Simply put, procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task. It can be a barrier, blocking you from getting up, making the right decisions and living the dream life you so very much desire.
Writer Edward Young once stated that ‘Procrastination is the thief of time’ and we couldn’t agree more. Shelving doing something, is unfavourable to not only oneself but also others linked to you. You waste your time and that of others.
We live in an interconnected world so if you are bent on wasting your time, then you are bound to waste that of others. Needless to say is that fact that the repercussions of your procrastination will not only hurt you but will cause a ripple effect to other things or people around you.
One may wonder, “why do people procrastinate”? Well for a number of reasons such as;
Decision paralysis; with more freedom to make our own decisions and to perform our actions, we have become easily confused about what is a priority, what is essential and what is not, and with what is right and wrong, and therefore become demotivated to do anything at all.
Lack of self-discipline; You can imagine self-discipline or self-control as a moment when you give yourself orders, but you are having a hard time following them. It is not the primary cause of procrastination, but an important compound. To be disciplined, you need to have the correct type of motivation and learn to maintain and work on positive habits.
Ignoring The Value of Time; We were all born and unfortunately at some point we’ll all die. The time we spend on Earth is both limited and finite. In light of these facts, time is the most valuable commodity you have. It’s not money; unlike time, you can borrow money, save, or earn more. You can’t do that with time. Every single second you waste is gone forever. The mere realization that life is finite leads people to begin managing their time more carefully. It makes you think about how you would ideally like to spend your time on Earth.
Various tools have been set up to help us fight the cancer that is “procrastination” and some of these may include:
Personal vision; one of the core tools, it helps you understand your skills and priorities, and by creating one, you will never feel lost in what is it that you want to do with your life. The personal vision as well helps you to focus your effort on the right activities and set priorities to avoid continually switching between actions. Understand what motivates you, and you will be able to
maintain your discipline and make the most out of each day.
A To-Do today list; Long to-do lists tend to pile on, and this leads to procrastination. Seeing the long list of tasks can frustrate us so much that we have tendencies to give up on them completely. The “To-Do Today” list method is there to help you get the most important and
urgent tasks done every day, while also helping you prioritize the work on your schedule and limit new tasks. With its help, you will be able to manage much more in a day, with less stress and tiredness.
Habit list; Learning new habits is one of the basic elements of personal development. If we make a habit of doing something, its implementation requires less mental energy to do it. Learning new habits is, therefore, very important. But there are several myths about what is working and what is not in learning new habits. The Habit-list is based on scientific research about proper planning, learning habits, and its tracking, which then motivates us even further.
Meeting with oneself; a time allocated just for you! During your meetings, you can focus on long-term planning and the overall retrospective of your personal growth. It is designed to make you ask yourself how far you have moved forward recently. To consider which direction you would like to head in life and to think about what you can improve even further.
Bear in mind that making self-discipline, motivation, planning and time management, part of your daily routine and habits can really help nurture your thinking patterns and mental models.
Written By: Grace Namukwaya
