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✪ How to stop leaving things for later and keep up with important tasks? 6 Procrastination Triggers
✪ Procrastination is good
✪ How to get rid of the habit of procrastinating (for a long time)
✪ 6 ways to stop procrastinating NOW
✪ Procrastination.
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Definition
Procrastination is manifested in the fact that a person, realizing the need to perform very specific important things (for example, his official duties), ignores this need and diverts his attention to household trifles or entertainment.
Procrastination differs from laziness in that in the case of laziness, the subject does not want to do anything and does not worry about it, and in the state of procrastination, he realizes the importance and urgency of the work, but does not do it, perhaps finding one or another self-justification. What distinguishes procrastination from rest is that during rest, a person replenishes energy reserves, and during procrastination, he loses it.
In one way or another, this condition is familiar to most people and up to a certain level is considered normal. Procrastination becomes a problem when it turns into a normal "working" state in which a person spends most of the time. Such a person puts off everything important “for later”, and when it turns out that all the deadlines have already passed, he either simply refuses what was planned, or tries to do everything that was postponed “by jerk”, in an unrealistically short period of time. As a result, things are not performed or performed poorly, late and not in full, which leads to the corresponding negative effects in the form of trouble at work, missed opportunities, dissatisfaction with others due to non-fulfillment of obligations, and the like. This can result in stress, guilt, loss of productivity. The combination of these feelings and overexpenditure (first on secondary tasks and dealing with growing anxiety, then on work at a rush pace) can provoke further procrastination.
Russification of the term
In Russian, procrastination, as a phenomenon, was noted back in the 19th century. Then a proverb spread in Russia: “Tomorrow, tomorrow, not today! - so lazy people say ", which arose from the poem "Delay" in the translation of Boris Fedorov (1794-1875), which fell into pre-revolutionary gymnasium anthologies.
For 2014, to designate the concept, they use tracing paper with in English, but scientists are thinking about the localization of the term. Options are offered: “breakfast”, “transfer”, “for posterity”, “procrastination”, but, among others, the term “ postponement ' as the most acceptable. When translating the book Doll A. " mental traps: Stupid things that reasonable people do to ruin their lives ", the term" delay "was used to refer to this phenomenon. This corresponds to one of the meanings of the word "drag out" and the phrase "drag out".
Story
The term appeared in 1977, when two science articles: "Procrastination in a person's life" and "Overcoming procrastination."
In Russia, almost no one deals with issues, but there are individual enthusiasts: Natalya Karlovskaya and Yana Varvaricheva.
For 2014, the main publication covering the problem is the journal "Procrastination And Task Avoiding" (rus. Procrastination and task avoidance) .
Causes of procrastination
perfectionism
The cause of procrastination is also perfectionism, which manifests itself in an attempt to achieve perfection, focusing on details and ignoring time limits and associated with the fear of possible imperfection, “non-ideal” results of the work to be done. Perfectionists also often enjoy deadlines, more pressure, last night work; they are consciously or subconsciously convinced that the quality of their work depends on pressure from above, and the more it is, the better the results.
self-restraint
According to this theory, a procrastinator limits himself because of a subconscious fear of becoming successful, standing out from the crowd and showing himself better than others (becoming, for example, a possible object of excessive demands, criticism, envy); in addition, a subjectively low-estimated personal ability to act in changed (after the start or completion of the case) conditions may play a role. In any case, as in the first theory, keyword is "fear".
Defiance (spirit of contradiction)
According to this theory, we are annoyed by the imposed roles, programs, plans, and we postpone the matter in order to demonstrate (to others, management, the world) our independence and the ability to act in accordance with our own decision. Being subject to external pressure, we come into conflict with the mass or leadership. In this way, "rebels", anarchists defend their own opinion. They are always dissatisfied with their position and easily fall into the trap of not doing - they spend their whole lives proving their independence from public opinion, which makes them slaves of an idea; as a result, their activity is limited to the generation of ideas.
Theory of temporal motivation
All of the above theories do not explain the whole problem. Opponents identify two main drawbacks in them: they explain the reason for avoiding solving tasks, but not the reason for postponing them, and they do not explain the main thing - the relationship between procrastination and anxiety (for example, perfectionists are less prone to procrastination than other people). More reasonable is the theory of temporal motivation (English temporal motivation theory).
According to this theory, the subjective utility of an action (Utility), which determines a person’s desire to perform it, depends on four parameters: confidence in success (Expectancy), value, that is, the expected reward (Value), time to completion of work (Delay) and level impatience, i.e. sensitivity to delays (G). A person considers a business more useful if he is confident in its successful completion and expects a large reward based on its results. On the contrary, things are subjectively less useful if there is still a lot of time left before their completion. Also, the more painful we are with delays, the less rewarding we find things that take time to complete.
Following this theory, we can conclude that the level of procrastination is the lower, the more expectations from the case and the more valuable its results are for a person personally, and the higher, the less persistent a person is (for example, impulsive people are more prone to procrastination) and the further to achieving the goal (the closer the goal, the harder we work). In other words, work is best done when there are high expectations and self-interest in relation to it, and the time to achieve is reduced to a minimum.
Focus on the process, not on the result
In this case, the procrastinator does the job in such a way as to get satisfaction from the very process of doing the job, and not from achieving the result (goal). The goal for him is only a direction, a plan, a vector, but the process itself is the most important thing.
Techniques for dealing with procrastination
Since procrastination directly depends on the degree of motivation (interest in work and positive expectations from its completion), in some cases it is possible to solve the problem by changing jobs (dropping out of school), but these are not universal and very drastic measures, and most people are not ready for them. Besides, if high level procrastination in this person is associated with increased anxiety and lack of planning skills, then it is highly likely that changing the type of activity will not help (or will help only at first).
There is no specific recipe that guarantees getting rid of procrastination. However, within the discipline of time management (time management), there are a number of techniques that allow, to a greater or lesser extent, to reduce the level of procrastination and, thus, increase the real return on work, which entails an increase in life satisfaction and getting rid of stress.
Time use categorization
Usually there are no special problems with procrastination in people who can draw a line for themselves that clearly divides tasks into urgent and those that can wait. Lucy McDonald, referring to the ideas of Dwight Eisenhower as a source, as well as Stephen Covey, author of the Franklin Time Management methodology (“Franklin Time Management”) and the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, suggest dividing all cases according to two criteria: importance and urgency . Thus, there are only four categories of cases that take time:
1. Important and not urgent (Important and Not Urgent - Priority Principle) These are the things that have the greatest impact on a person's life as a whole, while procrastination, in the first place, affects them. This includes everything for which a person lives, his most promising goals and objectives, that which gives meaning to all life. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the existence of this category of cases and remember them as things that determine the direction of movement. On a daily basis, it looks like this:
- What corresponds to life goals and values, what a person should start his day with: getting out of bed, remind himself that he has a life project.
- When doing important and urgent things from category 2, you should remember that all this is done for the sake of “important and not urgent” life goals, and be aware for what exactly: I work because I want to healthy family, I attend English classes because I want to open the door to Europe, I pull out a bad tooth, because my health is important to me. That is, this is your every minute filter for any business.
- In this category, you need to take into account the time for rest and allow yourself to provide it. Without health and strength, the following categories will not be needed.
Education industriousness
Success breeds success. Based on this, a person should support positive attitude, finding pleasant consequences in any previous action and, as a result, making them an incentive for further vigorous activity. It is necessary to reward yourself for success, to maintain a sense of your own worth. When starting a new business, be sure that there were successful actions in the past, celebrate small daily victories, but do not stop at them, keep track of the ratio of victories to tasks.
The productive realization that the escape from unpleasant experiences, the desire to make life as easy as possible through entertainment is not justified in any way and only exacerbates the situation. Since experiences become unpleasant only when a person himself evaluates them so, he should learn to enjoy work and avoid displeasure from judging its quantity.
To get rid of the “spirit of contradiction”, the feeling of imposing duties from outside, one should replace the wording “I am obliged” (to do) with “I choose” (to do) - subjectively turning the duty into an act of good will. A variant of this technique would be scheduling, in which the central place is occupied not by business with breaks for rest, but by rest interspersed with business.
Case Planning
You need to plan your day and allocate time for each job, taking into account rest, possible delays, and so on. Instead of performing tasks sequentially, when you cannot start the next one until you finish the previous one, several different tasks are performed simultaneously - in parts. You can set aside short time blocks (from 5 to 30 minutes) to do something and then switch to another, or plan to do something specific and small in volume in this block. The schedule must be drawn up in advance; it is better to spend some time on this in the evening, so that in the morning you will know what to do and how to use your time wisely. When the to-do list is visual, even putting something off for later, you still do useful work. You can make a list by ranking things by priority, but you don’t have to do them in order of importance, you can do what is easier first.
One of the planning techniques useful for combating procrastination is [ ] Getting Things Done, developed by David Allen. The basic idea of the methodology: stress arises, among other things, due to the need to constantly remember about in large numbers cases of varying importance and urgency, and the ever-present problem of choice: “What to do right now?”. Therefore, it is necessary to unload the brain by transferring all plans to external media (paper notes, electronic calendars and planners, and so on), categorizing them (current affairs, projects, permanent duties, and so on), importance and urgency, clearly defining what what needs to be done at a specific time, and fixing deadlines where they matter. As a result, at each moment of time it is clearly known what things need to be done first of all, and you can concentrate on work, allocating for periodic adjustments of plans special time and no longer returning to the problem of choosing between current affairs.
Allen insists that any business, no matter how insignificant, must be included in the plan. The purpose of this, however, is not to draw up an unambiguous "calendar of the future" and adhere to it with all possible scrupulousness, but just the opposite. When planning their affairs, people tend to include in their plans, first of all, complex, important and time-consuming tasks that require a lot of time to solve, as well as cases that have an unambiguous chronological reference (meetings, conferences, official events). Other cases fill empty spaces in the work schedule. But life is full of coincidences: a scheduled meeting can start 10 minutes late, a meeting agreed a month in advance can fail ... A “window” suddenly appears in the schedule. If a person has a list of tasks at the ready that he can complete in given conditions in the free time (and time is usually small, and “big” tasks cannot be squeezed into it), he uses this time. If there is no list of "small" tasks at hand, time will most likely be lost. Allen also advises when planning "large" tasks (projects) not to be limited to "large-block" planning (allocation of time for the entire project), but, on the contrary, for each major project always have at least one scheduled specific task (for example, within the framework of a possibly multi-year project "Development of system X for customer Y", in the task "Agreement of the terms of reference", which is given a month, something like “Call the secretary Semyon Semyonych and arrange a meeting to agree on the TOR”). For a procrastinator, such planning allows you to overcome the fear of starting specific actions on a project, since an indefinite plan to “do something on a task” turns into a very specific action that does not require additional explanations and reflections.
John Perry, professor of philosophy at Stanford, introduced the concept of "structured procrastination." According to his theory, procrastination can not be suppressed, but turned into an aid to work. Since most procrastinators, shirking important things, are still doing something, you just need to direct their activities in a more important direction than, for example, browsing the Internet. Professor Perry suggests building a task structure so that important and urgent things, of course, are at the top of the list, but after them are slightly less important, but, nevertheless, requiring work to be done. An avid procrastinator will naturally skip the most important task, but instead do something useful. Perry notes that structured procrastination requires a certain amount of self-deception, since, in essence, it is a substitution of one task for another.
However, if there is a category of tasks that this person stubbornly and constantly puts off, then in order to cope with procrastination, it is imperative to understand what is unpleasant and impossible in these cases. It is possible that these tasks can be delegated to someone else, or made so that they do not need to be performed at all. Perhaps, realizing the cause, a person will be able to get rid of the problem himself. In any case, you need to consider unpleasant activities in more depth.
The time when something must be done is inexorably approaching, but you do anything to keep from getting to work. You watch movies and sticky videos, use social networks, read magazines. You know that you need to work, but there is absolutely no desire to do anything. So you have met face to face with the enemy of "postponing for later."
We are all familiar with the phenomenon of procrastination. We like to put everything off until later, wasting our free time, and start doing something only when it’s already “time”. But if we do get down to business, then we panic and regret that we did not start this sooner. We put things off, relax, hide from work and face it when it is already inevitable. And then it repeats over and over again. This is a terrible one that eats us up and prevents us from achieving good results. Enough of this power of laziness over us! It's time to end this!
1. Divide Your Work into Small Elements
We put things off because we think they are big. Break it down into small parts, and then focus on one of them. If after that you can’t get to work, then divide it into even smaller parts.
2. Change the environment
What is around you directly affects your productivity. Look at your desktop and room. Do they make you work or do you just want to lie face down in a soft pillow and fall asleep? If the latter, then you must change your workspace.
3. Make a detailed schedule with specific deadlines
Having just one for your job is great occasion postpone it. It's because we think there's still plenty of time. So we keep procrastinating endlessly. Once you've broken down your project into smaller tasks, create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each task. This way you will know that you have to finish a certain piece of work by a certain time. In order not to postpone these same deadlines (after all, you set them yourself, so you yourself can cancel, nothing will happen ...) assign yourself small rewards for the work done. Everything you like! Let's say you did the first part - treat yourself to a chocolate bar that you hid for a special occasion. Made the second - watch a new film. And so on.
4. Find a buddy
Having a companion makes the whole process much more fun. Ideally, your buddy should have a set of goals of their own. Both of you will question each other for your accomplishments. It's like a couples diet - you need outside control.
5. Tell others about your plans
This tip works in much the same way as point 6, only on a larger scale. Tell everyone you can about your projects. And every time you see each other, they will definitely ask about your progress. This will surely encourage you to stop procrastinating.
6. Eliminate lazy pit stops
Set aside everything that distracts you from your goal. Remove browser notifications about new videos, close tabs with social networks, and so on. Some people will go further and delete their accounts wherever possible. But, we believe, this is too radical, since the fight against laziness has more to do with awareness of our actions than with opposition. But, if you feel it is necessary, then do what you know.
7. Spend time with people who inspire you to take action.
Without a doubt, 10 minutes of talking to Bill Gates or Steve Jobs will give you more motivation than 10 minutes of idleness. It is important to understand that the people we are with influence our behavior. Find friends or colleagues who make you want to work and spend time with them more often. Soon you will be filled with the drive to work. On top of that, you can even work together on your task :)
8. Refine your goals
Over time, we stop going in a given direction. This is because we learn more about ourselves and don't change our goals to reflect those. Leave work for a while (a short vacation or a weekend without work). Give yourself time to "reboot". What exactly do you want to achieve now? What needs to be done to achieve this? What steps need to be taken? Does what you are doing now match these goals? If not, what can be done?
9. Find someone who has already achieved what you aspire to.
Seeing proof that your goals are absolutely achievable if you put in enough effort is the biggest incentive to move forward.
10. Everything is easier than it seems
Are you waiting for the perfect time to do something? Now is not the best best time for such and such reasons? Stop thinking about it, because "that moment" will never come, there is no perfect time. You either do it now or you don't do it at all. By continuing to wait, you are only wasting time.
11. Pull yourself together!
In the end, it all boils down to decisive action. You can strategize, plan, and make assumptions, but if you don't do anything, nothing will happen. Just gather your will into a fist. Stop sitting in your seat. Stop postponing for "later" that will never come!
Do you like to put things off until later? So, this article is required reading, because we tried to find the most better ways in order to stop engaging in eternal self-deception.
On this topic
First, let's figure out what you need to do to be called a chronic procrastinator. A tricky word, isn't it? However, its meaning is familiar to anyone who systematically postpones significant matters indefinitely. Surely you have been among the so-called procrastinators more than once, however, like most of the inhabitants of the planet. This lifestyle makes a person feel guilty - practically every day. More precisely, when you realize that the night is coming, and you still haven’t done what you planned the day before. Let's figure out what will help in the fight against such an extremely unprofitable occupation.
Pro-beauty... what?
Even the ancient Egyptians wrote about the endless postponing of affairs for later. Moreover, they had two hieroglyphs to denote such a delay: with negative consequences- "Fool that pulled!" - and with positive ones - “Thank God that I didn’t do it, I would just waste my time!”.
Later, thanks to the work of historians, the term was also noticed in Ancient Rome and in a positive context. Procrastination was considered the talent of wise politicians and military leaders who do not make hasty decisions, do not enter into conflict and are not in a hurry to pay a prostitute in the hope that the brothel will catch fire and it will be possible to escape on the sly.
IN new history the word arose only in 1682 in the sermon of the Reverend Anthony Walker. Like all the saints of those times, he devoted every day of his life to thinking about what else to take up arms against. So the Englishman Walker discovered procrastination to the world and declared it a sin!
Main types:
irresponsible
Usually they delay the execution of tasks in order to avoid unpleasant consequences. They are afraid to take responsibility.
Cowardly
Representatives of the second type are simply afraid of everything. Such a person avoids the fear of failure in every way. It is easier for him to remain in the shadows than to be a loser.
Thrill seekers
For some, being a procrastinator is a kind of fun. A person puts things off until the last moment in order to feel the euphoria of an extreme situation. Subconsciously, he likes to understand that he may not have time to complete the task, while a portion of adrenaline enters the bloodstream.
How to stop procrastinating
Procrastination leads us to psychological stress missed opportunities and wasted time. However, there are many techniques and techniques that will help overcome procrastination and become a person who uses his time efficiently and rationally.
1. Get planning
It will be much easier for you if you present all the necessary things visually - in the form of tables, graphs or a simple list. Tasks can be ranked by importance or urgency. The use of this technique will allow you to always see the upcoming tasks and correctly calculate the time required to complete them.
2. From complex to simple
This technique is to first do the things that scare you the most, and only then proceed to the easy and pleasant ones. Such a ranking will not allow putting off what is not interesting, but, on the contrary, will provide additional motivation to complete it in order to quickly move on to solving those tasks and cases that will give pleasure.
3. Give yourself a reward
What reward will you give yourself when you bring all the planned things to the end? You can define the punishment for failure, but the reward invigorates much more. So after checking off all the items on your to-do list for today, turn on a good movie or chat with your friends. And don't skimp on the praise. Who is good? Well done!
4. Limit the time you spend on social media
Watching the news feed takes not only your precious time, but also a lot of energy. In order to minimize social media distractions during the day, you can set a limit on notifications and set a time for yourself. For example, in the evening, when all the necessary things are done and there really is an opportunity to scroll through the news feed.
MOSCOW, September 11 - RIA Novosti. The desire to put things off until later is a sure sign that they can not be done at all. About what else lies behind the habit of delaying the performance of duties until the last moment and why to-do lists for the day can significantly reduce performance, psychologists and psychoanalysts told RIA Novosti.
Procrastination (from Latin pro - instead of ahead and crastinus - tomorrow) is a concept in psychology that denotes a tendency to constantly put things off and responsibilities for later. Psychologists note that its cause is not laziness, which only accompanies it, but other phenomena that sometimes require specialist advice.
The first reason is the lack of personal interest
"We have a very serious problem of including motivation. Besides, I would not say that activity is an absolute value for our domestic mentality. Why do something? Why? A motivational deficit is a big problem. You have to want something , to be inspired by something, something must take place in the soul in order for an inspiring and captivating goal to appear, ”explained Andrey Kopyev, associate professor at the Faculty of Counseling and Clinical Psychology of the Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University.
If you don’t want to do something, psychologists advise you to answer the question for yourself: “Do I need this?” If not, and at the same time, the case can be transferred to someone or even abandoned, then it is better to do so, so as not to feel remorse later for poor-quality or untimely work done.
The second reason is the fear of failure.
Psychologists note that behind the desire to delay the execution of some business until the last moment, there may be a fear of one's own failure. Children do not want to study and do homework when they do not understand the material, adults are afraid of their duties when they lack qualifications.
The solution to this problem is quite simple: in the case of a child, parents should work with him or hire a tutor for this, working people should find a way to improve their skills to the desired level.
The third reason is internal conflict
Psychologists about what the desire to become beautiful can lead toThe modern ideal of beauty - painful thinness plus enlarged parts of the face and body - has left the catwalks and glossy magazines. About how this ideal affects the minds of young girls and mature women, what threatens the pathological desire to follow the artificially created image of a beauty, experts told RIA Novosti on International Beauty Day.The most serious reason for procrastination is associated with a person’s internal conflicts, various anomalies and disorders that he himself may not be aware of and therefore needs the help of a specialist.
“It is likely that in the unconscious there is some kind of active process of psychological defense, and for some reason what needs to be done causes anxiety, rejection. The person does not really understand why, but cannot force himself. The third topic is almost endless, because that there can be any number of these forms of resistance. It is rather a symptom of an internal conflict, "explained psychoanalyst Dmitry Sklizkov.
trait of success
"Over the past 20 years I have had to work with a lot of very successful people, and if we talk about the psychological trait that distinguishes successful people from not-so-successful people, it is the ability to think and immediately start doing. Do not doubt, do not think about whether I need it or not, whether I will succeed or not, ”said Sklizkov.
No special effort is required to develop this quality in oneself. All you have to do is set a desirable and motivating goal for yourself. If it exists, and there are no psychological disorders, it will be easy to get rid of procrastination: you will need to rationally allocate your time and actions.
“For example, books and courses on time management are a very sensible and correct thing. But we must remember that it helps only a certain circle of people who do not have existential and motivational issues, a tendency to melancholy and depressiveness,” recommended Kopyev.
The daily to-do list trap
Psychologists remind that making to-do lists makes sense if a person keeps a clearly set goal in mind and remembers that all things work towards its fulfillment. For a list for one day, it is advisable to highlight the mandatory minimum, for example, two things, and then praise yourself if the third was completed in addition to this.
“A person must clearly understand what he wants and what his values are. Then he will be able to single out stages for himself, and each step taken will be just learning. In all other cases, making a to-do list and any time management can become a way of self-rape and bringing yourself to psychosis," Sklizkov concluded.
Procrastination is enough compound word, but in fact for every fifth person it denotes his lifestyle. As many as 20% are wondering how to stop postponing things for later and not delay their implementation. This is a very insidious problem, which can be difficult to deal with. According to psychologists, every person at least once in his life delayed the solution of a problem or shied away from obligations. But that doesn't make him a procrastinator. Another thing is if all this is permanent. In this article, we will tell you how to deal with this problem and why people procrastinate.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, not today!" - so lazy people say
Such a well-known proverb fits very well under the concept of procrastination. It was during the period when it was most common that this term appeared (approximately the 19th century). In fact, procrastination is an English word (procrastination), which translates as "delay". And since tracing paper is not entirely clear and easy to pronounce, modern psychologists use more local concepts:
- postponing,
- transference,
- delay,
- "breakfast"
- "progeny"
- tightening.
This concept should not be confused with laziness. Procrastination is the realization of the importance and urgency of the matter, but inaction for fictional reasons. But a lazy person, doing nothing, does not care much about it.
Main types
It turns out that not all procrastinators are the same. Everyone has their own motives for postponing things for later. Psychologists distinguish three main types:
- Irresponsible. Such procrastinators delay the completion of tasks in order to avoid unpleasant consequences. They are afraid to take responsibility. For them it is great way not to answer for anything in this life and always come out clean from the water.
- Boyaguz. The second type is simply afraid of everything. Such a person avoids the fear of failure in every way. It is easier for him to remain in the shadows than to be a loser.
- Extreme lovers. For some, being a procrastinator is a kind of fun. A person puts things off until the last moment in order to feel euphoria. Subconsciously, he likes to understand that he may not have time to complete the task, while a portion of adrenaline enters the bloodstream.
If you are thinking about how to stop procrastinating, then first decide why you are doing this and what type you are.
What's bad about it
Procrastinators who have not yet realized that they are such do not see anything unnatural in their behavior. Moreover, at first they even like it. There is a peculiar feeling of freedom of action (I want to do it, I want to - no). But in fact, procrastination has a lot of disadvantages. This prevents a person from living and negatively affects his nervous system. The consequences may be:
- constant stress,
- loss of productivity
- guilt.
Procrastination affects every area of a person's life. In what way?
life's troubles
Problems with self-discipline in a person have a huge impact on his whole life. First, he cannot fully realize himself. For example, postponing things for later at work leads to the fact that the authorities are dissatisfied with their subordinates. The attitude towards such a person is changing. He is assigned fewer important cases and, of course, a promotion is out of the question. Such people are considered lazy, irresponsible, as a result, a person spends his whole life in a low position with a low salary.
Procrastination also interferes with relationships with friends, relatives, and loved ones. Postponing things for later that you asked for close person, is perceived as disrespect and is accompanied by resentment. For example, a woman asked her husband to buy washing powder. The husband postponed this business until later, at the very last moment he arrived at the store, but everything was already closed. He didn't buy what he was asked for, and his wife couldn't wash her work outfit. Of course, she will be offended by him for this. If he continues to put off important matters for later, most likely, the woman will decide that she is not at all important to him, and will leave him.
Procrastination often manifests itself in relation to parents and children. Even close people do not always understand such behavior and are offended. Relationships deteriorate, and then it will be much more difficult to restore them.
Painful psychological effects
A person who puts things off for later experiences many unpleasant feelings. In cases of failure, he is often ashamed and hurt for himself. Every time he promises himself that he will do everything on time, but everything repeats again. It is interesting that a person who cannot force himself to do something, sometimes, on the contrary, cannot stop.
Such situations, for example, happen with alcohol. A man knows that he has to get up early for work tomorrow. But in the evening, friends invite me to a bar for a glass of beer. He agrees and promises himself that he will drink just a little. But with each glass he allows himself another and another. He knows for sure and remembers that he has to get up early tomorrow, but he cannot stop. A lot of time has passed, but he is still sure that he will have time to sleep. As a result - a heavy morning, a hangover, but, in addition, self-flagellation for the fact that he nevertheless went to this bar and could not stop in time.
The tendency to constantly put things off leads to failure and loss. A person constantly criticizes himself and further aggravates the situation. The result of such behavior can be a nervous breakdown, depression, getting into the network of negative habits.
Wrestling Techniques
We have already figured out the name of the person who puts things off until later, and now it remains to find out how to stop being a procrastinator. If you are hoping to find a magical recipe that will change your whole life in a matter of days, your efforts are in vain. Work on yourself - hard labour on the other hand, this is the path to success. The discipline of time management deals with the study of time management. Within the framework of this science, there are many different methods that teach how not to put things off until later.
Transformation into a superhero
Procrastinators are always admired by people who do everything on time and with quality. They have time everywhere, while they still have enough time to visit various sections, relax with friends, build a family life and succeed in their careers. How do they do it all?
There is good news. Procrastinators are not born, they are made. And this means that it is quite possible to get rid of this tendency. You need to start becoming a superhero right now, right this minute. This will be your first task with which you will successfully cope. Further it will be easier. The main thing is to start.
Time management
The first step is to learn how to plan. And for this it is important to correctly prioritize. Write down all the important tasks you need to complete this week. Now decide which ones are the most important. They will need to be done first. Don't write too many tasks for yourself. It is better to write less and do everything than more, and then reproach yourself again for not being able to do everything.
Order of affairs and time for rest
It is very important for a person to take breaks between work. But for procrastinators, they usually take a very long time. Therefore, try to plan your breaks as well. The order of things is also important. For example, on Sunday you scheduled a spring cleaning, paying utility bills, and shopping for groceries. Between all these things, there must be rest. But if you start the day with a spring cleaning and then lie down on the sofa to watch a movie, then you are unlikely to go to pay the bills and go shopping later. It would be better to start with the latter. In the morning you can go shopping, pay your bills, and in between you will meet in the park with a friend for 20 minutes. After doing these things and having a rest, it will be possible to return home and start cleaning.
Motivation
How to learn not to put things off until later? You need to know exactly why you need them and why you should fulfill them. Every time you feel like rescheduling an important task, ask yourself, “Why should I (should) do it?” Clear settings should be expressed in the head:
- I go to the doctor because my health is important to me;
- I'm running an errand for the boss because I want to borrow high position;
- I fulfill my mother's request, because for me she is the closest person, and I do not want to hurt her;
- I clean my house because I want to live clean.
Real Goals
Sometimes, feeling a surge of strength and energy, a person begins to set unbearable huge tasks for himself. If you choose easy way stop postponing things for later, then the tasks themselves should not be difficult. If you are just learning to get rid of the phenomena of procrastination in your life, then you should not plan anything new. First you need to deal with what has already accumulated and ruins your life.
You can set yourself a single goal - what you really live for. For example, if you live for your child and think that the most important thing is to teach him and educate him, then write down in your daily routine a few hours that you will spend with him. You should not write in the goal of buying expensive things that you can only buy by a miracle. Remember that all unfulfilled plans will hang over you like a cloud and spoil your self-esteem.
On the other hand, don't feel too sorry for yourself. There must be at least one important goal, and then every day you will perform many simple tasks related to it.
Distractions
Without them, procrastination would definitely not exist. A person is not just constantly putting things off, at this time he is engaged in all sorts of nonsense. For example, instead of doing important task:
- talking on the phone,
- communicates on social networks
- reads the news
- checks mail
- watching movies and shows.
To resist these factors is quite simple. There is an easy way to stop procrastinating and not be distracted by trifles. This will require self-suggestion. Try to have a dialogue with yourself. Tell yourself that if you successfully and efficiently cope with the task, you will have time to do what you love. Or, for example, after you finish writing a report, treat yourself to something tasty. Motivation can be any, the main thing is to bring the matter to the end without being distracted.
It is very important not to say to yourself “I have to”, rather use “I want”. For example, I want to complete this assignment and get rid of it. In fact, almost similar phrases, but the brain perceives them completely differently. Even in a schoolboy, when they say that he must do something, a contradiction arises inside. Try to tell him not "you must comply homework", but "I think you want to do your homework and then go for a walk." And you will see that the effect will be amazing. The adult brain functions in a similar way.
To completely get rid of distractions, put your phone in silent mode, remove social media bookmarks from a conspicuous place, and hide the remote control from the TV away.
How to relax properly
It turns out that not every rest is effective. If before important matter you decide to look for 5 minutes in social network, there is a good chance that you will be stuck in it for several hours. In addition, after the mass of information that you read and see there, you may not be able to continue doing your job (especially if it requires mental stress). It is important to choose the type of recreation for which you can take only a certain (clear) time. For example, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and just drink it in a relaxed atmosphere. It is unlikely that this lesson will take more than 20 minutes. In addition, at this time you can think about the upcoming business, focus on it. TO good ways reboots include:
- outdoor walk,
- short sleep,
- taking a bath,
- meditation.
Watching TV is inappropriate recreation. Very often, a person, in order to take a break, turns on the “box”. And here, as luck would have it, an interesting program or a film that he had long wanted to review. And 20 minutes of rest turn into several hours. During rest, you can also perform the following exercise.
Imagine your life in retrospect. Here you are lying on the couch, then you eat, routine work, dissatisfaction with yourself and your life, and the years go by. Time flies at an incredible speed, but what have you already achieved in your life? And what could be achieved? Imagine two parallel realities. In this one you are a procrastinator, and in the other you are a successful and strong man. Which one do you like more? Think about your meaning of life, about goals and quickly write down all your feelings in a notebook. By doing this exercise from time to time and rereading your thoughts, you will clearly see the dynamics of changes in your life.
Summing up, we can say that the mere fact that you are thinking about how to stop putting things off until later is already a good sign. This means that you realize that you are wasting a lot of time. You just have to make a little effort and change your life. And you need to start here and now.
