There is a saying in Hindi derived from the well-known Kabir doha (poem),‘Kal kare so aaj kar,
aaj kare so ab, pal mey pralay hoyegi bahuri karego kab’. Words to that effect in English would be ‘tomorrow
never comes’. In fact, the word ‘procrastinate’ comes from the Latin word
meaning ‘belonging to tomorrow.’
Procrastination is an exercising
of choice, i.e., not to do
something now and pushing it to the backburner. Studies have found that even
the procrastinators who feel bad about their habit, procrastinate more and more
in the future. Since we all try to avoid negative feelings in life, i.e.,
fear of falling short, boredom, anxiety, frustration and guilt, we’re more
likely to put off work that makes us feel negative emotions. Thus, it can
be said that procrastination has less to do with time management and more about
our emotions.
The impact of procrastination: A study has shown that the habit of delaying on a regular
basis can have devastating effects as listed below:
- A long-lasting impact on our brain such that
we permanently lose the ability to work on complex tasks which require deep
focus, creativity, an analytical mindset, problem-solving ability, etc.
- Quality work is not accomplished because it
is done at the last minute and in a hurry.
- Erodes our self-confidence and we also lose
the confidence and respect of others.
- Loss of a wonderful opportunity to reiterate
/ exhibit our capability, discipline, sincerity, professionalism, etc.
- Adds stress to the self which impacts our
mental health.
- Adds to frustration, anxiety, which impacts
our relationships at work as well as at home.
- Most important, the long-term impact over
years is disliking ourselves, disliking the practice / life itself, getting
frustrated, disillusioned, demotivated and depressed.
Types of procrastinators: Now, we shall look at various types of procrastinators and attempt to
understand different types of people (although this is not an exhaustive list):
- Type
1- Pressure worker: Believes
that he / she works best under pressure. The attitude is that ‘I can manage
pressure’ and therefore they would not start off till the deadline is near.
- Type
2 – Blames oneself: Keeps
believing himself wrong and berating himself. May be working very hard. May
assume that he is a good multi-tasker and considers that he is among the 2% of
human beings who are effective, which may not be true.
- Type
3 – Busy bee: Always busy and restless
type, whose calendar is always full and overflowing. May be full of
almost-done, half done and at times routine works mixed with important works.
His life is quite cluttered.
- Type
4 – Entrepreneur outlook: Always
looking for challenges. If anything new comes along, he parks the present and
launches into the new project till something else interesting comes on.
How to avoid Procrastination: The key question is, how can we break this terrible habit? Once we accept
that we do have it, we should understand why we delay; possibly, there are some
ways to overcome this challenge and live a full, confident and effective
professional life. Some actions to resolve it could be as under:
- Use
technology to your advantage and let it
not control your life. Have a dedicated time for its usage and keep the device
away from you when not needed. Marrying into mindless serials and entertainment
with no time limits would be at the cost of education.
- A
5-minute rule can be applied, i.e., if
you don’t want to do something, make a deal with yourself to do at least five
minutes of it. After that, it’s more probable that you will end up doing the
whole thing.
- Break
goals and tasks down into smaller chunks. Whenever you notice a task leading to negative emotions or anxiety, take
a minute and ask yourself,‘What is the smallest step I can take to move forward
with this?’
- Build
the habit to stop procrastinating, i.e., once a habit
loop is developed, then tasks would no more be emotionally taxing. For us, one
hour of deep reading.
- Use
the power of accountability – Commit to
your client, friend, boss, colleague, employee about the clear time at which
you would accomplish a particular task.
- Time-blocking
technique – This is one of the most powerful techniques
used by achievers. In the blocked time do not do any other task.
- Do
the hard and important tasks first: Our daily biological clocks, known as our Circadian Rhythm, ensure that
we are often at our most alert state in the morning.
- Developing
hobbies: Add some exercise / game to your life to give
a chance to reorient and get the right chemicals released to improve.
- Declutter
and organise workspace / area and mind. A
desk full of books, files, papers does not inspire much confidence.
My wish:
- Don’t postpone your greatness – strive to be
your best self,
- Don’t postpone speaking the truth [without
hurting others unnecessarily],
- Don’t postpone being the biggest optimist in
office and at home,
- Don’t postpone loving and being
compassionate, and
- Don’t postpone being authentic, even if
nervous.
