Are You Procrastinating?

Do you take your actions at the eleventh hour? Have you ever missed your deadline because of that?

"I will start early from the next time." - Is it what you say every time? 

Did it happen that you planned for exercising from the next morning but when the next morning comes into present you postponed that again?

Or you thought that you have a lot of time for completing a task and decided to do later?

Then you missed the deadline or had a near miss?

Or, you thought of surfing the social media for just few minutes..

"Just 5 more minutes. Then I will start my task.."

Then you finally realized you have successfully wasted so many hours?

Or, you can't concentrate in your work..

Because, you are in a really bad mood?

Because you Can't get rid of your negative thoughts?

If you are familiar with any of these then don't worry. We are going to figure out the root cause and the solutions together.

What is Procrastination?

This act of postponing action or decision is called Procrastination. This is a very common nature in human.
There is a saying by a professor of psychology at DePaul University Joseph Ferrari, "What I’ve found is that while everybody may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator,".

The word "Procrastination" is originated from the Latin word "Procrastinatus" which means to put off until tomorrow.

In simple words, Procrastination is an act of delaying the tasks, till the last moment.

What are the Negative effects of Procrastination?

Procrastination can lead to high self-dissatisfaction, frustration, stress. These can lead to Mental Depression. As a result of depression, we will not be able to concentrate in our work which will result into procrastination. It will become an infinite loop of negativity which will make our life really difficult.

It can also increase our workload as well as financial burden. It can hamper our social life, our relationships and even our health.

Different types of Procrastinators

According to various scientific researches, every human brain is unique just like fingerprint. No two human mind can be exactly alike. In spite of this fact, we can categorize the them based on some common traits. 

I am going to talk about 6 very common type of procrastinators, the root cause behind their behaviour and the techniques they can apply to eliminate the consequences of procrastination from their life.

1. The Extreme Perfectionist: 

 

The Extreme Perfectionist is one who wants everything she/he does needs to be perfect. In many cases this leads to procrastination.

Sometimes these people struggle to start and sometimes they struggle to finish. Either way they value the perfection more than completion of any task.

Let us dig deeper into the reasons of their procrastination.

Why do the Extreme Perfectionists Procrastinate?

• Fear: The Extreme Perfectionists are afraid of failure, imperfection and even making new mistakes. This fear restrains them from starting the tasks.
• Long Preparations: A perfectionist takes too much time in preparation and finds it hard to start the actual task.
• High Social-Esteem: These people often value the society's judgements about them. They are worried about not being able to fulfil others' expectations.
• Impossibly High Expectations: They set a very high expectation from themselves. When they start any work they get stuck in the details in order to meet their own expectations. As a result, they are unable to complete the task.
• Self-Criticism: The Extreme Perfectionists are big self-critics. They often magnify their small mistakes and consider it as a failure. They do not consider their tasks as complete.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Extreme Perfectionist?

• Allow yourself to make mistakes. It is the only way we learn and we grow.
• Stop overdoing pre-task activities. Do as much as required and then strat the task. Don't think about the result.
• Brush off the thought of what society expects from you.
• Set small and feasible goals.
• Manage your task such that you complete the task correctly. Then you can focus on the details (perfection). Remember that, finishing the task within the given timeframe is as important as doing it perfectly.
• Sometimes extreme perfectionism is linked with the mental condition Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In such cases you need to seek medical expert's help.

2. The Unrealistically optimistic:

The unrealistically optimistic people are those who believe that future is going to bring only positive events. Hence they keep their work for their future.

Why do the Unrealistically Optimistic People Procrastinate?

• Poor Estimation: The unrealistic optimism leads to poor estimation of available time and effort required for the task. These people often underestimate the required effort whereas they overestimate the available time.
• False Believe: They often believe that they work better under pressure. Hence, they delay their work till the latest time before it is too late to perform the task.
• Wishful Thinking: They think that in future the external and internal factors will become better and they will be able to accomplish the work with less struggle. Due to this thought they postpone the task to the future.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Unrealistically Optimistic?

• Think more rationally and analyse the work on the day you get it to understand the actual complexity.
• Start doing the task at the earliest considering the consequences of delaying it.

3. The Avoider:

The Avoiders are those who procrastinate their work to avoid the unpleasant feeling, distress or anxiety of doing the task they do not like. 

Why do the Avoiders Procrastinate?

• Lack of Interest: We generally avoid those tasks which we do not like to do.
• Difficulty: People often tend to delay difficult tasks to avoid the pain of doing them.
• Lack of Clarity: Sometimes not having much clarity about what is to be done and how it needs to be done can become a reason of procrastination.
• Lack of Motivation: People sometimes do not find enough motivation to be able to start a work.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Unrealistically Optimistic?

• Break down the big task into small and easily achievable goals.
• Prepare a to-do list and add a due date to each activity.
• Appreciate yourself once you achieve any milestone towards the final goal.
• Prepare visual reminders like "Sticky Notes" to remind yourself the pending activities.

4. The Easily Distractible

People who are easily distractible can get involved in something which drains off their time. This leads then away from completing their tasks.

Why do the easily distractible people Procrastinate?

• Internal distraction: They sometimes start roaming in their thoughts instead of focusing in their work.
• External distraction: They can get distracted by some other person's conversation, social media, entertainment media, games etc. that they completely forget about their goals.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Easily Distractible?

• Eliminate the external source of distraction. For example, by uninstalling games, social media apps from your mobile.
• If it is difficult to eliminate decrease their accessibility by setting long passwords or keeping them inside hidden folders etc.

5. The Pleasure Seeker

These are the people who value the immediate gratification more than the future rewards.

Why do the Pleasure Seekers Procrastinate?

• They could not start the work as they do not feel to be in a mood of doing the task at present. They believe that they will be having a better mood in the future.
• The problem for a pleasure seeker is not in doing the task but in starting it.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Pleasure Seeker?

• Make immediate reward and punishment system for yourself.
• Instead of waiting for the reward after completion of the whole task set small check points.
• Give some small reward to yourself after reaching each check point. For example, eating your favourite cookies.
• Punish yourself if any check point is not reached on time. For instant, not letting yourself listen to your favourite song before completing that milestone.

6. The Novelty Seeker

The Novelty seekers are those who are very good at taking action but bad at holding on to it. They come with unique ideas but cannot follow that for long.

Why do the Novelty Seekers Procrastinate?

• They try to do unique things and takes fast action but easily gets bored.
• They are able to start the tasks but leave before completing and move to new task.

How can you overcome Procrastination if you are Novelty Seeker?

• Whenever new ideas come to your mind note that down. Do not jump start it before completing the current task you are working on.

If you have found any similarity with any of the procrastinators, start working for the betterment. Observe yourself and bring out the best of you.