PROCRASTINATION THE GREAT ENEMY OF SUCCESS

“Oh my God I totally forgot to type the write-up… no p jor… I go write am later jare” this was the conversation I had with myself last Sunday evening and honestly these kinds of conversation happen to occur more frequently than I’ll like to admit, which I’m sure is the case with a lot of people.

It is a fact that we all procrastinate, some people just do it more often than others as most people tend to avoid difficult tasks or what we consider as boring tasks and we intentionally lean towards distractions that are interesting to us, which sadly are always available. From gadgets to television to entertainment even to friends and families, anything or anyone can easily become a distraction if we choose to do the wrong thing at the wrong time with them.

Procrastination in large part shows our constant struggle with discipline and self-control. It is one of the dangers associated with letting our feelings dictate our actions since when we procrastinate, our usual reason is ‘í just don’t feel like doing it yet’

Procrastination can be deadly to anyone as it can affect our health since it can cause you to spend all day worrying about the thing you were supposed to have done or even stay awake at night and this can actually weaken your immune system. Procrastination can also ruin relationships if it puts unnecessary strain on friends, family members or even co-workers. Imagine a scene where your sister or room-mate or friend is always cleaning up after you, doing your chores or a co-worker who is always doing your part of the work which you are being paid to do, these kind of situations tend to slowly create a strain in the relationship and if care is not taken these people may lose respect for you, some might even start to resent you.

BASIC CAUSES OF PROCRASTINATION

Doing wrong things at the wrong time …’’It’s time for me to read o but let me watch this movie first’’
Lack of effective planning or planning to do too many things within little time.
Overestimating the time you have left to perform a task …. “it’s still 6pm, I can sleep and wake up by 10pm to type the document jare”
Underestimating the time you need to finish the task … ‘’no problem nah, I can finish the laundry and pound the yam within 5minutes ’’
Letting your feelings control you all day … “I just don’t feel like doing my laundry today”
Intentionally searching for distractions … ‘’let me go and greet Dave, I’ll exercise at night’’

TACKLING PROCRASTINATION

According to Dr Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at De Paul University in Chicago, for anyone who is serious about getting rid of procrastination, you can tackle it by;

Making a list of everything you need to do: it is an established fact that effective planning is important for achieving your goals, so whether it’s the tasks you need to do over the weekend or the tasks you need to finish at work, try to make a list of those tasks in order of priority and paste list at a place where it is constantly visible to you.
Being honest to yourself and eliminating unnecessary tasks you didn’t plan to do: Life is filled with uncertainties and the day will always present you with occurrences where you have to make choices so be ready to avoid any unnecessary task that didn’t make your list like choosing to wash your half clean car when you are supposed to wash your dirty toilet.
Setting realistic goals: Some people aren’t really procrastinators, they just tend to plan to do too much and this often tells on their ability to do important ones and even tells on their health at the long run, so please set realistic goals and try not to overwork yourself.
Not letting your feelings rule your life: Emotional intelligence is also something you need to overcome procrastination, as the most common reason for procrastination is ‘i don’t feel like doing it now’ but try to pause for a while and recognise that you’ll probably not feel like doing it later too, so why not do it now and get it off your chest. You don’t need to feel like doing it, just get started anyway.
Reducing or getting rid of the distractions: Whether it’s our phones or the TV, distractions are great hindrances to our progress in the 21st Hence, try to reduce or totally eliminate the distractions around you, put your phone away, switch off the TV and you can even put yourself in an environment that won’t undermine your success.


Last but not the least from yours truly: try to keep a popular saying by an American rapper who goes by the name Drake in mind which says ‘You Only Live Once: YOLO’ which is true, so why not try to get the best from your life while you’re still alive, do the things you need to do at the right time, focus on your goals and don’t let short term pains hinder you from getting your long term gains. Don’t also forget to relax and have fun with friends and family; just remember that ‘progress is the key not perfection’!

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/do-it-later-the-reason-behind-failure/