Why did I leave it till the last minute?
"I'll do it tomorrow.”
“I have plenty of time to do it.”
“I don’t feel like starting now.”
Sound familiar?
Procrastination is something that we’re all more or less familiar with. Can you count the times you’ve postponed something that needed to be done or just left it till the last minute? I surely cannot. It has haunted me in my childhood, in my mandatory school years and in college. It seems like a love-hate relationship, one could say. You don’t want it but you just can’t get to end it forever.
Why do we procrastinate
- The task is repulsive.It is something we don’t enjoy doing whatsoever, like doing taxes, work on a project, going to the gym, cleaning our room/house, going to the dentist, studying and so on. We come up with excuses to avoid the unpleasant emotions this task entails and then we engage in something enjoyable like social media, games, web browsing, watching TV and anything else really. We don’t procrastinate on things we find pleasant. The unpleasant emotions vary from boredom, pain, vulnerability, shame, suffering, fear and so on. Therefore, we prefer feeling good now and worrying about that task later. We give in to “instant gratification” although we know it could lead to trouble later.
- Our objectives are unclear, weak and lacking motivation. We procrastinate on the things that are not so meaningful and urgent and hence not a priority on our want-to-do list. For years I’ve heard smokers say “This year will be the year I quit smoking!. Later on “I’ll quit smoking as soon as the packet is over”, “I’m going through a difficult time right now.”…But when the doctor presents a diagnosis of a serious illness, smoking is immediately terminated. It becomes urgent and a priority and hence it can’t be postponed anymore.
- Fear. Many people have many wonderful ideas but they are afraid that they're not good enough, that others will judge, that it won’t lead anywhere and it will be a failure. So they never really get to doing something. Some also argue that they don’t know where to start and that one task can seem utterly overwhelming like writing a thesis. We create obstacles in our minds that in reality may not have a solid standing.
We'll study in a bit man!!First, let's play!
- Distractions. Smartphones, Internet, games and toys, TV, gadgets and so forth. We live in an era where technology and consumerism have settled in our lives for good. No wonder it can be challenging to really focus on one task for a long time.
The science behind it
One part of our brain, the limbic system, is in charge of our emotions, our long-term memory, our behavior and olfaction. This part runs on automatic and gets you out of unpleasant feelings.
Then there’s its weak brother, the prefrontal cortex part of the brain. This is the part that thinks things through, makes decisions and assimilate information. This is the part that works and produces results. However, this part is not on automatic. It needs a push to function to optimal capacity.
So, when we’re not really into doing something, the limbic system takes over and we procrastinate. It is a constant battle that all people around the world live with as it is something that we’re born with.
Phew!Nothing wrong with me then!
No no, nothing wrong with you. We are our own saboteur!
How to beat procrastination
- Take the time to think and create a vision board. This is where your dreams and goals are on display and what you’d like to achieve in life. Put it somewhere you can look at every morning and every night. Having a reminder of our goals is very important and motivational in our everyday busy lives.
- Be a morning person. I know, some of you might hate me for saying this, but it works. Waking up early in the morning gives you enough time to tackle your tasks, your mind is fresh, your batteries are full and thus the perfect circumstances to take on the day!
- Tackle the worst task first. The satisfaction you feel when you have completed that dreadful, hard and tedious task first gets you all the motivation you need for the rest tasks.
- Exercise. I know you may be procrastinating to do that but the benefits are countless. For one, the endorphins released after exercising sets you on the path to success.
- Create a peaceful and organized environment. When there are countless papers on your desk, when you can’t find the material you need, when there’s just too much disorder around then there’s disorder in your mind. Taking the time to declutter your surroundings and organizing your stuff will create a stress-free and appealing environment to focus and work.
- Meditate. Having too much on your plate can leave you overwhelmed and prone to giving up to instant gratification. However, sitting down to clear your head and breathe without thinking anything could help you to feel ready to tackle your to-do list.
- Break it down. When a task seems overly difficult and time-consuming break it down into smaller tasks. For example, let’s say you have to do a spring cleaning of the entire house. Just by thinking of the whole task, makes you want to get under your bed covers. What you can do instead is take it step by step. So on Monday, you do the bathrooms and outdoor areas, on Tuesday you do the bedrooms and kitchen and so forth. Also, set a timer each day and determine the time you devote to each task. That way you measure progress based on time spent rather than amount completed.
- Reward yourself. From the psychology´s perspective, positive reinforcement of a behavior keeps it going and growing. Knowing what you like, you can set a desired reward and motivate yourself. For example, you could work on a project for an hour and then watch one episode of Friends!
Food for thought
When we’re leaving something for another time, we’re acting as if we’re 100% sure we’ll have that time. Procrastinators don’t bring themselves to think that “I may not have the time in the world for this.”The average human has 28.000 days to live, meaning 4000 weeks which is roughly 77 years. But who is absolutely certain they’ll live this long? I don’t mean to sound gloomy but rather realistic. Just think that 18 to 25 years of our lives go into education and that accounts for 33% of an average lifetime.
So I urge you to ponder this:
Are you so certain you’ll have all the time in the world to
get fit,
write a novel,
learn to play an instrument,
learn a foreign language,
travel to places,
run a marathon
and all the other bucket list goals of yours?
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