision is one of the core tool, it helps you understand your skills and priorities, and by creating one you will never feel lost in what you want to do with your time in life. After making a clear vision we can focus on proven strategies to help us to procrastinate less and live a more fulfilling and productive life. Forgive yourself for procrastinating in the past. Now focus on your on what you are going to do Be clear on your ‘why.’ Ask yourself why taking action is important to you and those around youtoday and tomorrow with positive intent. that matter. Create clear, ambitious and achievable goals.
Procrastinator can find themselves in a vicious cycle that reinforces negative and critical thing. When we don’t do something we know we should do, it can lead to feelings of guilt and lower level of self-esteem. If you procrastinate when faced with a big difficult problem break the problem into parts and handle one part at a time it will be easier to solve it.
Break them into smaller goals. Write them down and set timeframes for achieving them. This will help you to be proactive rather than reactive. Have a support network to keep you focused on what it is most important for you to achieve. Ask them to challenge you if you are going off the track. Minimize distractions that can sabotage you. Commit to turning off your e-mail and social media when you need to focus on getting things done. Strategy for students: Set small attainable goals. Making progress toward these goals can help you build momentum. Remind yourself of what you accomplished. You are gotten to the place where you are by delaying gratification and working hard for a future goal. Do not seek perfection. Learning is a process, you cannot grasp all of the information your first time through. Be patient with yourself. It is only by actively retrieving the information multiple times that you form durable and easily retrievable memories. Think about the exam in terms of days rather than months or year. If you tell yourself it is 365 days away rather than one year away. Set up a study calendar. Write in specific topics on the day you expect to review them. This way you ensure in advance that you have a plan in hand to cover everything you need to review. The Procrastination Health Effect Numerous studies have shown a clear link between procrastination and stress. One of the first studies to document the pernicious nature of procrastination was published in 1997 in Psychological Science by APS fellow Diana Tice and APS William James fellow Roy Beimeister then at Case Western Reserve University, rated college students on an established scale of procrastination, then tracked their academic performance, stress and general health throughout the semester. They found that the procrastinator earned low grade than other students and reported higher cumulative amounts of stress and illness. When distracted by stresses, you are likely to put more things off and suffer from a procrastination accumulation effect. This is where you feel stressed, put things off and then feel stressed thinking about what you have left undone. As you do this you may leave more things undone and feel overwhelmed. Research has also disclosed that people who suffer from hypertension or cardiology issues tend to procrastinate more. Anxiety can also result in procrastination, which leads to under-performance in testing situations. Anxiety and procrastination often work in a cyclic way. You avoid a task that you are anxious about, which compound your anxiety and leads to further procrastination. Procrastinator can find themselves in a vicious cycle that reinforces negative and critical thing. When we don’t do something we know we should do, it can lead to feelings of guilt and lower level of self-esteem. If you procrastinate when faced with a big difficult problem break the problem into parts and handle one part at a time it will be easier to solve it. I shall conclude with the saying of George H Lorimer “Putting off an easy thing makes it hard, and putting off a hard one makes it impossible.” So, in the end I will say that don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today
( The author is a freelancer. Views are her own)