Have you in anywise put off your assignment till the final minute? Or maybe studied for a test only a day ahead? Perhaps postponed writing an essay till the last feasible hour? We are all guilty of delaying chores and shelving crucial work until a later date.
This is practically procrastinating. As procrastinating is the act of deliberately postponing/halting any task or activity and this is no rare phenomenon. Virtually everyone is culpable of it at some level in their lives.
Various reasons lead to a person procrastinating which varies from person to person and situation to situation. However, some common reasons prompt people to procrastinate.
The most prominent of them is the fear of failure. When individual delays in carrying out a crucial task or are disinterested in completing one, this could be the cause of a deep-rooted fear of failure. It is an element of human behaviour to avert and fear disappointment. So by deciding not to complete the task, one can avoid the aftermath as well, taking myself as an example, I am constantly hesitating to participate in any contest from the crypto academy cause I feel no matter what I do, even if it's a 3,000 words essay, I will never get what is expected of me, thus, no chance of being among the top performers whereas there those with less than 600 words article winning.
Another common reason for procrastination could be the lack of focus and devotion. The feeling of being directionless and unfocused constantly causes people to lose their will to carry out a task. This brings about procrastination. Occasionally the lack of purposes and motives is also a reason an individual loses their focus. Heretofore, they do not have a future objective in mind, they end up wasting efforts on other meaningless tasks.
There are several additional reasons a person may choose to procrastinate. Sometimes, an individual may be an extreme perfectionist. This diverts their attention from other tasks. We can not also forget that there are other reasons such as idleness, the feeling of weakness, being easily distracted, etc.
Procrastination is a very factual drawback we all share, it can get relatively problematic if not taken care of. Extreme procrastination can sicken your life and cause you to lose custody of your plans. So in other not to let procrastination gets out of hand, I apply the following ways.
One applicable way that helps me stop procrastinating is to break down my dreaded task into small steps. If the work or the task is excessively oppressive, we tend to procrastinate about it. But if this same job is broken down into smaller stages or tasks, then we can tackle it one step at a time without being subdued. You can also create a thorough schedule or give a timeline to help you with the steps.
Subsequent times, changing my work environment has proven to be beneficial. This can also provide you with the upswing needed to stop procrastinating and finish the task.
Getting a partner or friend to keep a check on my progress has also proved to be of great help. It helps keep the morale levels up and motivates you to finish the task on time.
Trying not to overthink it is another way that helps calm the nerves as a plan doesn't always have to be perfect, no matter what, no one is a pure perfectionist and we learn from failures too if not more. So just go get the work done. Spending hours, days, weeks or even months scheduling something, will only cause you endless delays.
Then, try not to wait for long to start a plan. Yes, you have sprung up an excellent plan to carry out. Then why haven't you started just yet? Stop waiting for the perfect time, as there is no perfect time or plan. Start small, learn and improve as you go. This was the perfect example of my Steemit Journey, I always made up excuses when I was to start and even when I started, it was either my phone is bad or I did not get support so why continue but as I went on, I learned more and I must say, I feel the supports of everyone around be it tangible.
The major interest is not to over-focus or criticize yourself for procrastinating occasionally. We are all sufferers of procrastination from time to time. As much as it does not derail your whole plan, give yourself a break and the needed rest sometimes before getting back to work!
Thank you all for always making out time to go through my work, and I only hope you enjoyed it😉😁. I can never say thank you enough. You are my real MVPs.
NOTE: Always have a smile on your face, as you are never fully dressed without one.
