What is procrastination?
Procrastinating is, quite simply, putting aside certain tasks with the intention of doing them at another time. Being a little methodical, we would say that it is the action of postponing or delaying, the result of occupying your time with other tasks.
Why do we procrastinate?
Experts say that procrastination, far from being a reflection of laziness, is a self-protection strategy and that there are four reasons why people procrastinate:
There is no motivation.
Insecurity paralyzes: “I'll do it tomorrow, I'm sure I'll figure out a way to achieve it.”
Perfection is sought: “If I do it, I do it well, otherwise I don’t do it.”
Overconfidence creates the illusion that a problem can be easily resolved “any time now.”
Procrastinator's Cycle
The procrastinator's cycle basically has three components: Action – Distraction – Awareness.
You start the task at hand, but you make one of the above-mentioned excuses to put it off until another time. When that time comes, you get ready to do the task, but something distracts you and makes you put it off again until you feel guilty for not doing it, so you start over.
Steps of the procrastination cycle
How to avoid procrastination?
Avoiding procrastination requires, above all, willpower. If you are reading this, if you have reached this point in the article, it is because you would love to find a magic recipe against procrastination and, unfortunately, it does not exist! However, there are certain things you can do:
Become aware of the situation and set priorities.
Change your perspective : don't try to take on everything at once, divide it into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Plan ahead and set deadlines that, of course, you must meet.
Commit and take it seriously.
Being able to identify when you are getting distracted : it is usually that moment when you pick up your mobile phone, when relaxing music ends up being a song you sing at the top of your lungs or when that Google search has you scrolling through the networks for an hour.
Keeping in mind the rewards of your work, that is, the reasons that lead you to do it, will serve as motivation.
Learning to manage time .
Anti-procrastination routine
Routine often has a very negative connotation, however, when studying or working it is essential to prevent certain habits that are detrimental to our performance from interfering.
Of course, the perfect work or study routine must be established individually, taking into account the circumstances, characteristics and needs of each person, but as an example we want to give you some guidelines that could be useful when establishing your own.
Mental organization
To carry out certain tasks it is necessary to have an adequate mental state and this can only be achieved if:
You remove from your mind everything that has nothing to do with the activity you are about to undertake. Concentration is vital, so if there are worries that hinder your productivity, you should block them.
You say goodbye to multitasking , or in other words, you forget about the idea of multitasking and take care of only one thing at a time.
You manage your time correctly so you can accomplish everything and meet your goals in an organized manner.
How to manage time to avoid procrastinating?
person reading on sofa the free e-book on time management
Learning to manage time is key to avoiding procrastination, and that's why we want to share with you the quintessential time management method so you can achieve it.
The Eisenhower Matrix
It is done by making a list of all the tasks that must be performed and transferring them to the following classification:
Infographic on the four quadrants of the Eisenhower matrix for time management
Urgent and important. Tasks that must be completed immediately.
Important, but not urgent. Tasks that you should schedule to do in the near future.
Urgent, but not important. Tasks that you can delegate to someone else.
Neither urgent nor important. Tasks you can simply discard.
Our environment (physically speaking) also has a huge influence on us, so it is very important that you have all the necessary elements to face your work or study day before you start. Make sure that the location is suitable: a quiet, well-lit room that allows you to work comfortably.
Search for motivation
If lack of motivation is one of the reasons why you tend to procrastinate, it's obvious that you need to find something that motivates you and helps you avoid this bad habit. How to do it? The answer is: it depends.
Everyone finds their motivation in a different way. Obviously, the first thing you kuwait whatsapp contact number need to do is put your tasks and goals into perspective, so that you know why you are doing what you are doing. Don't lose sight of the main focus of your activities: what are you going to achieve by doing that task that you are so stuck on?
On the other hand, it is important to know yourself and know what kind of motivation you need . There are people who get active with sport, others who get active with a simple shower… Find what wakes you up and, once you have a completely clear mind and ready to start, just do it!
Say no to excuses and get to work.
Stop insecurity with proper training
While it is true that insecurity is often due to the terrible “impostor syndrome,” in many cases, it is due to the lack of control that ignorance produces.
Let's say, for example, that your goal is to start a business . You have the business idea in your head and you keep talking to those close to you about the possibilities, but you never take the step! Think carefully about the reasons for holding you back and find a solution by training yourself and expanding your knowledge.
Goodbye to perfectionism and overconfidence
Perfectionism and overconfidence are two sides of the same coin. Both are responsible for wasting your time and not getting things done, and although they may seem to be coming from a very different perspective, they are actually almost the same thing: a person practicing self-sabotage on the way to their goals.
Banish the idea that you must achieve perfection and do not allow this false belief to prevent you from moving forward. The path is made by walking.
Procrastinating with the idea that you can easily do it at any other time is not good either, and as you well know, stress and lack of time come later.
Self-employed person taking an online course from a laptop and speaking to her tutor on the phone
In short, to avoid falling into the cycle of procrastination you must be clear about your final objective, manage your space and time in the right way and train yourself to have at your fingertips all the knowledge necessary to become an expert.