Deal with Procrastination, Take a pledge to Action
When presented with a choice between a rushed-through report, and a well-researched one, it is no doubt who wins. Procrastination is never the solution, and Action is always appreciated. A common misconception about procrastination is that people are too lazy to start working on something. That is not the case. They are just unsure of where or how to start.
Ways to deal with Procrastination
- One way to deal with procrastination, is to adopt a ‘self-reward system’- imagine something that you desperately want to eat, or buy - and tell yourself that you can do so, but only after you start, or finish something that you have been avoiding.
- This self-reward system works wondrously, for it allows you to get something you desired, while also providing you with the necessary motivation to act upon, and finish something you had been avoiding.
- A major reason for people to dwell upon a task is simply because the task seems too large, or too complex to understand. In this case, it helps to break down the task into smaller and simpler parts.
- This makes it easier to grasp what needs to be done in the smaller tasks, while also effectively adding up and moving closer to finishing the seemingly larger task at hand. Along with breaking the task down into smaller parts, it helps if in addition, there have been a set of deadlines set.
3. List-Making, and Task Rotation:
- When one is used to do the same tasks day after day, everything feels monotonous. In this case, to get a kickstart on the action, making lists also helps.
- Make a list of activities that are important, are easy, or seem interesting; and rotate among them.
- Rotating between tasks helps in reducing the monotony, and it additionally ensures that both the tasks are simultaneously getting accomplished.
4. Envision the Completion:
- A classic trick to beat procrastination, and ensure action, is to envision the joy and calm you will feel once the action has been accomplished - there will be no more pressure, and no more worrying.
- This trick will internally motivate you to try and finish the activity sooner, rather than later.
With all said and done, and emphasizing the fact that action trumps procrastination, make a firm resolution to overcome it, and take a pledge towards Action.
