Begin while others are procrastinating. Work while others are wishing.
– William Arthur Ward
- I don’t think that it’s crucial right now; I’ll get to it later
- I find it too complicated; let me do it the next week
- Right now, I’m not in the right mood to do this
- I know myself; I can work better under pressure
Procrastination
Sometimes you might be saying the above statements to your own self. Right?
What kind of statements are these?
These statements can come in various forms, but it has only one name — Procrastination. Usually known as a universal troublemaker and sometimes the single biggest productivity killer!
What is procrastination?
Do you think you are struggling with it?
Let me take this opportunity to explain procrastination in this post so that you clearly understand what it is and how it affects you.
NOBODY HAS A PROCRASTINATION PROBLEM
If I ask you — do you have a procrastination problem? Are you a procrastinator?
What would be your answer?
Maybe, most of you will say YES, they do have a procrastination problem.
What if I say you DO NOT have this problem; you aren’t a procrastinator; would you believe in me?
Maybe NOT!
But, believe me, you do not have any procrastination problems. In fact, nobody has a procrastination problem.
I have also covered this in detail in my book IMMEDIATE ACTION. If you have not read it yet, you should consider buying and reading it from here.
DOES PROCRASTINATION EQUATE TO LAZINESS?
Laziness and procrastination are sometimes confused, yet they are very distinct.
Procrastination typically entails putting off a difficult activity (but likely a more important task) in favor of something more enjoyable or simple. In procrastination, you avoid completing the task you know you should be doing and actively opt to do something else. In contrast, laziness denotes apathy, inactivity, and a refusal to take action.
Let’s first understand that procrastination is NOT a problem. It is always the symptom of a problem.
Yes, procrastination is a “symptom;” it’s never a “problem.”
Before understanding it well, I also thought that procrastination had to do something with the thing I was procrastinating around.
I was also under the impression that procrastination had something to do with my work or job. If anytime I delayed my work, assignments, or meetings, I thought I was being a procrastinator.
But in actuality, it’s not the case!
Let me explain that procrastination has nothing to do with your job or work. In my words, procrastination is the most prominent form of stress relief!
Do you want to know how? Here is the example –
Many of us get stressed out in our life many times a day.
The stress may be caused due to several reasons like — if something is not working for you, you are having a big fight with your mom or dad, you are not good at health, financially you are going down or losing money in gambling, etc.
Suppose, at present, this big stress ball is subconsciously hanging over your head, and with this, you go to your workplace, where you find a lot of work waiting for you. You’ve got 17 phone calls you need to call them back, 23 unread emails you need to reply and 3 meetings to attend with CEOs.
Initially, you start making easy calls, but you sit down and take a break when it comes to other higher priorities tasks. Immediately your brain realizes that you already have a load of stress hanging around your head, so it rejects to handle anything extra coming in.
This book is beneficial for you if you wish to:
— Reduce your procrastination tendencies and really finish your most important task,
— Learn 7 proven hacks for dealing with procrastination healthily,
— Reach ambitious targets or high aspirations that demand more significant levels of efficiency,
— Deepen your self-awareness by learning more about your own mind, and
— Stop feeling guilty about not finishing the chores you know you should be performing.
If you want to plan your meetings with CEOs or want to make a call to somebody that you are scared to make, immediately your brain says — “absolutely not! I’m so stressed out right now! I will do it later on. Let me have a break and get a cup of coffee first.”
You somehow try to avoid the current situation and get relief from your stress. And the next thing you realize that an hour has gone by without doing anything productive. And then, of course, what do you do? You beat yourself up!
As you can see here that we simply procrastinate to get momentary stress relief. Of course, the consequences of procrastination might vary from situation to situation. Procrastination is not the problem; it’s a problem of anxiety.
A Handbook of 1000 Affirmations: Discover Your Ultimate Self-Healing Companion for Overcoming…
Amazon.com: A Handbook of 1000 Affirmations: Discover Your Ultimate Self-Healing Companion for Overcoming Setbacks…neelamravi.com
