A Slave Of / To Procrastination? Here Are Tips To Overcome It !

We often make our life choices based on value, time/ impulsivity, and expectancy. Somehow if a plan doesn’t fall into the favorable categories, we tend to switch off the sense of emergency to complete the task. Have you ever noticed that there are certain tasks that you leave on your to-do list for a few hours – weeks or rather too long? Ever wondered what could be the reason?  Then, this week’s entry speaks to you. Take a deep breath, clear your mind and pay attention. In big capital letters, it is PROCRASTINATION. 

In the words of David Ballard, head of the Psychological Associations Centre for Organisational Excellence, “Procrastination it is not just avoiding or delaying of a task. It also has to include an aspect that is counter-productive, irrational or unnecessary." The way I see it, there are two paths in any given scenario, that is taking on a task and endure pain at the moment or the other long difficult path of delaying or postponing swaying from the bigger purpose. In delaying there is no thinking ahead for the greater purpose. You are just waiting for things for fall in place whilst you are postponing, delaying and avoiding which is the number one hindrance to success. 

As human beings, it is our instinct to avoid pain or hard work. This is one of the reasons why people procrastinate. A researcher, Alexander Rozental explained procrastination foundation on the basis of the tasks' value, expectancy (in terms of the outcome) and time or impulsivity. We tend to do tasks according to importance if it is least important that is when we find ourselves skipping or avoiding the task. Moreso, a notable number of people seek pleasure in what they do, to feed their biological and psychological need. The pleasure, therefore, becomes the driving force guiding their choices.

Okay, now this is said and done. The next question is how does one deal with it? What is the purpose of pointing out a problem without proposing a solution! We often make our life choices according to how we can avoid pain at the moment and, in doing so, fail to see that the path of delayed gratification is sometimes where the real solutions to our problems lie. So the following steps walk you through the reasons and how to overcome;

• Okay, now you know that you procrastinate. What is the next step? First, evaluate yourself and habits. Take a step back and ask yourself the following questions. What do you usually dread to do? What do you do so? What puts you off? And once you answer these questions you understand your thought pattern around the task in question.

• Once you have a clear picture of your own habits, you have a better chance to fix them. Try doing the things at the time of the day where you are inherently productive. If you are a morning person, tick all the boxes on your to-do list during that time. Or if you are insomniac like me, plan out your hours and work...

• As human beings, we are marred with insecurities and people always breathing in our ears that we can't do anything. But I come to you saying, believe that you are good enough and never let thoughts of a task being too big for you. This where planning comes in, segment your tasks into smaller activities per day or hours and get the ball rolling! 

• We live in pursuit of immediate pleasure or reward. If a task requires more time and work we tend to delay. It is like wanting a perfect job without getting an education or working our way up from the bottom. So don't allow a small thing to distract you or move your eyes away from the prize. Don't be like toddlers, who seek immediate gratification, aiming to satisfy cravings to ease discomfort. Practice patience!

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