Why Procrastinate?
Procrastination, the bane of all existence. Be it children, teenagers, working adults or the elderly, we
have definitely experienced procrastination throughout our lives, whether we like to admit it or not. A
classic example, waking up in the middle of the night with a full bladder, considering whether to head
for release in the bathroom or continue lying in bed, hopefully waking up again when the alarm rings
(with no soaked bedsheets). Such is the act of procrastination, where we practice carrying out less
urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less
pleasurable ones i.e. sleeping versus peeing, thus putting off important tasks to a later time, sometimes
to the "last minute". They call this ‘Peecrastination’.
We question ourselves, why do we actually commit ourselves to such wayward thinking? While the
reasons for procrastination may vary, the results are often the same - a seemingly endless cycle of
anxiety, avoidance, and shame. Fear of failing and also success often leads us to sit back and enjoy the
current status quo. The fear of failure frightens us, while that of success scares us by promising higher
expectations and future challenges. At the end of the day, nothing gets done and we are haunted by
lingering thoughts of our unfinished work, unable to enjoy our lives in peace. Good news for us all, there
is hope. I shall list down several reasons why we procrastinate and helpful techniques in which we can
combat them the right way.
1) Overcome feeling overwhelmed
At times, we feel that there is just too much work to be done in a given time period, and ironically this
can lead us to procrastinate when we can least afford it. There are three steps to avoid this, which is to
eliminate, delegate and negotiate. Talk to yourself, ask yourself what is important and get started on
those first. Eliminate negligible activities such as finishing a drama series and focus on clearing deadlines
such as preparing for the common test the coming Monday. Be honest with yourself, no one said it was
going to be easy. Do not be afraid to seek help from others if you cannot handle everything alone.
Discuss with friends and family any strategies which could positively help with your time management as
they should know you best.
2) Play off Perfectionism
One reason why we constantly put off doing work is the idea of perfectionism, where we tell ourselves
whatever we do must be either perfect or not done at all. This will prove to be a recipe for disaster, as it
is merely an excuse for us to delay till the inevitable. If one has no due dates for a piece of work, he or
she could well delay till the point of inaction. We have to realize that being perfect is merely a state of
disillusion. Who is to judge what is perfect or what is not? Start on whatever needs to be done, and
leave weak excuses such as perfectionism behind. Look at things from another perspective, by finishing
work earlier, you are clearing up your agenda by releasing more time later on, to do more ‘perfect’ work!
3) Minimize distractions
As we embark on the journey of booming technological advances, we cannot help but to be too
submerged into the online world at times, via any technological device with data subscription or Wi-Fi. It
is easy to say we should cut down or minimize on such but let’s face it, almost everyone has access to
the internet network now. Such incessant dependence on social media for example drains our valuable
time away from us to achieve productivity and accomplish our tasks at hand. Here are some feasible
ways to reduce the time spent on social media online.
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Seek help. Hand all forms of communication devices to a trustworthy person for safekeeping for
a certain time duration. Complete your designated tasks before reaching out to reclaim your
assets.
Limit your time spent on social media to a maximum of two hours a day (depending on your
schedule). Be serious about it. Track yourself to take note of your own progress.
4) Make up for lack of skills
It is common for us to delay our tasks till later, when we do not feel confident about our abilities to
accomplish them. However, just because we aren’t capable of doing something today does not mean
that we will never be able to do it. Develop your skills every day. Always prepare yourself during good
times to prepare for the bad times. Even if you do not require a certain skill set today, you never know if
you will need them the next day. Develop an active mind and be in pursuit of skills which you foresee
may need in your daily work. This will ensure steadfast preparedness in facing any work received and
acts as a natural motivator to finish up the job quickly and efficiently. In turn, this combats the hounding
of sloth and procrastination in our everyday lives.
Written by: Tyo Gensen
Links/ Some useful websites
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/overcoming-procrastination.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination
http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/03/25/why-you-procrastinate-and-how-to-stop-itnow/