Are you someone who’s ‘I may do it’ or ‘I will do it tomorrow,’ Or do you use explanations such as, “I’m just too busy” or, “I’ll get around to it soon” to justify why you haven’t done something? If so, then you’re a procrastinator.
Here is how you can self-evaluate if you are a procrastinator:
- Wait to complete your work until the very last minute
- Get that presentation completed by the skin of your teeth
- Spending hours on Youtube/Instagram watching non-important stuff and leaving essential tasks until it’s too late.
You’re not alone; nearly everyone procrastinates now and then. But forgetting things to the very last minute, then burning midnight oil, or hitting the panic button can cause you trouble, anxiety and a burden.
Why keeps you in this loop?
- You don’t like the work, and there are other kinds of stuff you could do that are more pleasant, enjoyable and fun.
- You suck at managing time – time ‘gets away from you,’ and you’ve no idea how it does that.
- You take on too much, and some assignments get left undone. Maybe you’re not sure how to complete them, you are scared of failing, so you keep delaying it.
The difficulty with the last one is that if you worry about frustration, criticism, rejection, or you’re overly worried about what others will think of you and your performance (or lack of it), then by delaying it, you’ll probably end up getting precisely what you fear.
So what can you do to stop procrastinating and balance your work-life
1. Recognize why you stall your work
When you find the cause, you can start finding solutions. Ask yourself what prevents you from getting on with it? Look at the list above, and work out which description matches you.
2 Get off Midnight Netflix Routine.
You get submissive for one more episode, and it keeps on rallying until it is morning. Get the hell away from the Netflix train, especially at night.
3. Are you interested?
If you have no interest in what you are doing, is it something serious or worthwhile? If not, then why are you doing it? Of course, if it’s a duty that you don’t like, but it’ll help you to get to your dreams, then keep that end goal in mind and link this obnoxious or tedious task to it.
4. Take your first step
Rather than telling yourself that you have to do it all at once, can you do just a few minutes of the task? Can you divide the task into little steps? Maybe, you can take the first step or two now. And beginning in this way can be sufficient to smoothly get going on whatever it was that you were dodging.
5. Bonus
How will you compensate yourself when you have completed the job? It’s important to reward yourself for every job that you complete successfully. It helps to boost your motivation for the next time. They don’t have to be enormous rewards: perhaps a sensual bubble bath, an extra unique chocolate bar, a pedicure or manicure, even 30 minutes to sit and unwind, or whatever it is that makes you feel pampered and loved.
