So first off, it is important to realize why do we procrastinate? You have to understand that procrastination is very different from intentionally delaying a task or a problem of effective time-management, something college students are often blamed for lacking. Procrastination occurs because we fail to control our emotions. When we indulge in procrastinating, it is because we are trying to boost our mood by avoiding something that weare dreading to do, possibly because of a strong dislike associated with it. Procrastination can be put in the same category as comfort eating for it is a coping mechanism.
How to deal with Procrastination?
Procrastination is surprisingly more common among people who pursue perfectionism and understandably also people who truly dread failure. And unfortunately, procrastination is found more in younger people as they find it harder to control their emotions compared to older adults. However, the good part is that with some work, procrastination can be easily managed. Let us go through the best methods.
By practicing meditation, one can learn mindfulness techniques. These allow one to acknowledge that the task at hand is not something they would like to do, without making a judgment on that feeling. Once we realize that we can then remind ourselves why is the task important and then commit to making a start. Once the task is started and there is tangible progress that helps to bring about a feel-good about oneself feeling and help to take that task to completion.
One of the biggest reasons for procrastination is that the task at hand seems too big and often scares us even before we get on it! Big tasks are inherently intimidating and unpleasant.
So when going about a task, or even setting down this new year’s resolutions, never write down big goals. Say, for example, your aim is to finally write your long-outstanding novel so do not write down “Write Novel this year” instead write a mini-goal such as “find your main character”.
It is very important you break your end goal into small achievable tasks. This allows you to see how you will eventually reach your goal, thus making the task seem a lot easier to achieve and even helps one overcome the inertia of starting.
Punishing yourself actually yields the opposite result. Research has shown that students who forgave themselves for indulging in procrastinationhave higher chances of not falling into the same trap on their next assignment.
The greater the guilt and anger you feel, the more the chance that you are going to deplete your energies on those feelings and delay your next task.
If you are achieving personal growth and development for this year, then procrastination is the first roadblock that you should overcome. Once you beat the habit of procrastinating, you will find that life will become a lot easier.
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