5 Ways To Beat Procrastination - Part 1

“The way to cross a river is to cross the river. The way to chop down a tree is to chop down the tree. The way to climb a mountain is to climb the mountain.” (old American Indian proverb)

He who watches the clouds will not sow. He who regards the wind will not sow nor reap. (Proverbs)

Susie’s monitor is full of post-it notes, she can hardly read the screen. Some of them have been pasted days before. She’s frustrated that she can’t get around to doing them.

Leslie is annoyed by the stink coming from behind the backdoor. She had asked her husband to dispose the garbage two days ago. He said yes, but somehow wasn’t able to get it done.

Tom has been driving around town for some errands. On the way to the next town and in the middle of nowhere he runs out of gas. The warning sign had flashed on his dashboard several times but he thought he’d gas up later.

Procrastination. I’ve been wanting to write about this topic several months ago but I kept putting it off. In fact I already had a mental picture of the book cover: “If You Can Dream It, Forget It.” And then the subtitle: “DEPROCRASTINATE Your Life.” I’m proud to say I coined that word. It’s not yet included in the dictionary. At least, not in the one I’m using.

Are you a procrastinator? Procrastination can be a little bit nasty and annoying not just for the procrastinator but also to the affected people. Can it be cured? Lucky for you, it can. Aside from developing a new habit, it is necessary to address some underlying issues of the problem.

Although a simple way of establishing new habits may be enough to eliminate most simple procrastination problems, the total cure may be more than just the usual “Just do it”. I like that Nike tagline and it is integral to our solution. But it is important to not just kill the cockroach but to eliminate the breeding ground and to always keep the kitchen clean.

Procrastination may be a symptom of more complex psychological issues, such as low self-esteem. Sometimes it can be deeply ingrained, progressing from childhood to adulthood. It can remain unaddressed and render people ineffective.

I had bad study habits in highschool and procrastination was one of them. It caused me problems all throughout college. Unfinished term papers and thesis, incomplete grades, and the like. I’ve been married for many years and have had two kids, but my failures in college remained lodged in my subconscious. A couple of years or so ago, I would wake up in the middle of the night feeling very anxious and sometimes in tears. I would dream I was in college class and in panic. In the dream I would realize that I had missed a class consecutively or there were requirements that I had failed to comply with. I wondered why something seemingly irrelevant in the present and which happened a long time ago would still bother me. It was not until I started to put my life in order, address personal issues, including procrastination that those dreams disappeared.

The problem may not be as deeply ingrained as my experience. But still understanding why we act the way we do is an effective first step to beat procrastination. Recognizing and admitting the problem is a good halfway already to solve the problem. So let’s start here. See if you find yourself in the following five types of procrastinators.

Beats around the bush. It is an idiom which means talking indirectly about something without exactly getting to the point. This type of procrastinator loves to do the preliminary activities. He lingers in the preparation part and is somewhat hesitant to attack the problem right away. Sometimes he is just unsure how to proceed or is confused. Eventually too much time has been devoted to the introduction and too little is left for the main event.

The perfectionist.A cousin of the above. He likes to wait for perfect conditions before acting. He does not want an output short of excellent so he delays action. It becomes a problem because more often, what is required is just to get something done on time, not necessarily in a perfect way.

The unmotivated and the disinterested. This type is not convinced that the task is necessary. He cannot see the reason why he should do it. He may not see any benefit or satisfaction in doing it. Sometimes he simply dislikes the job, it is unpleasant to him. The problem is he fails to resolve the question “should I do it or should I not?” It’s prolonging the agony and completion of the task.

The Unorganized and Unfocused. He may also be called the reactive type. He has not laid out clearly his priorities. He just responds to stimuli as they come. This thing needs to be done and he does it. Something pops up and he does that. He is susceptible to overload. Pretty soon he has done many things but at the end of the day he feels that he has accomplished little or nothing at all.

The plain lazy and irresponsible. Prioritizes self-gratification. He is easily distracted. Conscientiousness is a foreign word to him, or he has never heard of it. He has little sense of responsibility, or is afraid to handle one. Do not expect him to beat the deadline, or worse, to finish the task at all. What this person needs is a good whack in the head. Good if the carrot approach works. Oftentimes it may not. They need pain to put themselves in line. Like maybe to suffer the consequences of their irresponsibility. But I am referring to extreme cases. Most people in this category are somewhere in between. They are not hopeless.

The link below leads to part two of this article.