PROCASTINATION

source

Procrastination can be defined as the act of delaying or postponing something. When you procrastinate, you basically have a problem in persuading yourself to do the things you ought to do.

Procrastination is one of the things that stop people from getting up and taking on decisions which could give them the dream life they've dreamed of. This is bad because this act can make you loose an opportunity and once you’ve lost one you are now filled with guilt and regret that tend to stay with you for a long time.

Despite how procrastination may be seen as nothing once you start it, you unknowingly continue it because you feel it just pushes the problem away from you for the mean time. You begin to while away meaningful time which could’ve been spent on something innovative or important. This is a problem that most people are faced with or i have been faced with and sometimes still am. But how do you overcome it?
First lets fully understand this

Types of procastinators

According to amber piit a writer and entrepreneur, there are 4 types of procastinators which sums up some people’s unexplainable feelings towards procrastination.

• fun procrastination- these people just want to avoid the task at hand due to it being boring or stressful when they could be having fun and so they just post pone the matter at hand

• the plenty of time procrastinator this prominently falls among youths and students alike most especially when the deadline is pretty far away and then youre like what the heck , it can wait. You prolong this work until the dead minutes leading to a wild rush that couldve been avoided.

• the perfectionist - a perfectionist only strives for perfection and hence most times they criticize their own work. Sometimes these particular set of people just feel like prolonging or procrastinating the work due to fear if failing to reach their exceedingly high expectations

• anxious procrastinator these class of procastinators focus on those who take on more work than they could handle giving themselves no time at all. When these tasks begin to feel impossible to complete they begin to feel an overwhelming urge to just postpone or procrastinate it.

Causes of procrastination

• lack of motivation - using steemit as an example when i first started, I actually felt it was too stressful making posts most of the times and it wasnt even appreciated on top of it and so i just gave up and continued prolonging any work i got but seeing how it had changed most of friends life for good just encouraged me to get back in the game . Lack of motivation can as well cause procrastination.

• laziness- most task seem like too much work for people and to avoid it they just postpone it. Laziness is a major cause of procrastination and to get over this problem u can reward yourself with something after each complete task.

• lack of focus and fatigue-when you’re distracted completing a work at that moment it seems almost impossible some times and it gets difficult to focus while you're fatigued hence you’ll require enough sleep, exercise,a diet and avoid distractions 📵🗣📺......

• perfectionism- perfectionist seek a perfect work which may lead them to postponing one due to fear of failure as a result of some imperfection. One requires enough confidence and focus to over come to problem.

• indecisiveness- some tasks may be quite difficult and impending on some people hence they may not understand where to start from to get it done. It leads to quite some thinking and after a while they give up. It happens even on steemit, i know a friend like that who has difficulty taking on task and because of this he feels he just cant write. I believe he can and so I advised him to start anywhere even from the middle and as you go on more things will come up in your head.

• fear - the fear of failure or rejection pushed people to want to avoid a particular task and hence one would need to build enough confidence to face this. Fear of outcomes will only hold you back for a long time. One has to accept failure it self because its just a stepping stone into victory.

why i avoid procrastinating

As little as the topic goes procrastination can become an addiction like a drug. When you start it and do it again, it just keeps on getting in the way. We need to understand that you can’t prolong your problems , you have to face it orelse it could come back and bite you back in the ass, thats just how procrastination is.

It has ruined lives, people begin to loose trust in you as you make promises you cant keep by saying “i will do this or i will do that and not sticking to it” you never get work done and it could cause personal psychological and physical issues how? Imagine if you had something important to do and you kept pushing it back, naturally your mind brings it back to you as a reminder and you spend your time thinking about it and the fear of not getting it right, this can be stressful mentally and can begin to cause anxiety issues and emotional distress .
It’s something we do everyday of our lives most times unawares. The first step towards beating this is by admitting you have a problem with procrastinating. I can give you an instance of when it hit me bad

Experience with procrastination

Ive had so many encounters with procrastinating but the one which I regretted the most was back in my secondary school (highschool). So we had this project defence coming up one time but the date was announced to be next month and I wasn’t bothered. The project was a tough one and made up like most of our semester scores due to the ebola virus outbreak that occurred lessening our school period.

When i wanted to start it, it felt so complex and difficult. I just didn’t want to feel stressed so i just said you know what? There is enough time and so i went on with my normal activities. Over time, the fact that i had a project to do kept on popping in my head but i just pushed it away as it did. I kept it this way till the next month and few more days till our project defense. I came to school one day and it was announced we would be submitting it the next day due to complications that occurred with upcoming holidays. I had never panicked so much in my life.

When i got home i did my project it was done half hazardly and not as comprehensive as expected. I had a 68 percent on the test which was poor and i felt really bad as it affected my numerical score at the end of the semester. My parents weren’t happy either, my mom scolded me for my nonchalant attitude towards my work and i had to attend summer lessons that period to make it up. I fell into the cycles of procrastination

My procrastination made up of most of the causes of procrastination i listed above, lack of motivation, indecisiveness, laziness lack of focus etc.

How i over came my procrastination

source

Whenever im faced with complex situation such as the experience i had above. When its too much and quite difficult I really dont have to finish it all when i start, i make research then do what i can on the first try and give my self a break as a reward , that way i don't feel fatigued or stressed. Im not a perfectionist but i mean who doesn’t what a full test score😅.

I motivate my self by visioning what it would feel like if i got a 100 on a test and the praises i would get. A saying goes if you shoot for the stars you will land on the clouds meaning even if i work hard for a 100% and don't get it, i would get something pretty close to a hundred like a 95 or 97 etc. This helped and pushed me alot.

I avoided distractions by turning of my phones and switching of my light bulb in my room, here is why, in my country we have shortage of power so we don't get much light around and when we see the power come on, everyone wants to go do something like watch the tv for a show or go to their phones. We dont have a public library in my town either and i can’t necessarily stay late at school because its pretty far and walking home late isnt safe. So i switch off my lights and switch off my phones and start working. If may need my laptop or phone for research then i put it on and specifically use my google and put it back off when im done that way I’m able to finish my work faster.

In conclusion

People deal with procrastination in their own various ways, i strongly believe the first step towards beating this act especially when you do it regularly is by admitting you procrastinate alot and would love to stop it. That way you remind yourself when you’re about to procrastinate.

Procrastinate most times have led to bad news which results in anxiety, depression laziness etc most people don’t understand how devastating it could be especially if its been made a habit. With these few tips i used for mine i hope ive been able to help someone out there struggling with this issue. So with this few tips of mine i would love to invite @timi99 @alphafx and @awesononso to share their stories and tips on this contest just like i had done.

Cc
@fabio2614