Procrastination Expounded

Procrastination is one of the major causes of failure in society today. You might also be struggling with procrastination and in this article am going to take you through different ways on how to beat procrastination. But first, let’s define procrastination.

Procrastination definition

Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily delaying, postponing, or voluntarily putting off something you need to do.

Research has it that about 20% of U.S adults are chronic procrastinators . ~ Joseph Ferrari ,author of Still Procrastinating.

Chances are you might be a very organized person and completely committed but despite that you just find yourself putting off some tasks that you should be doing for later. It may be work, school projects, assignments, personal projects, starting that side-hustle name it.

It is a well known fact that once we don’t like doing something, we shall keep pushing it for later. But how about adapt the attitude that says ,” Let me do this and get done with it once and for all.”

I love to think of myself as a very disciplined person but nevertheless am not a saint when it comes to procrastination. Sometimes I just find myself bored, and instead of working, am checking WhatsApp statuses, Instagram profiles and feeds and many other things I shouldn’t be doing and postponing what I should be doing at that time.

And when i catch myself procrastinating any activity, i have developed ways to get myself back on track and these are the ones i would love to share with you as we go on .

Whether all you’re putting off is as small as clearing the garage, doing house chores, a work project, homework, cooking that meal you want, or finishing coursework all this will affect you in one way or the other.

If you can put off a small task, how much more a big or complex task? It is therefore essential to beat procrastination before it becomes a habit or even worse chronic.

TYPES OF PROCRASTINATORS

Did you know that procrastinators have types? We are all victims of procrastination but at different levels and for different reasons. Procrastinators are mainly divided into two main categories.

There are active procrastinators and passive procrastinators. The former usually put off tasks because they love working under pressure as this challenges them to get the task done and gives them motivation to do the task.

We all have that one friend in school who will not read for exams until a week or few days to the paper or test. Or that one workmate that won’t begin working on a project until it’s a few days to the deadline. This is an example of an active procrastinator.

Passive procrastinators on the other hand postpone tasks because of indecision.

Procrastinators can also be grouped depending on their behavioral styles of putting off tasks. We have perfectionists, worriers, over doers, crisis makers, protestants and dreamers.

~Perfectionists: Love their things done to perfection and just right ; no mistakes, no half-done work nothing but simply the best is good enough for them. Therefore if they can’t have it done well they would rather postpone it .

Funny enough i happen to be a perfectionist myself and am kinda tempted to say we are justified but we are not. Just because we feel it best to work this way doesn’t make it right. It still counts as procrastination.

Whatever your reason for procrastination, it doesn’t justify it .

~Worriers: Fear to do the task because they are afraid they might make mistakes or they just don’t wanna leave their comfort zone. For them comfort is almost everything. If an activity makes them uneasy, they might put it off until they gather the strength or call it courage to do it.

Introverts in particular tend to put off tasks that involve working with other people and extroverts tend to postpone tasks that require them to work solo on a project.

~Over doers: This category pile too much on their schedule than they can handle hence putting off other tasks for later due to shortage of enough time. If left unchecked these people are more likely to become chronic procrastinators .

Planning their time daily and taking on a realistic work load is a good way for them to start their journey on beating procrastination.

~ Crisis makers: They love working under pressure and their sequence looks something like no pressure, no deadline, no work done. These usually have a tougher time beating procrastination and must learn to motivate themselves in other ways to get the necessary job done.

~Protestants: They believe they should use their time as they like and no one should decide for them . Not to judge but these are typical characteristics of proud people and spoilt brats. Here one needs to beat this attitude before they can embark on a journey of beating procrastination.

~Dreamers: These usually procrastinate because they don’t want to pay attention. They easily get distracted hence putting off the tasks to do what they love or find more interesting.

These people need to develop a habit of rewarding themselves. Say for example ” Once i finish this work, i will reward myself with an episode or two of a series.” The reward must be something you love that it will motivate you to get the necessary task done.

There are people who find themselves putting off tasks and may not even give much thought as to why they do so. If you’re interested in finding out more please read on or jump to the next chapter your interested in.

Causes of procrastination

1. Indiscipline: Some people just don’t care when or whether the work gets done and therefore will keep putting off tasks until they can’t put off anything anymore.
2. Lack of motivation to get one started.
3. Waiting for the ‘perfect time’ to get one started .
4. Poor planning; putting so many tasks on one’s schedule hence postponing some in favor of others.
5. Requiring time to do some research on a task before actually setting off to do it.
6. Disliking the task that is to be done.
7. Not knowing how to execute the task in question.
8. Being a last minute doer. These people believe they only work well under pressure.
9. Making last minute working a habit.
10. Irresponsibility ; some people just don’t care when the task gets done or whether it gets done especially with personal projects.
11. Overestimating or underestimating how long it will take to perform a task.
12. Some people even assume they have to be in some frame of mind to work on a task.

When i was doing my research i came to learn that procrastination can also be caused by health conditions among them is depression , ADH and OCD.

14. Depression; It leads to a sense of helplessness, general body weakness and can also make it hard to finish or even start the smallest task.

Depressed people are usually very insecure. It may be because of their talents, appearance, abilities therefore they find it preferable to put off tasks until they feel comfortable to do them and sometimes they never do.

Having issues with depression , check this out.

15.OCD (Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder ) ; People with OCD tend to be perfectionists, maladaptive, and very fearful about doing things they don’t know because of fearing to make mistakes or doubting whether they are doing the task at hand the right way.

OCD victims tend to be indecisive hence making them put off tasks.

16. Attention-Deficit Disorder also known as Hyper activity disorder .(ADH) : People with this disorder tend to be so distracted by outside stimuli, circumstances and inner thoughts. And find it convenient to put off uninteresting tasks. They also tend to overthink.

Effects of procrastination

If there is something you’ve been postponing maybe it’s doing that course work, cleaning the house, starting that business, whatever it is just do it.

It may seem like something small but it’s not the size of the task that matters. The problem is developing a habit that is a hinderance to success.

It’s high time you beat that procrastination and give yourself a chance to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

Everything you are postponing has effects in the long run, for example ;

• In the case of a work project, you may develop a bad-work record because of producing sub standard work hence getting fired or laid off in the long run.
• In school, you risk getting low grades due to inadequate preparation for tests.
• Health-wise, putting off working out or exercising can lead to obesity and eating unhealthy food can lead to disorders like ulcers.
• When it comes to paying bills, the concerned people may come after you and you may not like that.
• If you are also the kind that only works under pressure this may lead to high levels of stress which isn’t healthy.
• Putting off tasks reduces one’s ability to deliver and is one of the causes of failure in different fields of life and therefore one needs to develop a habit of planning their tasks realistically and getting them done.

How to beat procrastination

Having known the different causes and effects of procrastination, it’s high time we move on onto how to beat procrastination and be well on our journey to success .

Click here to learn more about how to beat procrastination.