PROCRASTINATION.

Do it Now.

We struggle on a daily basis to stick to plans and schedules we have to keep up with. Getting that grocery, doing that laundry just seems to keep piling up with no sight of getting done.

Procrastination can simply be put in plain terms as the thin line between saying something and actually doing it. But let’s get an accurate definition;

“Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished at a certain deadline. It could further be stated as an habitual or intentional delay of starting or finishing a task despite knowing it might have negative consequences” Source: Wikipedia

It’s so easy to push what you can do now till later. As stated earlier, it could be habitual; that means it’s been repeated so much that it becomes a habit. It could also be intentional; being done on purpose. Maybe you are cramped up at the moment that you intentionally push some work till later. This could have drastic and terrible consequences on the long run.

Procrastination happens in stages which if not stopped can limit you from attaining your maximum potentials. Let’s identify the various stages procrastination occurs;

• FALSE SECURITY: This involves a false sense that your schedule and plans aren’t due yet so you have more time to push it aside. This is a facade as time keeps ticking and you might have to rush through your plans without doing it properly.
• LAZINESS: I like to think laziness is more mentally than physical. Whatever you’ve concluded mentally to not do, you can’t actually do physically. Our subconscious plays a major role in our daily activities and actions. Constantly pushing over what you should do now can build up to laziness.
• EXCUSES: There’s a phrase that sheds light to excuses, it’s simply put as “Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure” What restricting you from attaining your highest peak? What excuses do you constantly dwell up that prevent you from finishing that project or registering at the gym? What excuses prevents you from being your best self? Ponder on these.
• DENIAL: This simply means the unwillingness to accept a thing or a certain reality. What are you constantly in denial of? Denial often comes from a place of fear. Being afraid of failing, succeeding. Being afraid of the reactions you might get around you. Being afraid of doing it before others.
• CRISIS: This happens when you get overwhelm by how much you have to do with no little time. All the pushovers have suddenly accumulated and you can’t get a hold on how to deal with it. At the stage, you mainly deal with regrets. Regrets of being incapable, of looking unserious. At this stage, the worries just keeps pouring in. You’ll find yourself constantly asking where all the time went. How you’re never going to procrastinate again. All the walls come rumbling down. All hell is loose.
• REPEAT: After all this and the cycle is repeated over and over again. All words of affirming you’d never procrastinate fall to ashes. You see yourself over again shifting blames and pushing over.

{ An illustration of how procrastination works }

Since we’ve identified the stages of procrastination and how it occurs, let’s see how to deal with it.

I usually preach BABY STEPS.

Start small.

Nothing overwhelming. Start gradually.

• First, you identify what you have to do. You can draw up a plan starting from the most important to the least important. Here, you prioritize considering how much time it would take to get these individual tasks done.
• Secondly, you actually start your most important task. You’ve to consciously tell yourself how much you want to accomplish with that particular task. You can start by putting up a daily reminder to give an hour each day to progressing with the said task. To attain reasonable progress, you need to reduce every form of distraction to the minimum so you can properly concentrate on what you want to do.
• Thirdly, work towards finishing your tasks before the deadline. A week before the deadline gives you proper time to read over what you’ve done and make corrections where needed. It also allows you to other activities conveniently without worries of tasks you’ve to finish. It also makes you feel better and more in charge of your time and life in generally.

We are not different from everywhere. What however separates the achievers from the non achievers is DILLIGENCE.

A diligent person has no time to procrastinate. He/ She is very aware of themselves and are very interested in progressing in life. They know every second of the day counts and they put it to good work.

Diligence is a personal choice and decision. You can make a decision today to take absolute charge of your life and time. Diligence is doing what should be done at the right time. Diligence is attractive in every form and should be practiced daily. At your homes, with people, offices, even with strangers.

Interested in attaining your maximum potential in life? Let’s try being dilligent. Let’s try fulfilling tasks before deadlines. Let’s stop pushovers. Let’s make more conscious decisions to do better and be better.