Have you ever really pondered upon what goes on in the mind of a person who has become totally hooked to procrastination and keeps on putting off tasks, one after another, unable to sense the repercussions that would come with it?
It is not very unusual to come across an array of motivationally boosting blog posts and articles delivering information on how one can get themselves to become productive by following the tips they suggest to get their lives to fall in place and get rid of procrastination once and for all. But what a lot of people miss out on is chalking out the major reason that pulls the life force, so strong and all-consuming, residing within each one of us, to resort to procrastination every time a goal seems too lofty to fulfill.
To be able to quote an actual scientific reason behind why humans feel tempted to procrastinate, I racked my brain and scrolled through plenty of factual websites to substantiate at least one logical reason as to why we procrastinate. After all the research that I did, what I gathered from this entire muffled conversation surrounding why humans procrastinate led me to only one answer.
The root of all worldly problems and not just procrastination lies hidden beneath our “EXPECTATIONS."
A word this heavy, carries the burden of a thousand dreams wrapped within it and often surfaces as a shallow, hopeless feeling, a vague expectation, isn’t that weird?
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Never knew our expectations could prove to be this capable of messing with our psyche!
“What if I don’t end up scoring better than I did last time? What would the entire point of studying be? Okay, let me skip the toughest chapter. I’ll keep it for studying towards the end.”
The fear revolving around the expectation not being met, just the thought of things not working out the way you want them to is capable enough of shifting your focus from your designated task and messing with your levels of motivation and productivity. The willingness to give things a try, dies down the moment thoughts of failure start doing ring-a-roses in your head.
Mind you, this is all in your head, nothing has really happened yet, but the tiniest of insecurity behind one’s goal not being met is enough for someone to procrastinate and not pick up on that task only, until the deadline does not hit the rock bottom and seem threatening enough to start working upon.
Another reason very closely attached to developing expectations is the gap between our current and future selves. Looking at how huge the distance between these two different people to be bridged is, the fear of a bleak future acts as a roadblock when trying to finish off a task.
Instead of getting done with it the moment it should’ve been done and dusted with, you spend all your time brooding about things not falling in place, heedless that not working on something will only increase your chances of failure. At this point, not giving something a try just because it may not work out in the future, starts seeming to be a big enough reason to delay and procrastinate.
And beneath all these layers of unnecessary fears and expectations lies an even bigger demon consuming the entire humanity, that is the big giant wave of laziness that always hits you every time a deadline or an exam is near. It is a force to reckon with, the biggest of the two other reasons mentioned above.
Having discussed the challenges lying ahead of putting off tasks at length, let us now quickly discuss some very easy-to-apply hacks to get you moving and grooving when stuck in a vicious rut of procrastination:
- The 10-minute Zip-Zap-Zoom Hack!
Give yourself 10 minutes to think about and work on the task that you have been putting off for a long while. You can do anything, be it scheduling a deadline within which to finish it off or creating a timetable and choosing how to go forward with it. Find a creative way to get started, such as promising yourself a reward for initiating the task, or chunking the task into smaller tasks to make it less daunting. The more you break the task down, the less lofty it would seem.
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2. Do not think dumb, just go numb!
The expectation of the best is what sometimes keeps us from our goals and the key to getting started without attaching too much importance to the end result is twisting the narrative your brain is tricking you into thinking about. Instead of ruminating about what could go wrong and delaying the completion of the task, put off the negative thought instead and go numb for at least 5 seconds.
Hold your breath in, just pause thinking for a bit and the moment you exhale, jump right into the task and you will realize that not thinking about the end goal is actually what allowed you to work better. Every time you’re bombarded with self-deprecating thoughts, just go numb for 5 seconds and witness all your fears evaporating in an instant.
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3. It's high time that you take a break!
At any given point, if you feel like you’re crumbling under the pressure of your expectations or that you have sunk into a perpetual state of slackness, do not feel guilty for slowing down and giving yourself a break from everything that has been overwhelming you. Take your own sweet time to recharge yourself to function better the next time you get back to work.
But make sure that you take a break only for as long as your deadlines allow you to. Do not pick up on the laid-back approach, or else you will again have to tread onto the path of self-improvement, and I bet you wouldn’t want to walk down that road again, would you?
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You have to have a starting point. You only ought to know when and what to start working on and soon you will realize that the moment you kickstart working on a task that you had been putting off for so long, it then becomes absolutely difficult for you to stop yourself from coming out of it and thinking about what else would come along with it. At that moment, your sole motivation behind getting back to work would be to get the work done, and that is how you recognize having come a long way, from constantly procrastinating to now assuming responsibilities, head-on!
