By Mark DaCosta- Guyanese know a lot about putting off necessary tasks. We tell ourselves that we can do them tomorrow; we make excuses to ourselves for not getting today’s work done today. Experts call this behavior procrastination.
According to psychologists, Procrastination is the habit of avoiding urgent or important tasks despite knowing of negative consequences. When people procrastinate, they often delay priorities and instead, focus on less important, more enjoyable, simpler tasks. In other words, procrastination is not just putting off a task; it is okay to put off doing an important thing if there is a good reason for it. Instead, Procrastination is the action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing doing something despite knowing that there will be negative repercussions later.
Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is more than just laziness or poor time management; it goes deeper than that. This article will explore what it is, what are some of the causes, and how we may work to overcome it
At this point it should be noted that Guyanese need not feel guilty about procrastination; studies have concluded that some 70 percent of people worldwide admit to having the habit. One psychologist said that, “90 percent of my patients procrastinate, and I suspect that the other 10 percent may be hiding it so well that I can’t see it.”
Having those facts, one may wonder – if almost everyone procrastinates, what’s the big deal; why do I need to work to stop doing it? The simple answer is, because procrastination ultimately makes us unhappy; it degrades our quality of life, so, overcoming it would result in a better life.
Experts know a lot about procrastination; thousands of studies have been done, and there are countless academic papers on the subject. Most of the studies have been done with high school and university students, but, psychologists say that the results of their research are applicable to almost everyone.
Procrastination makes us unhappy.
When we put off doing important things, at the end of that day we often feel as though we have wasted the day; we may feel guilty, stressed, and apprehensive about tomorrow. On the following day, we may feel overwhelmed by the mountain of tasks that have built up over previous days. And because we feel unable to deal with so many things, we may put off doing anything again, and, in this way, the mountain of tasks gets ever higher and more intimidating, and the problem gets worse.
One should note that people who procrastinate may do so for many reasons. In the majority of instances, there may be an underlying issue such as low self-esteem, depression, or anxiety. Also, the behavior is associated with internet addiction. As such, any underlying problem may need to be addressed first.
How do we stop procrastinating?
Various experts have proposed the following steps.
Identify the problem.
If you think you have a problem, you probably do. Ask yourself: do I avoid tasks; do I deny that avoidance; do I lie to myself, and say that a task is not important; do I use the internet to distract myself; do I tell myself that other things are more important than the task? If the answers are “yes,” then, there is a procrastination problem.
Start small.
For many of us, a task may seem too big, and we may avoid it. For example, writing this article may have seemed like a huge undertaking, but by jist starting it, one would have gotten over the hardest part.
List consequences.
If thoughts such as, “I can do this tomorrow” start to cross your mind, recognise that you are about to procrastinate. At that point it may be useful to take a breath, and write down what the consequences will be. That assignment will be late, the laundry will build up, the boss will be angry, etc. Seeing the consequences written down may act as motivation to continue the task to completion.
Reduce distractions.
Distractions could be social media or games. Why not turn off notifications and move the distracting apps from your home screen. Or, if the neighbors are playing loud music and you have to finish a school assignment, why not go to the library or a park to do it?
Make the task pleasant.
Perhaps, playing soft music will help. Perhaps, having a snack or favourite beverage while you work would make the task easier.
If you have a schedule of tasks, stick with it.
That final point speaks for itself.
In closing, people who experience procrastination and know it, are aware that it can be a source of worry, stress, and unhappiness. With that in mind, overcoming the problem is definitely worth the effort.
