Procrastination — How To Overcome With These Effective Skills

Are you in a habit of procrastinating? Tired of procrastination? Learn to Overcome procrastination with these 11 effective skills.

Working frantically the entire night to submit an assessment the next morning and thinking how to complete it before the deadline. Where did the time go? How come the deadline is so near? Why am I not able to complete the assessment on time?

The answer to all the above questions is ‘PROCRASTINATION’ , not only you but many others face the same situation.

Well still thinking where did all the time go?

Spending hours on social media, focusing on tasks that are comparatively less important, playing, or being lazy and resisting from taking the first step towards your task.

Procrastination is extremely common, it’s not the students or teenagers who procrastinate but each one of us does. Research suggests that procrastination is spread worldwide with 87% of the population procrastinate and about 45% face a negative impact.

Mostly it is found to be common in students who procrastinate most of their time spending on social media, games, etc and the main reason is said to be the Mobile Phone.

WHAT IS PROCRASTINATION?

It is a habit of delaying things, instead of completing the task postponing it to complete it later and eventually ending up doing nothing. The main reason for this delay is, thinking there is enough time to complete the task before the deadline.

Let me tell you something.

Procrastination has nothing to do with your work, Are you being serious? Yes, it has nothing to do with your work, it’s just a form of stress relief. Furthermore it is associated with a low confidence level, overthinking, bad routine habits, fighting with your loved ones or near ones, being scared of something etc.

ARE YOU A PROCRASTINATOR?

I don’t know. Maybe yes.

But wait. Are you really a Procrastinator?

It’s been rightly said by Mel Robbins — “ You are not a Procrastinator, you just have a habit of Procrastinating”

The reason is stress and you cannot get rid of it, but since it is a habit you can always change it. By changing habits you won’t get rid of stress but can reduce it.

For Eg. You have certain important Emails to make but stressed out because of personal reasons (maybe at work, home, or peer group), instead of focusing on the stress and procrastinating you can focus on other things or do stuff which can help in releasing stress.

Like watching a movie you like, taking a hot water shower etc. The choice is with you either to procrastinate or not.

PROCRASTINATING AND BEING LAZY ARE SAME?

No, procrastinating and being lazy are not the same, they are entirely different. An individual is being lazy when he/she purposely denies/delays the work or some other stuff, inactivity, not willing to put the effort or if that work requires hard work.

On the contrary procrastination is the habit of stress relieve, wanting to do the task but not able to concentrate because of stress.

HOW TO GET RID OF PROCRASTINATION?

Getting rid of this habit is not rocket science, it is a habit, or let’s say a bad habit and you will get rid of it, if you are ready to change your habits and indulge the skills given below.

Here is a list of skills to overcome this habit.

Engage yourself
Schedule a Time Table
Focus on Hard Tasks First
Divide the task
Take the Initial Step
Enhance your Environment
Identify the Flaws
Self Belief
Assessing Yourself
Follow Motivational Model
Be Grateful

Engage Yourself

Get yourself engaged in activities that cheer you up and bring a smile on your face, is a great way of releasing stress and getting back your energy. If you are interested in painting, writing, photography, reading, gardening etc, engage yourself instead of sitting idle and it will surely work as a stress reliever.

Not only as a stress reliever but engaging in activities will have a positive impact bringing out new opportunities, it might become a source of your passive income.

Schedule a Time Table

Without proper schedule and time management, you won’t be able to focus and complete the task before the deadline.

If you have a lot of tasks and projects to complete, make a time table for each of your tasks and work accordingly, the scheduling will help you to focus on completing your task before the deadline but also you will master your management skills.

Focus On Difficult Task First

Hard tasks are the ones that are left halfway while working, which eventually results in being not completed before the deadline because of more stress and commitment needed.

Try to figure out the time of the day when you feel more active, are you a morning bird? Or a night owl? Focus on your task during a suitable time of the day. It doesn’t mean that easy tasks should be left, it’s a fact that easy tasks are more prone to procrastination because most of you think that easy ones can be completed a day before and you land up at last minute hustle.

Divide the Task

A work/task divided into groups/sections is accomplished in a perfect and timely manner.

For Eg, If it’s a group assignment, try dividing various sections of the assignment among your team members which will result in efficient and effective results and less stress on each member.

On the contrary, if your task is solo, divide it into different sections and work on the task on daily basis and surely you will complete it within the specific period of time.

Take the Initial Step

Most of us procrastinate for a task because we are afraid to take the initial step, thinking how will I complete it, it’s difficult, require’s commitment and hard work.

The thoughts in your mind resist you from taking the initial steps or to start working on the task, once you start you are halfway down in completing the task. Give your thoughts a pause and kick start with your task.

Enhance Your Environment

Your environment plays a major role while you are working, a poorly lit or dark room will give negative vibes and you won’t be able to focus on your work.

Another aspect is social media and mobile phone which is a huge distraction, try keeping your mobile on silent mode or switch off to avoid distractions. A well to do environment will eventually enhance your productivity, so try focusing and improving your environment’s distractions.

Identify the Flaws

As you work, flaws may arise that distracts you and leads you to procrastinate, instead of piling up these flaws to tackle up later, try to overcome the flaws right away.

These everyday improvements will be a step to get rid of this habit.

Self Belief

The most important factor is to believe in yourself, nothing can be achieved if you think you can’t do it and don’t believe in yourself.

Start believing in yourself and you will achieve great things that you never thought of. Just think Procrastination is nothing, I can easily get rid of it and you are halfway down. The only thing that can stop you from achieving anything is only you.

Assessing Yourself

Keep a self-assessment record for yourself and watch how you overcame your flaws down the road and you will be amazed to see it. Reward yourself for everyday achievement, take a nap, grab some nachos to watch Netflix and Chill. It will boost your confidence.

Follow Motivational Model

Keep yourself motivated by watching success stories of successful people, motivational quotes. Don’t copy rather get inspired and work and surely it will boost your confidence to take a step ahead every day.

Be Grateful

Always be grateful for what you have tried and never curse yourself. The thing that matters is your effort and not the result, your self-forgiveness will help you to boost your confidence.

CONCLUSION

Overcoming Procrastination is not that hard, it only depends upon how much effort you are willing to put in it. The only barrier that stops you from achieving anything is only you, so don’t let yourself stop you and get in the process to get rid of this habit.

What was your experience with Procrastination? Did you have any negative impact? Let me know about your experiences!

Originally published at https://www.thefinerversion.com.