Procrastination and how to deal with it

Have you ever procrastinated? Well, probably we all have and not one time. But you know what – there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that. Human beings are prone to putting off tasks, as out brain tries to save us valuable energy this way. However, the line between resting and wasting time does exist, and it would not hurt to see it more clearly sometimes.

First of all, it is important to understand that procrastination does not equal laziness. The latter is about doing nothing, while procrastination is about doing meaningless tasks at the cost of important ones that you really need to complete.

Let’s take a look at 3 different common cases and see how to deal with each one them:

1) Some people say that they work well under pressure and, therefore, do everything right before the deadline. While it may be true sometimes, stress is not beneficial for human beings. Rather it is quite disturbing and can be even harmful. In most cases, individuals who support this approach simply have difficulty getting started. The solution here would be to move focus from the deadline to the start date. This way you’ll concentrate more on when you need to begin the project rather when to finish it. The process, however, will take much pressure off you and lead to a satisfying result.

2) Sometimes we simply cannot focus. While we are trying to do the task, there’s not much success. It feels like total emptiness and lack of ideas. Such characteristics are a clear sign of fatigue or tiredness. Getting some rest and good sleep would be the perfect option in this case. Please remember that over-productivity isn’t worth your health. Good rest is as important as energetic periods.

3) You know it’s procrastination when you are not really tired and yet move towards low priority tasks while realizing that high priority ones still require your attention. Social media, new YouTube releases, a sudden desire to wash the dishes… To overcome this cycle, try the 3-minute rule: start doing the important task for 3 minutes. As a domino effect, these 3 minutes may then turn into 10, 15, and even an hour. If that doesn’t work out – well, at least you have some work done. Better than nothing.

Did you recognise yourself in the mentioned examples? Most probably we’ve all been there and experienced all 3 cases. The world today jumps from one extreme to the other, from chronicle over-productivity to complete procrastination. The answer, is, as always, somewhere in the golden middle. It isn’t easy to find perfect balance, but, hopefully, our tips will help you move towards it!