How to overcome

Postponing things repetitively and finding every excuse of not doing it (this, most of the time comes with guilt) is procrastination. You do it, sometimes knowingly and a few times subconsciously or unconsciously.

A human mind does not want to perform any forced activity. Good or bad, an action that is forced on a mind leads to procrastination. The mind finds reasons for not doing those activities.

Now, you know the reason behind all the excuses you gave when you did not want to meet somebody, or attend a meeting or completing the task or merely doing daily chores. Had these things been of your interest, your mind would have done it quickly and with enthusiasm.

So, if you have a project left to complete (even when the deadline is near), or if there's the client whose phone calls you should really answer ( even if the client is going to add to your already pending work), you are a victim of procrastination and you need to find a way of dealing with "I can't work anymore" feeling!

Won't you feel less guilty or less stress and frustration if you find out a reason for dealing with this emotion? It will be great if you could do all your jobs (which you should do) with happiness and energy, isn't it?

Well, the good news for you is, YOU CAN DO IT ALL! You can complete the things before the deadlines; you would be answering client's calls without any stress, and all the other things you are postponing can be done easily!

Before we go ahead and find a solution on procrastination, let us find the reasons first:

1. You are postponing a few tasks because you are afraid of making mistakes and spoil things up.

Most of the time, we tend to postpone the work because we do not want to be the one who spoils things up. We are scared of messing up things; we don't want to feel the guilt post things go wrong.

As a human being, we are nurtured in such a way that we all try to do good things, and we want appreciation, we love when people praise our work. This perfection has been fixed in our minds so much that we do not want to do anything where people might hate us, dislike us, criticize us, or we ruin things and hurt self-confidence. Anything which is going to hurt our self-image or faith in self becomes a threat to us, and we don't want to do it.

Here is a solution for this:

One has to understand that there are two ways of looking at any task:

1. A) You can look at it as your chance to show your abilities and succeed, or you can have a positive attitude where you understand that every non-successful tasks teach you something and help you get better. As in, if you complete this task successfully, you will create a good impression on your boss and team members. This attitude of looking at tasks positive is called 'Promotion Focus' in psychological terms.

If you adopt Promotion Focus, you think of making gains and work best. All you have to do is not to head in the direction of the second perspective of looking at tasks that are B) An attitude where Anxiety and doubts take over your Promotion Focus. This is called "Prevention Focus," as it stops you from doing your best and leaves you bored and less likely to take affirmative action.

"Prevention Focus" focuses on not making things worse, unlike Promotion focus which pays attention to doing best and achieving more.

We all need something which will keep you relieved, happy, confident, satisfied, and successful.

So, by now, you must have realized which perspective would be of help to you!

2. You are postponing something because you don't "feel" like doing it.

One is "well-informed decision," and the other is "mood." When you make a well-informed decision with your conscious mind working at its best, you are least likely to change it. However, decisions taken as per your moods might tend up in jeopardy.

The fact is, there is nothing like "feeling" when it comes to work. Moods and feelings are temporary emotions. Your brain is working on multiple thoughts and emotions at one time. The brain needs a break to perform its functions freshly.

It is already stressed. However, if you start feeding it with negative self-talk and information, the brain gives up. Your mind plays a trick on you, and you fall prey to negative thoughts and idle lifestyle. All your brain needs is positive feedback and happy ideas.

It is you who is going to provide it with good I formation. If you stress your brain, it will stress you back.

Secondly, there is no right mood or feeling to do something which needs to be done. 'I don't feel like doing it' might make sense to you for that moment, but in the future (a few minutes after) you might feel differently.  

Through our nurture or through the society we are brought up into, most of us have accepted this idea that one must feel like taking action in order to work motivated and effectively. One does need to be committed to the task at some level; however, one cannot be motivated all the time. This is humanly not possible. Hence, looking for motivation to complete specific tasks is not healthy.

'You are what you consistently do', someone has said this for a reason. Habits make your personality. Read or watch interviews the known, and successful people are around you, most of them have reached the succeeds because they did not listen to their 'moods.' They surrendered to the discipline and got the work done.

In case, you are sitting there, putting something on the back burner just because you don't feel like it, remember that you don't need to feel like it to get it done.

3. Maybe because "it's hard, boring, or unpleasant" for you.

One fact which would save us from lots of troubles in the future is to accept that 'We have limited willpower'. You cannot rely on it for every task. This way, you will tire yourself. Willpower is like your "Brahmastra," and you can't use it again and again. Keep it, nurture it and save it for the most crucial tasks or emergencies.

Here, 'If-then planning' could work for you. Making an 'if-then plan' is deciding:

what steps you need to take to complete a project &

where and when you will take them.

Assign a specific time-frame to each task. It will create urgency in your thinking process, and you might feel motivated to perform the job. Plus, you will know which task to do when. This way, you will not feel burdened, and each task will get its time.

Decoding your tasks and deciding the process of completing it step by step, it dramatically reduces that extra burden on your willpower.

4. Lack of focus.

Last but not the least compelling reason for your productivity and mental peace is a lack of focus.

Some minds have a deep habit of procrastination. This may happen due to nature or nurture.

Lack of focus can be overcome easily. A person probably has a lack of focus if he/she feels directionless often, or lack a purpose in life. In case any goal is not set in your life, you are most likely to lose focus. Lack of focus adds to the "I don't want to work" feeling.

This lack of focus causes procrastination as it prevents you from sticking to the task until the endpoint.

There is a solution to this:

Set yourself some goals which are inspirational-yet-attainable. The goal should be encouraging enough to provoke you in taking action but must be attainable too. The motto is to increase your self-motivation abilities and make you realize that life is full of achievements.

These solutions will help you to kick-start your own process of planning tasks and leading a peaceful life, where goals are achievable, and things have meaning. During the journey, you might find your own ways to deal with issues. Start a process, and you will know how many gems are awaiting on your way!