Stop Procrastinating

by S4B0T4G3FIRE | December 28, 2020, 8:00 AM EST
Artwork by xd3ni

Abstract

After a year like 2020, you might be feeling “down and out,” but there is still a lot of fight left in you, so give yourself a chance! If you require assistance getting back on your feet, follow along with the advice in this article as it not only encourages you to get off to a flying start in the pursuit of your goals but also teaches you how to draw motivation and inspiration from the people around you.

Procrastination versus Proactivity

• Procrastination allows work to build up over time until it is too abundant and too late for you to complete it. This sudden urgency clouds your head with stress and anxiety, thus making it difficult for you to think straight and complete your work well.
• Proactivity, on the other hand, allows you to get a head start on your work so that you may continue to complete bits and pieces of it over time, with as little stress and overwhelmedness as possible. Then, when the deadline arrives, you are not faced with a stressful, hopeless scenario of not having enough time to do a good job. Set yourself up for success!

You do not have to be lazy to be a procrastinator. You could just be unmotivated or bad at planning, which may not be your fault, but it is still up to you to change this if you wish to get tasks done with as little stress as possible. Start by asking yourself, “Why do I procrastinate?”

Am I too busy?

Very frequently do humans find themselves “too busy,” but what does that really mean? Does it mean that there are not enough hours in the day to complete everything, or could it be that humans are failing to abide by efficient schedules and are blind to the fact that they are wasting a lot of precious time throughout the day? Most people would like to believe that there are not enough hours in the day, but this could just be a case of self-pity. After all, people love feeling sorry for themselves.

If you feel rushed for time every day but have not tried to figure out a better way to fulfill your duties on time, then yours is a case of self-pity (perhaps even a slight case of laziness or unwillingness) and not a case of “too busy.”

Proactive Solution: First, test the theory that you are too busy. Chances are that you have not yet taken a moment to budget your time. Maybe you need to swap the times at which you do things, multitask less so you can focus on one task at a time, or write out an actual schedule to follow instead of just following a loose, approximate sequence of events.

If you have tried organizing and scheduling your obligations, then it is quite possible that you actually are “too busy.” However, this does not mean that you cannot still complete your tasks on time. Believe it or not, there are other ways, to be mentioned later, for you to increase efficiency and productivity during the time that you do have.

Am I doubting my ability to complete this thing?

Humans like having their hands held while they try to complete tasks. Without guidance or constant feedback, maybe you are unsure whether or not you are completing the assignment correctly, so you second-guess every step you take and wait for someone to approve your work in between steps. This self-doubt and reliance on others take an additional amount of time that you cannot afford to waste. How will you get to the point where you can trust yourself to make the right decisions so you can work more confidently and efficiently?

Proactive Solution: Even though there is a chance that you may not perform well, working confidently and figuring things out on your own will help you discover your true strong and weak points. This will allow you to improve your skillset and, eventually, become less reliant on guidance, feedback, and “hand-holding” from other people between every single step of the process. Taking this leap will save you time, which will boost your self-dependency, efficiency, and, therefore, leisure time for more enjoyable activities.

Am I dispassionate about what I have to complete?

Humans tend to procrastinate most on the assignments that they simply do not want to complete. These assignments could be difficult homework, washing dirty dishes, raking leaves, exercising, or even just getting out of bed in the morning. Since none of these tasks are your favorite hobbies or leisure activities, you are probably reluctant to complete them. Is it logical to put them off for some other time, though? That depends on their level of importance, which will also be expanded on later in this article. Since there are no obvious incentives that come with any of these tasks, you may be wondering, “Why should I do my homework or wash the dishes at all?”

Proactive Solution: This is when you need to create your own incentives.

• “After I do my homework, I am going to watch my favorite television show.”
• “After eating dinner and washing the dishes, I am going to go play videogames until bedtime.”
• “Before work, I am going to get my favorite coffee. After work, I will take a nap, go for a nice jog, and then spend time with my family.”

When the task lacks incentive, make up your own to end your day on a high note. Convince yourself that these incentives are worth fighting for. Look forward to them because the quicker you complete your tasks, the quicker you will have free time.

Is this thing unimportant or without a deadline?

Similar to how humans procrastinate on things they are unpassionate about, they also procrastinate when an assignment lacks a deadline. If you are postponing assignments indefinitely, how will you ever complete them? Do you even care to complete them, or are they impulse decisions of little importance that your daily life does not depend on?

Proactive Solution: Technically, you do not have to wash your car this month, season, or even year. You do not have to start that diet tomorrow when you can start it next month instead. You do not have to buy a new winter jacket until Winter arrives. This is where you need to step up and make your own deadlines.

• “My car is dirty. I am going to wash the car on September 26th because I have the day off from work, the weather will be nice, and I could really use the fresh air and exercise.”
• “My eating habits are unhealthy. I am going to start eating healthier on the first day of next month.”
• “Why would I buy a new jacket in May when I can delay the purchase until December? Hmm… Well, for starters, winter jackets are off-season now, so they may be cheaper, and buying one now will save me a future trip in the cold of December.”

Notice how none of these start-dates/deadlines say the words “soon,” “eventually,” or “when I get around to it.” When you are making deadlines, justify each one with a logical reason that you cannot argue against, and use specific dates. “Tomorrow” is not specific enough. When tomorrow arrives, people just throw the word out there again. “Tomorrow” changes every day; “January 1st” does not. When you miss January 1st, you miss your deadline because you procrastinated.

Am I distracted every time I try to complete this thing?

Each human thrives in a different environment and situation, but one thing remains constant: more distractions lead to less productivity. Although you do your best work in a warm, quiet library, the repeated vibration of a cellphone in your pocket will continue to pull your attention elsewhere, to the point where the benefits of sitting in a comfortable place are nullified almost entirely.

Perhaps you prefer to do your homework at the dining room table immediately after you get home from school, but your family members get home from work right after you get home, and they make a lot of noise while cooking and/or watching television. You could wait to do your homework after they go to sleep, but you also need to get to sleep early enough. How will you balance the distractions with your workload to avoid procrastinating? Do you wait for a “better” or “quieter” time? What if that time never arrives, and you end up wasting the entire day waiting?

Proactive Solution: Even if you are committed, determined, and perhaps even excited to get your tasks out of the way, there is little purpose to work on them when you keep getting disrupted by:

• cellphone alerts/notifications
• people
• hunger/thirst
• cluttered workspace
• exhaustion

Of course, there are many other types of distractions, but these are some very common ones in many different work environments. The ones listed can actually be quite simple to reduce or remove if you just try to.

1. First, meet your biological needs. You will never be able to work well if your stomach is growling, your throat is dry, and/or your brain and eyes are tired the entire time. Eat a snack, drink some water, and make sure you are getting enough sleep at night to suit your specific needs.
2. Find a comfortable place in which to work. Doing yoga? Go somewhere quiet and relaxing. Washing dishes? Listen to the radio to make the chore more bearable. Studying for a major exam? Head to a library or quiet room in the house. Too cold? Turn up the thermostat to your liking.
3. Keep your workspace clean. If there are food crumbs or pencil shavings or loose papers all over your desk, clean and organize the desk. If the living room where you enjoy working out is full of empty boxes from online orders, collapse the boxes and recycle them, and then proceed with your exercise. If your task is as basic as washing your hands, but you cannot do so because the kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes, then wash the dishes or move them to the dishwasher. Do not make the simplest things in life more difficult for yourself.
4. Silence your phone (or turn it off altogether if possible), and get to work. There will be plenty of time for mindless scrolling after you quickly and efficiently complete your task, chore, exercise, or whatever else it is that needs to be done. Your phone can even be a reward for having done so. Go pick it up and proudly tell your friends and followers how productive you just were. That is something to brag about on social media.

Am I unable to figure out how to get started?

Metaphorically speaking, humans are limited by physics not only on a physical level but also on a motivational level. Before starting an assignment, you will have zero momentum with which to propel yourself toward completion. After all, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion, while an object at rest tends to stay at rest.” However, just because an object is at rest, that does not mean it has no potential energy. How can you overcome static friction, gain momentum, and cross the finish line?

Proactive Solution: Completing a task is as simple as starting the task. Once you “get the ball rolling,” the majority of the work has already been done, and then your momentum will carry you the rest of the way.

However, if the “ball” hits any sort of obstacle, you will have to overcome static friction all over again. This is not fun, especially after finally building up the motivation to begin. This is when many people choose to make excuses and give up because it is easy.

• “I tried, but something else came up.”
• “I was doing my homework, but then I stopped because my friend texted me to hang out.”
• “I forgot.”

These are all obstacles that can be prevented (except in extreme circumstances/emergencies) because you have control over more factors than you think you do. Remember, unless you are waiting for an important phone call, you can turn your phone off before doing homework. You can tell your friend, “no,” to hanging out. You can set reminders so you do not forget/neglect your responsibilities.

• “Hey, Google. Set a reminder for 6:00 PM to finish writing essay due tomorrow, April 25th.”
• “Hey, Siri. Set a reminder for January 3rd to buy broccoli, almonds, vitamins, etc.”
• “Okay, Google. When I get home, remind me to do the laundry right away.”

This is an incredible favor that you can do for yourself while your commitments are on your mind. In the age of technology, forgetting is no longer a valid excuse. Of course, humans do sometimes make the mistake of forgetting, but there is no excuse for it happening regularly. Sorry, not sorry.

Call to Action

Many people require an additional boost of motivation to go from “planning” to “doing” because of the large gap between the two. Below is a method designed to put your social media reputation “on the line” in exchange for self-motivation.

(Author’s Note: This method has worked for me so many times, and I hope it helps you too; I call it, “Reputation At Risk”)

Reputation At Risk

Odds are that you are 1 of the 3–4 billion people around the globe currently using social media. Although social media oftentimes receives a “bad rap” for its negativity and toxicity, it has a certain plus side that you can use to your advantage. For starters, social media consists of many users (whose lives revolve around social media) trying to portray a net-positive image of themselves in order to impress others. If this sounds like you, even just a tiny bit, then you probably care about your reputation on social media and would do almost anything to preserve it.

The method that will take you from “planning” to “doing” requires you to tie your personal goals (that you lack the motivation to complete) into your social media reputation. Simply put, the theory goes:

“If you announce on social media (to the people you are trying to impress) that you are going to accomplish something, then you will have to accomplish that thing in order to maintain your biased image and convince your virtual peers that you are as positive, outgoing, and self-motivated as you say you are.”

This method can be applied to literally any task that you may not feel motivated to do. All you have to do is post it where someone will see it. Perhaps you want to stop using social media for a week so you can focus on your college exams. If so, Tweet, “You won’t see me on Twitter for a week because I have to study. Be back on Saturday!” Now, to earn respect for keeping a promise, you cannot use Twitter until Saturday. If you follow through, it is a win-win because not only did you have more time (and fewer distractions) to study but you also managed to reduce your social media usage for an entire week. However, if someone sees that you tweeted, liked, or commented on a post during the week, they (and you) will know that you failed and are not as reliable as you say you are, which will put a “blemish” on the illusion (of a “perfect life”) that you spent years trying to create.

The task does not have to be as urgent as an exam. Perhaps you have been putting off certain things for months or even years and would like to finally get around to doing them. Share that information on social media! It will hold you accountable, and some of your peers may even give you additional encouragement and tips. Here are some ideas:

• Dieting/Exercising
• Quitting a bad habit
• Apologizing to someone (after many years)
• Going to bed early (in an attempt to adjust a sleep schedule)
• Finishing a homework assignment
• Asking someone on a date (or proposing to someone)
• Ending a friendship

Notice that these examples are not necessarily urgent, but, by naming them in front of everyone, you create an artificial sense of urgency and expectation that will hold you accountable when you are feeling unmotivated or nervous. Try it for yourself, and see how it works!

(Author’s Note: I actually tend to see instances of this on the streaming platform, TwitchTV, all the time. Since the platform is comprised of a large percentage of school-aged users, you often see viewers writing in chat about how they “have an exam in the morning,” so they “have to go study.” After they share this with their social media peers, they feel an added sense of accountability to do what needs to be done, knowing that, at any moment, someone from that discussion might ask how the exam went.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this article! I will never understand why people procrastinate regularly when it only ever leads to an overwhelming amount of stress as a deadline quickly approaches. I hope you learned some new ways to live more efficiently and stress-free, and I wish you the best of luck in 2021! 👍 If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to comment below or on my social media!

Second, I want to quickly shout out the work of another friend of mine. MightyRy is a Twitch-streamer-turned-aspiring-life-coach who gives advice about healthy mentalities, habits, lifestyles, relationships, and more! If you like what I wrote here, you will love his coaching videos, so go send him some love to start the new year. 🤗

Also, I encourage you to check out some of my other articles here!