Despite being a ‘’Psychologist’’ i.e. a professional concerned with observing human behavior & modifying its sinful fallacies…I am a serious procrastinator with an amazing ability to put off almost anything (including sleeping and eating!! Based on my whims & fancies!!!).
In my long list of things I used to put off, car driving was a regular! Though I was aware of the basics of car driving; learning the ‘’Art’’ of driving was particularly not on top of my agenda. This was partly due to absence of any pressing need to learn the art and also because my father is usually available round the clock. Hence, I always enjoyed sitting next to him or pillion watching scenes, having no tension to be vigilant of the traffic ahead, until one day when I was asked to drop my father urgently to the main station driving through some of the busiest routes of the city. He was carrying three big, heavy bags. It was impossible to drop him to station with that entire luggage on my all weather companion Access-125(a two wheeler). Though reluctant, I put on a Brave face & declared that‘’YES! I CAN EASILY manage it.’’
Father swiftly completed the one way journey to station, skillfully maneuvering I-10 through all the hustle &bustle on narrow old city roads and I was left alone on the way back.It was getting late to reach @BHEL sports complex for daily morning walks & scintillating talks. I was amazed when I was driving on my way to sports complex. Not only I managed to reach the usual 40 minutes drive in 20 minutes but throughout my drive,I was unfazed by the usual scenario of uncontrolled traffic and crazy people driving on roads, animals, kids running, which is a regular sight on most roads in India, I was not fearful and drove smoothly past them. On reaching the place I realized it was because I had a clear goal to reach a destination in time, I was only focused on finding my way back. I was not at all nervous of being an amateur driver and no possibility of meeting with an accident or booking someone for early flight to heavens (or hell, only God may tell…Pun intended!!!) haunted me. I was all calm and vigilant while I was driving. Later that day post my breakfast when I was once again procrastinating to make a study schedule, I had this “AHA” experience of why do we procrastinate? I felt enlightened with this answer that “we procrastinate because there is no definite focus”.
We live in an over stimulated world with abundant distractions.Technology pervades our world from cell phones and laptops to iPods and what not, an average person owns an arsenal of gadgets that, in many ways simplify life but also offer multiple distractions. Apart from being tech-savy we feel habitually tied to our phones and enslaved by repetitive urge to check updates on email, whatsapp, twitter, facebook & multiple other social media. We feel stressed out to disconnect. Also, family duties, demanding jobs, games, internet and most addictive distraction,idiot box add to never ending list of distractions. Our attention drifts even before we are aware of it. Sometimes, I wonder does anyone ever gets anything done at all? All of you in the same boat would agree with Christopher Parker_ Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. So, without PROCRASTINATING to come to my point, what can we do on a consistent basis to get rid of procrastination?
Here are few ways to get things done quickly, surely, regularly & on a consistent basis without procrastinating.
- Zero in on a game plan
When we don’t know where to start we tend to waste time thinking what to do first. Write down all random pending things to be done in bullet points. Prioritize what is to be done urgently and should be taken up first. Take up one task at a time. May it be covering syllabus before term exam or preparations before a big celebration with family and friends.You must have a clear picture of path to follow to accomplish that task at hand. A handy to-do-list is a reflection of racing thoughts on your mind. A quick review of list shall bring you back on track if & when you get distracted.TIP: Smartphone Apps like evernote, colorpad are useful in this regard or just get a temporary marker and write on your mirror, smooth floor tiles and wipe out clean when you are done.
2.Silence the incessant noise
Traffic, honking horns, buzzing gadgets, side walk cell phone conversations, torture of loudspeakers, mall music, the list is unending.These have invaded our personal spaces. Surrounded by constant noise most of us accept these noises as a normal byproduct of our gadget obsessed world. If you need to get your job done, give pings, updates and buzz a little rest, block everything else out for a limited span.Tip: try using the silent mode often while doing work.
- Single tasking minimum two activities daily.
When was the last time you dedicated all your effort to one single task? Multitasking is a trendy word referring to do more than one thing at a time. We can, indeed, do more than one task at a time, as long as only one of the tasks requires our attention. Multitasking can prove to be successful to the extent that the tasks are familiar and well-practiced.While we feel multitasking helps, we miss out on fact that we fail to give 100% to any task.What you are in fact doing, is switching your attention rapidly between the two tasks, not performing simultaneous, and you are doing it at some cost. While multitasking may seem more efficient, it may not actually be more efficient. It may in fact take more time in the end, and the tasks may of course be performed more poorly. Science has repeatedly proven that multi-tasking is a myth. Human brain is not designed to multi-task. And then there is stress; since switching between tasks places demands on your mental processes. Understand that improved attention leads to efficient cognitive functioning leading to best performances.
- Reward yourself
Being humans, we work better when we’re motivated to do a task rather than being criticized. So why not create a reward for yourself for afterwards, as motivation to get it done? Reward can be a treat, praise from others or may be a day to relax. Reward remarks achievement and our brain knows we are on the move and making a constant progress which can itself work as a reward in long run.
- Power of Neuroplasticity, create a new routine, new habit
Our daily routines can make a huge difference to how healthy, happy and productive we are. I have recently adjusted my personal routine hoping to get more done and wasting less time procrastinating. It’s important to understand how our brain works and what routine best suits our body. Everyone’s body is different and it can be helpful to understand how fluctuation in energy levels is associated with our productivity. Notice your energy levels and how they fluctuate throughout the day. Choose the task of top most priority for the most active part of the day. Looking at your current schedule and previous failed attempts to change it, you would certainly be on low motivation, and you may think that nothing I do can change my habits of getting up late or I am so unable to make an exercise routine. There is a good news for you. A hot topic of research among scientists these days is “neuroplasticity” i.e. neural circuitry in brain can reorganize in response to experience or sensory stimulation. So with consistent and determined little efforts daily you can rewire neural connections of your brain to open avenues of a healthy life style.
- Be systematic
Being systematic in approaching any task can save your time & efforts, will bless you with less worries, gives you a sense of accomplishment & satisfaction. Being systematic allows you to solve problem by coming to terms with reality, eases the process to think out workable solutions. Start by jotting down all random thoughts to keep things in perspective and save for later examination if and when required. Human brain is an idea generator which keeps on producing ideas and thoughts every moment. Craziest of ideas deserves to be examined before being discarded. Chester Carlson conducted numerous experiments to develop electrophotography, what we refer to as Xerox today. Top companies, including IBM and the U.S. Army Signal Corps, turned him down, for this then considered useless idea. Any idea can be revolutionary, take time to note it down before it vanishes. Another important aspect of being systematic is giving yourself a specific timeframe to solve a specific problem. Otherwise, you may never come to the end.
7. Living in present: Art of mindfulness & regulating emotions
Whenever we are required to get some job done we are flooded with thoughts that are colored by transient emotions. Consider setting up a new business, thoughts of failure will prevail in addition to several subtle and perhaps transient emotions that define task evasiveness such as lack of motivation & zeal, frustration. We create an emotional response subconsciously fearing, things will be out of our control. To deal with this unpleasant state we avoid the very task that creates this emotional response.(Consider laughing loud in public: we often worry what will others think about us, and in response we avoid laughing aloud just to avoid that embarrassment rooted in our subjective hypothesis of how others will think? Such thoughts and emotions can catalyze motivation to avoid laughing out loud).This avoidant coping response is procrastination. Procrastination can be understood as an emotion regulation process. Have you ever noticed a distraction caused by distressing emotions? Have you ever felt distracted with memory of past day “I feel angry because of yesterday’s event” and your focus drift away. Human brain is wired to give preference to our emotional distractions. These feelings color everything that we do. So its important to learn to deal with your emotions. Effective self regulation relies on emotion regulation, and this emotion regulation relies on mindfulness. Mindfulness leads to lesser procrastination.
What is Mindfulness?
It is a practice based simply on noticing or watching our inner sensations rather than resisting or getting lost in it. It can help you open to joy and deep satisfaction. Being mindful involves being fully absorbed in the activity at hand. This state of body & mind is characterized by high concentration on an activity, amalgamation of awareness & action as we focus on present task at hand. You can practice mindfulness anytime anywhere. Sit relaxed and concentrate on your breathing. You will soon notice thoughts rushing into your head. Register the thought for a while & let it go without judging it, without questioning it. Then report the thought to yourself like a weather report. Ex. Frustration (feeling) due to lesser salary hike as compared to others (thought) was observed in vicinity. Come back to noticing inhale-exhale again. Learning to concentrate on your breathing is just the starting; breathing serves as task at hand (here & now). As you develop expertise in mindfulness breathing can be replaced by task at hand.
- Stop Comparing
Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It’s how you are different makes all the difference. Comparison with others is sine qua non to jealousy, backbiting, poor IPR and just another reason to make you feel unhappy. With comparison creeps in insecurity and shatters your confidence. We start looking for ways to put others down in order to boost our confidence. Why not to stop comparing ourselves with others in first place and take responsibility for doing the creative best we can with our own life. Just be yourself and nothing more.Don’t fake yourself just for the sake of show off. If you compare your effort, circumstances, relationships or anything with others you are not being fair to yourself. Everyone has a different path, a different pace, and different challenges to face along the journey. Don’t be upset when you fall and you see others going ahead of you, just make sure once you get up you beat your last performance. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow, You will succeed with another blow!!
With these easy to do strategies you can break the procrastination loop. These little tricks helped me deal with my procrastination, hope it helps you too. Remember “The best way to get something done is to BEGIN.”