Simple Ways to Start Overcoming Procrastination Today

Everyone has been a victim of procrastination at some point in their life. Procrastination is often mistaken for laziness, which is totally different. Procrastination is simply postponing things or activities you’re supposed to do now for another time, yet presently you’re doing nothing constructive.

Many people, including well-organized and punctual professionals, fall into the procrastination trap at some point in their careers. According to recent psychology studies, people who exhibit these habits are more likely to have a faulty sense of time, that there is still more time for something to get dusted than they actually do. Though this may be the case for some, the latest studies insinuate procrastination is connected to trouble handling distress. Procrastinations mainly stem from one’s perception that the task at hand is unpleasant, unfriendly, and extremely tough to tackle, slating it for another time.

Although procrastinators purport to do so to overcome distress, this trend can aggravate distress over time. If not tamed, procrastination can pose health concerns, below-par performance and even escalate stress. Procrastinators normally endure more sleep problems and immense stressful regret than non-procrastinators.

Persistent procrastination can be consequential, and therefore if you’re a victim of this, try these great ways to overcome this raving habit.

Break up big tasks into manageable tasks

Whenever a job appears overbearing, procrastination often becomes the order of the day. So, what is the remedy to tackling such a job? Here the answer is simple, split the task into small manageable sections. For instance, if you intend to draft a book, start with an outline, pick a chapter, determine the sections in the chapters, and then devote to writing one section at a time. Splitting it like this will help you feel less overburdened and somewhat empowered.

Reward Yourself Whenever You Conclude a Large Goal

Consider rewarding yourself every time you finalize a task that you pledged to see through in a given time. Keep off distractions that may dent your bid to complete the job within the set timelines like watching a movie, surfing blogs, checking your social account, and so on.

So, keep such distractions at bay until you complete the assignment that you scheduled yourself to do. With the right mindset and failure to welcome unnecessary distractions, you’re set to overcome procrastination.

Keep in mind to reward yourself every time you complete a task as per the schedule.

Change Your Working Environment

The environment you’re working on will, in one way or another, impact your productivity. Explore your work desk and your working area. Does it motivate you to work, or does it make you bored? If the latter is the answer to this question, something needs to be done to make the workspace conducive.

For instance, if your workspace is disorganized, step up your efforts to make it orderly once more. Also, a cluttered environment can demotivate you to work on something since you’ll lack the desire to get started in the first place. Therefore, consider decluttering your workspace if it’s cluttered, as this will create a friendly working environment that is more likely to impact your productivity positively.

Furthermore, clean up your workspace severally to get rid of the dirt that can render the environment hostile, sabotaging your endeavor to get work done within the scheduled time.

Avoid Overthinking

If you’re overthinking and your mind is exhausted, then procrastination will be the order of the day. Your mind may tend to get overwhelmed, shutting room for any other activity despite its significance. Overthinking is similar to attempting to foresee the future, which we’re incapable of. So the anxiety of the unknown or unpredictability of the results of a task may prompt us to procrastinate. Also, having unrealistic ambitions can lead to overthinking and procrastination once you discover the chances of realizing your goals are slim. Though we all crave a better life, it makes no sense to aim for things that are out of reach as this will subject us to immense stress, overthinking, and eventually putting off our plans midway. Hence, to overcome procrastination, we must first stop overthinking and setting unrealistic goals.

Stop Making Excuses

Unnecessary excuses are another typical reason for procrastination.

Procrastinators often deceive themselves that there is still time to get the pending task done, yet presently, they do nothing constructive. They tend to visualize that they’ll have the perfect opportunity to conclude the task in the course of the day or a few days to come. This continues until the last day set for submission arrives, and that’s when people tend to overwork in a bid to beat the deadline.

Nonetheless, this will create a great discrepancy between how you’ll ideally feel afterward and how you’ll actually feel thereafter.

Hence, if you develop a routine of procrastinating things persistently, you’ll be facing an uphill task to overcome this trend in the future as you probably will be tired, demotivated, and having to deal with unruly children.

Hence, if you’re a victim of procrastination, all is not lost since there’re a couple of ways you can manoeuver this situation and get the best out of your time. One of those steps to overcome this ravaging disaster is to avoid making needless excuses. Although genuine excuses are welcome, never allow lame excuses to hinder you from shaping your destiny.

Psychological studies have revealed that chronic procrastination has hindered people’s desire to fulfill their dreams. Unless procrastinators overcome this monster, their bid to fulfill their goals will remain a pipe dream. So, if you keep making unwarranted excuses not to commit yourself to a given task, it’s high time you revert from such a habit as this will guarantee success in the long run.

Make Verbal Commitments to Folks on When You’ll Have Things Done

It’s arduous to deviate from a good norm or a resolution, especially if you’ve made it known to your confidants or colleagues. Let your allies know your goals and the milestones you’ve made, as this is more likely to motivate you to put up a spirited fight to accomplish them.

Contrary to keeping it to yourself, sharing goals and resolutions with your confidants is more likely to mount positive pressure on you to accomplish your promises since failure can be a source of embarrassment. This will help you keep procrastination at bay and focus on getting things done as quickly as possible.

Although some may perceive that sharing your resolutions and ambitions with folks is ill-advised, which may be true, it’s a great source of motivation to help you step up your efforts to get them accomplished.

Know Why You’re Doing Something in the First Place

At times, all that’s required to crush procrastination is only a few tweaks and knowing the purpose of doing something is no exception. You’re less likely to commit yourself to do something that you’re unaware of its purpose, which will lead to procrastination.

However, when you have an insight into why you’re doing something in the first place, you’ll be extremely motivated to get it done. For instance, if it’s a class assignment, you know the significance of doing it accurately and promptly. Assignments, especially the college ones, are of significant importance as they, in one way or the other, influence your final grade.

Most assignments involve in-depth research that requires more time. Therefore, pushing this work till the deadline will deny you sufficient time to deliver well-researched and thoughtful answers, missing out on the opportunity to attain a good score out of the assignment.

Hence, knowing the purpose of doing something and when exactly, it’s expected to be complete is a decent move to overcome procrastination.

Learn that Procrastination is a Biological Function of our Limbic System

As said earlier, we’re all susceptible to procrastination. It’s a ubiquitous problem.

So, why is it that so many people fall into the trap of procrastination?

For beginners, human brains are programmed to do so. We can conceptualize this process as a battle involving two parts of the brain when endured with a tough task. That’s a fight of the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system. If the limbic system wins the battle, which is often the case, postponement of tasks that should have been done today becomes the order of the day.

It’s pointless to censure your dirty procrastination norms on weather, hereditary, or even star signs. The wiring of your brain causes your move to procrastinate.

You need to know that the limbic system forms the largest portion of your brain that is ever working and is the only segment of the brain that is entirely developed from birth. This segment is responsible for controlling our mood as well as instinct. It also controls fundamental emotions such as pleasure, anxiety, anger, and so on. This part of the brain also lets you know when you’re approaching something unpleasant.

Therefore, to overcome procrastination, the prefrontal cortex has to trounce the limbic system whenever there’re rescheduling attempts. This segment is responsible for assimilating information and making decisions.

In simple terms, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that eventually compels us to get the job done. Unlike the limbic system, which works automatically, the prefrontal cortex requires effort to function. Every time you lose concentration on a subject, the limbic system automatically assumes the role. This is when you deviate from what you’re doing to something else that delights you; thus, procrastination steps in.

Takeaways

Procrastination is a habit that we tend to develop in our lives or careers. The willingness to keep postponing something for a further date, yet there is nothing constructive you’re doing presently, is all that procrastination entails. This habit can ruin your career, especially if it becomes the norm of the day. However, the great thing about procrastination is that it can be trounced with the right mindset and spirited effort. Therefore, if you’re a victim of procrastination, there is no need for alarm since this is something you can revert, provided you’re determined.

By embracing the discussed above ways to crush this plague, you can rest assured that it won’t take long before this habit becomes an issue of the past.

Originally published at http://stefanbradstreet.com on November 22, 2020.