Category: Words of Wisdom

Procrastination; Lingering Uncertainty of Life

Procrastination is something that we have all done at some point in our lives. It is that putting off of something that we need to do. But why? The cause can be many.

What does procrastination mean?

The act of delaying or postponing something.

Why do we do it?

• Fear– we put off doing things because we are afraid that we might get it wrong. We might fear being made fun of if we do something and we make a mistake. Making a mistake is not the end of the world. No one is perfect so we cannot expect to never make a mistake in life.

• Not knowing what to do– If we are faced with something that we need to do, we might not know what to do or how to do it. Therefore, we hesitate or stall. Being unsure of the necessary steps can hold us back. At this point, we might consider gathering information and then making a move.

• Unimportant– When the task is not important to us, we figure why the rush. No need to act on it immediately. It can wait until later. We might view it as unimportant because we do not want to do it.

• Lack of managing time– We know we have to be somewhere on a certain day and we need to prepare. We wait until the night before. This puts us in the mode of damage control. Because we did not give ourselves enough time to prepare, we are now trying to compensate for the work we did not do beforehand.

How can we get over the procrastination hurdle?

• Complete tasks in stages– If we know we have 6 days to prepare for a meeting or presentation. Break the project down into increments each day, so that it is manageable and less overwhelming.

• Rethink the way we prioritize– Look at the tasks at hand in a different way. If you usually wait until the 25th hour, rethink it. Start on tasks a few days earlier. Tell yourself that this is something that must be done, so get an early jump on it. Start right away when you realize that this is something that is unavoidable.

• Schedule specific time– Set aside an hour or two each day or once a week so that you can work on the specific task. This way, you already know that on Mondays and Thursdays from 10:00am-11:00am, is set aside specifically for the task. Put it on your calendar or white board so that it is in sight. This is your reminder so there is no excuse to miss a deadline.

• Get rid of distractions– Distractions like playing video games, watching TV or “doom scrolling” on the internet can be major distractions. These things get in the way and cause us to waste time when we could be working on our task. Maybe we can do the task first and then if we want to do those other things, we can put those “distractions” off until after we have done the work.

Can you think of a time when you let procrastination take over? It can get in the way of real progress at times. Making us feel like we cannot accomplish things when we constantly put things off. It is not too late though. If we recognize the signs and rethink it, we can certainly do it!

The attached article, The Game of Life; Are You Playing Offense or Defense? is also about how we manage things in life. It might provide some insight and give information about how we can do things differently. Check it out.

The Game of Life; Are You Playing Offense or Defense?

As always, thank you for reading! 🥰

Stay well and be blessed! 🙏

Image credit: Brett Jordan on Pexels