How This Content Creator Mastered Procrastination
Procrastination makes the easy things difficult
Photo by magnetme
Breaking The Procrastination Cycle
I'm almost certain many of you can relate to procrastination. We have all sat there and decided to wait in some way, shape, or form. Wait for what you ask? It's probable that it was a project in college, waiting for the fever to "spike" to take your child to the doctors—extending into your relationships as well.
Procrastination, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is defined as: The action of delaying or postponing something. That brings me to the question, do we do this on purpose to ourselves as a form of self-sabotage, or could it be genetic? Go with me here.
There are levels of importance within procrastination. You determine an essential event for you and level out your playing field. When this occurs, you should dig deep within yourself and seek motivation. My motivation came from the following questions:
Which event holds more importance to you?
Which event will better your future?
Which event will deter you?
Questioning yourself helps develop insight and determines the extent of procrastination within you. It really all boils down to what you're willing to do. As well as how dedicated you are while doing it. Procrastination, amongst many, is viewed as a lack of discipline. Lack of discipline is almost synonymous with "laziness" in some people's eyes.
My Reality Check
In my first year of college ENC 1101 course, we were assigned a paper based on a personality trait or characteristic we believe we obtained. Funny enough, I wrote a paper on procrastination. What is the more comical part? I procrastinated writing my paper about procrastination. Each person works differently in performing their tasks and/or duties.
This paper was due a month after it was assigned, so I, in my 18-year-old mind, thought, "I have plenty of time to write it." Wrong. See what I did there? Days passed, then, eventually, 3 weeks passed. Life happened, and I ultimately forgot about the assignment. I didn't forget the paper necessarily; I didn't keep track of my time.
The night before it was due, with no reminder, a light bulb went off as if to say, "Get to work," so I did. I say people work differently because I tend to do better when I procrastinate, while others completely fail whatever task is at hand. That night, I crammed information into 5 pages, double-typed, 12-size font, new Roman, written in MLA format.
How can your brain do that in such a short amount of time? And does that make it okay?
What You Can Do to Help with Procrastination
Recognize your habits
Procrastination may be a personality trait confused with laziness, or something passed down to you through genetics. Regardless of the "why" or "what," we need to focus on abstaining from procrastination. We can start by recognizing our habits. When we recognize our habits, we understand what tasks we delay and why we procrastinate. We begin to rationalize it and make it make sense. Setting goals is crucial to avoid procrastination; we must know what we want to achieve and find our way to the end of the tunnel.
Prioritize tasks and set deadlines
Another essential thing we can do is prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. As I said above, we tend to place things in levels of importance and follow through based on that. Placing things at a level of importance leads you to setting deadlines. If we give ourselves a deadline, we are forced to act. Unlike when I neglected my deadline and had to act in a very prompt manner. This likely can lead to failure to launch. Setting deadlines allows you to divide your large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. It's almost as if you're teaching a child to tie their shoes. They don't just "get it" because you showed them; they need smaller steps to achieve the big end goal.
Read this guide: Happiness Through Self-Care
Reward yourself
It is vital to reward yourself. Remember, we don't all function or move at the same speed. Give yourself some grace. Positive reinforcement helps me develop healthier habits and keep my motivation high. You are your best ally. Fight like it.
Eliminate distractions
Adjusting the environment is something that truly helped me overcome my constant procrastination. We are products of our environment; if it's loud/chaotic, imagine how our work or energy may be. This means we should eliminate distractions. The biggest one, especially today, would be to turn off your phone. Let people know you will be busy with a task so they know not to disturb you. Natural light or the setting of a library (quiet place) helps immensely.
Forgive yourself
The most crucial step in avoiding procrastination is to forgive yourself. Research suggests that self-forgiveness is one of the best ways to overcome procrastination. It would help if you always forgive yourself for your shortcomings in life. They do not define who you are; they are the things boosting you and molding you into the best person you can become.
Take-Home
It's important to remember that it's okay to stumble and that it's inevitable that you will procrastinate. Being 100% focused and fully charged throughout the day is impossible. If you find yourself falling behind, take a moment to pause, seek support, and find a system that works for you.
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Hannah is a content creator and inspiring writer. Support and find more of her here.