Introduction
People nowadays have a lot of tasks to handle on their plate in their personal and professional life. The changing lifestyle dynamics have made things more complex for everyone, causing unnecessary anxiety and stress. So, many tend to push things to the next day. Procrastinating your troubles to deal with them later does not reduce the issue [1]. It postpones it to another day. Meetings to handle, documents to sign, homework to finish, talking to someone close to you about their troubles—pushing everything to the next day increases your stress further. It would help if you adopted a let-go attitude in your lifestyle to avoid that. Instead, focus on positive thinking and notice better mental, emotional, and physical health afterwards. We discuss why that is important in this article.
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What is procrastination?
Procrastination refers to the approach people take in putting off or delaying particular tasks for the last minute instead of finishing them early. Procrastinators even delay work after the deadline, despite the negative consequences they might have to face.
For example, when you work on a project hastily close to the deadline, it can result in dissatisfied clients. Without a doubt, the consequences of procrastination do hurt one’s life.
It is not always a severe problem. Many people put off work because they have other tasks to complete or need to relax to recharge. However, when this becomes a regular tendency, it can cause serious issues.
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Why procrastination is the thief of time?
People procrastinate in different ways. For example, one decides to complete the work the day before the final deadline in the workspace. They may choose to pay bills later or endlessly postpone the family trip home.
However, these actions can seriously harm different areas of life. It is why “procrastination is the thief of time” is a valid statement. One loses free time focusing on other things instead of doing the work. When people avoid their tasks and push them to a later time, they experience more significant pressure later to meet the deadline or make up for the delay. It takes away from the time you could have spent with your family or relaxing.
At work, your performance quality and results would decrease, you might miss necessary documentation at the last minute, and your relationships would suffer. Common effects include:
- More pressure or disconnect in social relationships
- Excessive stress
- Impact on physical health
- Resentment from family, friends, superiors, and peers
- Legal ramifications in case of late income tax returns or bills
8 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Start Living Your Life
Identifying the markers of procrastination is just the beginning. You must follow
1. Attitude is everything
With the correct change in attitude and actions, you can massively improve priorities and avoid procrastination. You can follow specific steps to avoid procrastinating, focus on letting go of your worries, and shift your attitude to a ‘power through’ mode.
2. List your triggers
To avoid procrastination, make a list of things that trigger you to push off your work and procrastinate.
- Do not open your texts.
- Avoid social media.
- Do not open links to videos or emails.
Preparing a list would give you a reference of things to avoid, even if they seem innocent little breaks at the time.
3. Start small
Instead of keeping a big goal in mind, set small objectives that seem achievable to you. For example, complete one set of coding on the first day, the second set on the next day, and test the programming on the third day.
4. Set specific deadlines
While breaking your tasks into small goals, set specific deadlines for each. Decide on the date and the time, finish the first phase in 3 hours, and the rest. After that, you have the next deadline 4 hours later, and so on. Also, mark the essential tasks as a priority, like highlighting them in green on your list.
5. Keep the list visible
After preparing the to-do list with deadlines and due dates, keep it somewhere you would notice every day. For better results, add rewards that you would give yourself for completing each task on the list. It would provide additional motivation and works as a visual reminder.
6. Publicly announce your goals
It is an extreme type of hack for avoiding procrastination, but for many, it works. Here, you should state to your close ones or other individuals about the goal you have to meet. If possible, do so with someone you do not want to disappoint or who would hold you accountable or motivate you.
7. Self-love is the best love for procrastination
Sometimes, the environment you are in contributes to the urge to procrastinate. For example, if writing a book/article or doing homework, sitting at a party with friends or in a room with too much sound would cause distractions.
Instead, change your surroundings; go to a quiet area with zero disturbances, or play soft, soothing music. Do actions of self-love like taking breaks, refreshing your mind, and getting power naps. While these may seem like ways to procrastinate, they are not. Plan small gifts like buying your favourite meal or going on date night after finishing work.
Since many people procrastinate to avoid stress, you should focus on self-love to reduce your anxiety and recharge.
8. Enjoy your life to the fullest
Letting go of situations you cannot handle is one of the primary pillars of positive thinking. While this may seem similar to the avoidance method, it is not the same. It involves understanding and accepting that the situation or issue you are dealing with is not solvable. You relinquish your need to change something and let life take its course.
The let-go attitude is instrumental in dealing with situations that feel incredibly overwhelming, and no thought or action can solve them. Coming to this realization and accepting it guarantees a peaceful mental state and lets you enjoy life to the best possible level.
Avoidance breeds procrastination and letting go of yourself to better free your mind and focus. Taking the help of professional life coaches is helpful here, so reach out to the best one!
Conclusion
With the right mindset and plan, you can avoid procrastinating in different areas of life. After that, you would notice a marked change in your performance, mental health, and other aspects. Take professional help for additional support.
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References
| [1] | “How to Stop Procrastinating,” Harvard Business Review, May 2022. https://hbr.org/2022/05/how-to-stop-procrastinating (accessed Jul. 28, 2022) |
