The Science of Procrastination: 3 reasons Why We Do It and 6 ways of How to Stop

The moment am writing this I am a victim of chronic procrastination. It’s so serious to a point that I had to do an extensive research on the topic to get me out of this pickle. But all is good since being a biomedical science graduate researching is my thaang.. LOL, so let me give you an example of every day procrastination scenario.

Imagine you have project report due on next week but you have not started a single page yet, your mind lingers the idea of your project report but your heart wants something completely different like scrolling through your social media, watching movies and just sleep your way through the day.. You think hey! I do well under pressure so I’ll do my report like two days before the deadline and I’ll be fine.. But BUT? Do you? This my friends is a classic example of procrastination that we go through pretty often in our lives. You might think this is a simple act of laziness that people go through not “Procrastination”. But unfortunately it is..

Get to know about procrastination traits in our lives is so needed as it tends to bleeds in to other aspects of one’s day to day activities, like exercising, healthy eating and building meaningful relationships with others. So a pretty serious issue we have in hands to address more further, let’s see what we can do in order to be safe from procrastination..

According to experts procrastination fundamentally an emotional issue. You’ll always find a negative emotion attached to the goal you always procrastinate, like fear. What are we thinking here? There can be many underlying reasons like..

Procrastination habits

• Fear of failing to achieve the goal
• Fear of what other people think of what you are doing
• Lacking the initiative to get started

If you think deeper you can always makes a connection between how those above mentioned causes have adversely effected on your goals that have been set aside or ignored.

So how we get passed this? How we train our minds to be more productive and efficient to achieve our goals.

A strong reason

First and the most important thing is you should have is a strong reason to commit to your goal, like you have a passion for the subject, or a monetary value out of the goal.

Actively engage in your task/goal

You should really put your mind and soul so that your task wouldn’t be boring or frustrating

Don’t make unrealistic goals or plans

What I mean here is don’t make very strict plans that you know you are incapable of achieving. At the end of the day you are the one who knows who you are.

Spend short periods of time doing the big task

If you can, break down your task in to small portions, by doing so you will reach your goal even without noticing. Also studies have shown that by breaking down a task you will have a nice momentum and less weight on the ultimate outcome.

Make the goal your screensaver

This is ideally for a long term goal, what you can do is make a digital vision board out of your goal and make it your wallpaper of the phone and the digital devices you have.This will help you get there faster.

Implementing a reward system.

Last but the most important and effective thing to get out from procrastination is implementing a reward system.

once you completed a task. That urge of enjoying the sweet reward will always be a positive reinforcement for your progress. This known to be a very effective and practical solution to procrastination.

Conclusion

So this is my summed up simple yet effective approach to get out of that procrastination pickle. This monster will Creep out at any moment of weakness in your life coz we only human! so take a few deep breaths, look for the first opportunity to recommit to your goal, and achieve everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

FAQs

1. What causes procrastination? Procrastination is fundamentally an emotional issue, often associated with negative feelings like fear and lack of motivation.

2. Can setting realistic goals help combat procrastination? Yes, setting achievable, realistic goals is essential to stay on track and overcome procrastination.

3. How can I stay motivated to complete my tasks? One effective method is to implement a reward system, where you treat yourself after accomplishing a task.

4. Is procrastination a common problem? Yes, procrastination is a widespread issue that many people face in their daily lives.

5. Why is active engagement important in overcoming procrastination? Active engagement ensures that your tasks remain interesting and less likely to become tedious, helping you avoid procrastination.