Procrastination - We keep delaying what must be done, maybe because it is unpleasant or boring! - How can we get rid of that?

 Sheela, my PG course friend, was also my hostel roommate. She will not wash her clothes and keep accumulating them. When I ask her,  She says, “I hate to do that, will do it later”.  She hated washing clothes and kept on postponing that!

Recently, my sister was complaining that her son was not completing the assignment in Mathematics and the teacher had called her for that. When asked he says it’s very difficult and he feels he is not capable of doing it, so he is postponing that and doing other work.

When we ask someone who has not done the work on time we usually get one of these as the reply: I hate to do that… I’m not capable of doing that...it’s hard for me… so let me put the work aside and do some other work now. Isn’t it?

 

What? Sounds familiar to you?

Sometimes (or for some people... it is always... ) because the work is boring or if they feel it’s hard to do that they will try to postpone the work giving their own excuses to escape from doing that. That’s called procrastination. I read an article on this sometime back and the suggestions given to get rid of the procrastination looked interesting to me, so I am sharing the same here:

 

Are you feeling that the task that you have in your hand is a boring one or the one you hate doing? Does it cause anxiety or frustration? Do you doubt your ability?

 

If it is so, the first thing you need to do is - ‘Do the task’.

The more you move away from it, the closer it comes to you in the form of depression reminding you that you haven’t completed it. That again would build unwanted pressure on you ruining your other works too and will not let you be at peace.

 

• So tell yourself- “This is not my favorite task, but anyhow I have to complete it at some point”. Let that be now.

• Ask yourself “What would be the consequences of not doing it?” or “What would be the benefit of completing it?

• Set a timer and decide to reward yourself for completing it. Like, after completing the task, I will go for a ride or watch my favourite tv program.

• If you feel that the task involves too much work, divide that into small parts. Like, while writing a thesis, complete the outline first, then go with one chapter, then on the next at some other time. After completing every small part, you will  get the feeling of satisfaction which, in turn, will encourage you to progress to the next.

• When you are already waiting to escape the task, calls or notification tones on social media would be a great excuse. So better to turn off the notifications or put the mobile on silent mode until you complete the task.

 

Will you postpone anything that you like to do? Will you postpone going out with your friends for a movie or dinner? Getting a chance, will you postpone the trip to your grandma’s house?

 

One simple solution is to start liking the things that you are expected to do.

 

When I say all these, I’m reminded of a story named ‘Tomorrow’ written by Arnold Lobel which teaches a timeless lesson about beating procrastination. 

 

There lived a Frog and Toad in a house. Toad said, “This house is a mess. I have so much work to do”. But he pulled the covers over his head and said, "I will do it tomorrow. Today I will take life easy." Frog reminded him of all the work like his pants and jacket lying on the floor; the kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes; dust on his chairs; windows need scrubbing and plants need watering. For which Toad  said that he would do all that tomorrow. But he couldn’t sleep and said to Frog he was feeling depressed thinking of lots of all these works. So he asked “if I pick up my pants and jacket right now, then I will not have to pick them up tomorrow, will I?” Frog said, “You will not have to.” Toad picked up his clothes. He put them in the closet. He asked about the rest of the work too. He started cleaning his dishes and put them in the cupboard; dusted his chairs; scrubbed his windows and watered his plants. After completing all these he said happily “Now I feel better. I am not worried anymore as I have done all that work. Now I can save tomorrow for something that I really want to do. Yes...Tomorrow I can just take life easy.” Saying this, he went back to bed; pulled the covers over his head and fell asleep peacefully.

 

Did I remind you of any of your incomplete procrastinated work?

 

Get up; finish it off and relax… Kindly do share your experience also!