Procrastination: The Ultimate Guide

We often tend to delay our tasks or activities and never realize its long-term effect it has on our personality and behaviour. This act of delaying or postponing tasks is known as Procrastination. Procrastination is very common and in normal scenarios it’s almost harmless in nature. But chronic or long-term procrastination is a serious issue. It can hamper an individual’s personal and professional life. Procrastination in general affects a person’s productivity and work. But long-term procrastination can even hamper your skills, will and drive which will eventually make your life very difficult. If you feel you are developing a constant habit of procrastination, then work on it before it becomes a serious issue. So, here are 15 effective ways to beat procrastination.

Procrastination is a common issue among students and many adults. There are many who struggle with deadlines every day, with the feeling of impending doom as the exam or project date looms. It is one of the largest problems seen in college counseling centers, and it is something nearly everyone has had to deal with at some point in their lives.

Procrastination Has Many Causes

There are many underlying root causes for procrastination, and the specific cause will vary according to the person. The causes are often related to one another, however, and many of them must be adequately addressed before you will defeat procrastination.

Thoughts and Cognitive Distortions

Research has shown that people who procrastinate typically make five cognitive distortions which promote procrastination. (What’s a cognitive distortion? It’s generally known as irrational thinking, or thinking in an illogical fashion.)

• A person overestimates the amount of time left to perform a task and underestimates the amount of time required to complete it
• A person overestimates the amount of motivation they’ll have in the future (often believing they will be more motivated to do the task in the future)
• A person believes that they need to be in the right mood to be successful in completing the task and that, if they’re not in the right mood, they won’t be very successful at the task

Roots of Procrastinating

Most people procrastinate because they pursue perfectionism, are fearful of doing badly at the task, or are simply too disorganized with their time and resources. Procrastination can also more rarely be an indicator of something else going on with the person, such as a sign of attention deficit disorder.

Perfectionism

Perfectionists engage in a great deal of irrational thinking but, like most such thoughts, they don’t realize they’re doing it. Perfectionism is defined by a fear of failure or of making mistakes, a fear of disapproval or letting someone else down, black and white thinking (it’s either all or nothing, there are no shades of gray), an emphasis on “shoulds” (“I should be able to do this!”), and a belief that other people’s success comes easily to them.

Fear

Fear is a big motivator, but it can also be a big reinforcement not to actually get much accomplished. Procrastinators who are driven by fear usually use avoidance and have an intense desire to delay performing a task or simply wait for its expiration so that it no longer has to be dealt with. As the number of tasks mount, the procrastinator can become depressed and resigned to failure. The fear is very self-reinforcing in that each time they fail a task because of procrastination, it reinforces their own belief of their abilities and self-worth: “I knew I was going to fail, so what’s the use of even starting work on the next assignment?” This cycle will repeat itself endlessly over a school semester or the course of a year, with the person simply paralyzed by the fear of failure or doing badly on the task.

Disorganization

Disorganization is probably the largest cause of procrastination, especially among students. While everybody learns their ABCs and trig equations, nobody is ever taught organizational skills in school. The largest disorganization issue is properly prioritizing tasks. Most people who procrastinate tend to tackle the easiest tasks first, regardless of whether they are urgent. More urgent or difficult tasks, however, begin to pile up as they are put off. Eventually these urgent tasks must be attended to and the current task gets pushed aside to focus on the immediate urgent task. You can see how this quickly leads to a disorganized schedule and a misunderstanding of which tasks should be tackled in which order.

15 Effective Ways to Beat Procrastination

· Try following a proper daily routine or timetable

·  Organize your room

· Give your passion or hobby time

· Say no to multitasking

· Take small breaks

· Set daily goals and objectives

· Avoid unwanted stress

· Prioritize

· Live in the present

· Eliminate triggers and distraction

· Refresh yourself

· Never compromise your sleep

· Engage in some physical activity

· Reward yourself

· Avoid Overthinking

We hope you found the information in this blog article useful and now understand the reasons behind procrastination and the negative effects it has on your life. We know that it can be difficult to overcome procrastination but with the right tools and resources, you can get back on track! If you’re interested in learning more about our company, please contact us anytime at www.philomathresearch.com . We look forward to hearing from you and hope to have the chance to work with you in the near future!