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Meaning and causes of procrastination
Procrastination is a trap that many of us find ourselves in, even when we try to avoid it. Statistics shows that about ninety-five percent (95%) of us procrastinate to a degree. According to some schools of thought in psychology, people who procrastinate have a twisted sense of time.
In this article, we shall discuss in depth how to stop procrastination.Its causes and effect would also be discussed in the process.
But first, here are 300 Procrastination Quotes For stoping Procrastination Every Morning!
Procrastination vs laziness
For many, procrastination means laziness; these two concepts however, mean different things. Procrastination involves intentionally delaying a task you should be doing because you find it boring, donât enjoy it or feel like you have enough time to do it later.It is an active process, you consciously made a choice to postpone the task. Laziness, on the other hand is more of inactivity. It is the disinclination, the reluctance to perform a task or any other thing for that matter. It is an evasion of work.
If you are a student that always procrastinates, you absolutely need to read this revolutionary article.
Causes
You may be wondering at this point what causes procrastination since itâs not laziness. You question yourself: âwhat causes the inclination to avoid task I consider difficult for simpler ones?â Some causes of procrastination are
â˘Perfectionism,
â˘The âIâll do it laterâ mentality,
â˘Fear of the unknown,
â˘Lack of motivation.
â˘You donât know how to get started.
Effects
Knowing that you are not alone when it comes to procrastination can be relieving, but this does not mean that it doesnât come with its effects. Some of its effects are
â˘Decreased productivity in the workplace,
â˘Feeling of guilt and shame,
â˘Inability to achieve your goals, and
â˘Job loss, in the worst case scenario.
Like every other bad habits, procrastination can be avoided and replaced with positive ones. The steps outlined below show you how to stop procrastination.
Discover why you are procrastinating
The next practical step would be to ask yourself why you are procrastinating. Different people put off task for different reasons. Do you procrastinate because you find the task boring? Instead of avoiding it try completing it so you can do other things you enjoy. Is poor organization the reason you procrastinate? Try next time to be more organized and keep your workspace organized too.
Come to terms with reality
The first step to dealing with procrastination is to realize that you are procrastinating. Search yourself and see if you always do any of the following
â˘Paying more attention to low priority task.
â˘Waiting for motivation before tackling a task.
â˘Skipping very important items in your to do list for a long time.
â˘Helping others with unimportant task instead of focusing on important tasks already on list.
Knowing that you procrastinate will help you in trying to overcome it.
How to stop procrastination?
Forgive yourself
Procrastinating task can make you feel a sense of guilt and shame because you feel incompetent. If you are a chronic procrastinator, forgiving yourself will go a long way in helping you overcome it. Research conducted by experts attest to this fact. Self-forgiveness will reduce your likelihood of procrastinating task in the future and make you feel better about yourself.
Focus on your task
Commit yourself to the task at hand. Your goal should be to âdoâ, not to âavoidâ. One way to build your focus is to develop the mentality of âif I donât do it now then who willâ. Try making your task time-oriented so you can finish within a specific time frame. Schedule when you want to finish a task and work within that time. It is important to let your workmates know that you would not want to be disturbed at this particular time. You certainly do not want to leave your task just to listen to the trending gist.
One step at a time:
Sometimes dwelling on the size and difficulty of a task can be overwhelming. This can lead to loss of motivation and in turn procrastination. No matter how intimidating a task look it can be broken down to different parts and tackled bits by bit. Take an example, maybe you work in the customer service of your company and you were given the task of handling all customersâ complaints and questions. A practical and easier way to handle your task is to break it into bits, thus
â˘Handling of mails (2 hours)
â˘Receiving customer complaints and solving them (3 hours)
â˘After sale services to customers (2 hours).
Breaking tasks into smaller bits like this make them less daunting.
Check those must known must-known management tips to save hours of work and stress.
SOME EASY TIPS TO STOP PROCRASTINATING
Be accountable to someone
Getting someone to monitor you while you are in the process of overcoming procrastination is a great idea. Peer pressure doesnât always have to mean something negative. Turn it in your favor by always having someone or a group of people check on you to see if you are working on your important task and not putting them off. Reporting to them when you are done is also a great idea.
Rewarding yourself is not a bad idea
Try to reward yourself constantly when you complete a task on time. Engaging in this simple act will make you look forward to completing tasks on time. The reward does not have to be anything extravagant, it could be watching a football game, getting a massage or eating a slice of your favorite chocolate cake.
Organization is the key:
As said earlier, poor organization is one of the causes of procrastination. Organizing your to do list and arranging them in terms of priority and urgency is a bonus. Also, try organizing your workstation and making it de-cluttered as possible so you can have enough space to work.
How to stop procrastinating?
Your longing to overcome procrastination is an indicator that you are interested in being more productive at your place of work. You should note however, that improvements will not happen suddenly. You have to take it slow with yourself and slowly adapt till you build a coherent and consistent habit of tackling tasks at the right time.
