It’s 11:00 P.M and you have a paper due tomorrow. You could have started last week like you promised you would. But well, here you are, struggling to make ends meet.
Sounds familiar? Well, you are not alone in this. Procrastination is the act of putting off a task over and over again, for varying reasons. Roughly 95% of us are familiar with this process, and fortunately, it can be resolved.
Firstly, procrastination is not laziness. Often we find people saying things like “Oh I’m so lazy I keep procrastinating all the time.” Surprisingly, there is a sizeable difference between the two
Procrastinators tend to have the desire to do something, but somehow cannot get themselves to do it. Lazy people, however, lack the desire itself and are all right with doing nothing. Click here to learn if you are a procrastinator.
Here are 4 tested methods that can definitely cure your ever-lasting problem of procrastination:
1) Break it down
For instance, writing a thesis can be pretty overwhelming. But how hard is it to turn your topic into a question? Quite easy. By doing this, you will prevent avoiding the task as a whole. After all, it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to form a question. Tell yourself to work for merely 5 minutes, and then you can stop if you feel like. Our aim here is to make the beginning as simple as possible.
2) Call up with a workmate
Working with a buddy is always refreshing. Plus, it is easier to get things done when there is someone to be answerable to. Fill them in with your progress every week, and if possible call them up and work together. Although stay wary of working with a rather talkative friend, as it will be no good for either of you.
3) Cut down distractions
Even after you start, all it takes is one notification to crawl back into the enticing world of social media. To prevent that, eliminate all sources of distraction. Inform your family and friends to not disturb you, and try working at someplace calm, such as a library.
4) Promise yourself a reward
Who doesn’t like incentives? It doesn’t have to be a monetary incentive, but it has to be something that pushes you to get your work done. It could be something like—If I finish this assignment today, I’ll allow myself to watch TV for an hour.
There is this common belief that we ought to wait for motivation to start a new venture. The truth? Most of us don’t have the time or privilege to wait around for a gush of motivation that may or may not come. Instead, we need to shift our focus towards discipline, the motivation will catch up.
To summarise:
1) Simplify the task 2) Eliminate all forms of distraction 3) Call up with a workmate 4) Promise yourself incentives
Check out our post on The Benefits of Music here .
Please like and share our post. Which method did you find most effective? Comment below!