Why do we procrastinate? & how can we deal with it?
It’s one of our most common characteristics. Well, I think procrastination is just another phobia. Whenever you are dealing with something new & typically big you tend to procrastinate. Procrastination occurs just out of the fear of the unknown or the quantum of work or maybe both sometimes. We tend to stay in our comfort zone & whenever it comes to getting out, there’s a sort of dilemma & fear holding us back; that’s just because of the human self-defense mechanism. It tells you to avoid the unknown unless & until you are compelled to and have no other option; and avoiding it to the greatest possible would be termed as “Procrastination”. You may think about the consequences of our action, so if you complete a task in an ingenious manner, you will be successful & you’ll receive grater responsibilities as a consequence. You fear the burden of greater responsibilities because you think you’re not competent enough to handle them.
So ask yourself if you are avoiding the task because of the consequences or because of the task itself!
“Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you.”
– Caroline Myss.
Getting out of the comfort zone is basically expanding it, so whenever you are dealing with something new you either acquire a new skill/talent or the existing skill gets an upgrade to the next level. It’s like the level up in COD, you feel happy for not getting killed in the previous level & excited for the next. So once you complete the task/project you’re smarter than what you were when you started it. Now you possess greater skills, you are competent enough to deal with greater responsibilities & more complex tasks/projects. Your fear shall change to excitement.
Your fear from the quantum of work! Well why look at it as a whole! Do you jump off your penthouse balcony to reach your car parked on the street? No, you climb down the stairs; the lazy ones may use the elevator though. Thin Slice; divide your project into the smallest accomplish-able tasks. Thin Slicing is like creating a stairway; you take these tasks one at a time & complete them one by one in an order or randomly. Break the project into smaller tasks that make it look more accomplish-able. So you don’t need to worry about the size, just thin slice it!
Overcoming procrastination is like overcoming inertia. You need a push that gives you the needed energy; practically implying, you need motivation. Motivation has the momentum to give you the needed push. Every time I complete a task & cross it off my day planner, I feel happy. It’s because the feeling of accomplishment gets the brain to release a hormone called endorphin; it makes you feel positive & confident. It gives a natural high & getting addicted to this is an everlasting source of motivation. Your positive feel & confidence gives you the motivation you need to accomplish & achieve more. There may be other motives like money or other rewards that may motivate you. Everybody works for money so there’s no reason to be embarrassed if your only motive is to earn more money! So if it’s not either of above then you just need to find yours & get started.
Header Image by Noah Dominic Silvio on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 