Why You Procrastinate, And How To Stop.
It’s Saturday night and the clock is ticking. As the minute hand makes its way closer and closer to the 12am deadline, you work furiously in an attempt to get your assignment done.
“Why did I leave it to the last minute?!” You exclaim, “How did this happen!?”
Does this sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone!
In this post, I’m going to be delving into the topic of procrastination! Something we all know oh so well!
What is it? Why do we do it? And how do I stop it?
Want to know all the answers!? Then keep reading!
Hope you enjoy!
WHAT IS PROCRASTINATION?
Procrastination is the act of postponing or delaying one of more tasks. It is ultimately a force that prevents you from following through on what you set out to do.
No matter how well organised, motivated or commited you are, procrastination is something we all experience.
Chances are you’ve found yourself scrolling through insta, binging netflix or online shopping as you eat away at hours of time knowing that should have been spent doing something else!
WHY DO I PROCRASTINATE?
If you want to tackle your bad habit of procrastination, figuring out WHY you procrastinate is one of the first steps!
Here are some potential reasons why YOU are prone to procrastination!
You self doubt
You create abstract goals for yourself
You find work a boring Task
You are scared of success
You are scared of negative feedback
You are a perfectionist
You are scared of failure
You find yourself feeling overwhelmed
You are a poor decision maker
You get distracted easily
You often feel exhausted
You have little to no motivation
If you find yourself procrastinating because of one or more of the reasons mentioned above, make it a personal goal to stop that negative habit in order to help you stop procrastinating!
HOW DO I STOP?
Set A Deadline
Without a set deadline, goals can easily get put off indefinitely. To avoid this, treat your goals (for examples school work or chores) like a school assignment, and ideally get it done as soon as possible! This works best for me, as it allows me to keep a relatively empty to-do list so I can relax during any of my free time.
Get Organised
Organisation is a necessity when it comes to getting work done and avoiding procrastination, a feeling I know all too well! By having a clean and organised place to study, an organised daily schedule and calendar, and an organised work ethic that caters to your personal needs, you set yourself up for success! Check out my other blog posts for more info!
Commit To It
To ensure you commit 100% to your task at hand, focus on doing rather than avoiding. Write down the exact tasks you need to complete as you receive them (so you don’t forget!) and allocate time to complete them! This will help you tackle your work and keep on top if it all!
Remove Distractions
The number one cause for procrastination is distractions! Anything that makes you lose focus, and do something else instead of, or to avoid, completing your work. Some of the main distractions include phone notifications and calls, social media, the TV, surrounding people, loud noises or food. To avoid any of these, set up your study station in a quiet, comfortable place where you can focus without a fridge, phone or TV in sight!
Break Your Goal Into Smaller Tasks
Breaking up your goals into smaller tasks allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment as you complete work. This links directly to staying motivated while working on a large, or lengthy assignment, as it physically displays your achievements. What I personally like to do, is to break down my tasks into multiple categories. For example, I would break down an essay task into research, structure, Paragraph 1/2/3 e.t.c. , edit and draft, and put each of these points on a separate post-it note or point on my to-do list. This way, I don’t feel the need to complete the entire task in one go to feel accomplished.
Stay Motivated
In my opinion, everyone's best work comes from a passionate mindset. Know that feeling when you start writing and get into a groove, and it’s like you could go on and on without hesitation. That’s the mindset that I mean. Motivation is the key to not only completing work, but presenting work of your best ability and standard! As i’ve mentioned, there are many ways to stay motivated during stressful times. Some examples include rewarding yourself, plotting your progress or setting goals!
Reward Yourself
Once again, rewarding yourself links directly to keeping motivated whilst completing work and study. Without motivation, you could easily start experiencing symptoms of burnout, which often leads to avoiding work altogether. Rewarding yourself along the way is crucial as it allows you to look after yourself mentally and physically. This could be with a sweet treat, a self care night, or an episode on Netflix.
Change Your Perspective
By changing your perspective, I pretty much mean rephrasing your internal dialogue, or the way your mind perceives work and assignments. When you say “I need to” or “I have to,” you imply that you have no choice but to get your work done, even if it means you don’t end up finishing it due to stress or self-sabotage. Whereas, by saying to yourself “I choose to,” you feel more in control of your workload.
Ask Someone To Check On You
As upsetting as it is in society, peer pressure is a very real thing! If you ask someone to check on you each day, or to ask you where you’re at, you are much more likely to complete the work in order to display your abilities! This is the main reasoning behind homeworks or self-help groups. Rely on a close friend, family member or phone app to keep you on your toes!
Complete The Worst Tasks First
While it may seem annoying at first, saving the ‘best’ (or most enjoyable!) for last is definitely the way to go when doing work. Not only does completing any unpleasant tasks allow you to concentrate harder on activities you enjoy more for the rest of the day, but it is scientifically proven that humans are most motivated at the start of the day, specifically before 12pm. (This is why we find we procrastinate more in the afternoon, after a long day of school or work!)
The Bottom Line:
Procrastination is completely normal. It’s something we all do from time to time.
Whether you dread completing somewhat simple tasks like doing the laundry, working out or emptying your school bag, or struggle to get yourself to complete longer, much harder tasks like assignments and studying, procrastination is something we should all be aware of and try to stop.
While making the occasional excuse is completely valid in specific scenarios, we should all make it a personal goal to stop making excuses. “I’m too busy. I’m too stressed. I’m too tired!”
Your time is now! So go and get it done! Whatever it may be!
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Hi, I’m Mia!
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