Hello every one! How are you doing? CoronaVirus is still here- doing its thing. We are also here, doing own thing and trying to stay afloat. Hopefully, it will go away and leave the world alone.
I am writing about the importance of making decisions in this blog. I was also looking for a wacky title for this one, so I went for procrastination is the thief of time. I hope I got you thinking what cliche title to choose. For some strange reason, in writing this blog, I have procrastinated more than five times which is not funny, because I want to be able to take my own advice. So, here I am doing so.
Two weeks ago, I woke up in the morning and I was trying to decide whether to do aerobics or yoga. I sat on my bed for over 30 minutes thinking, then at one point I convinced myself I didn’t have enough energy to do the exercise anyway, so I just sat there. Then, I decided to go to the bathroom. The reason that took me there I don’t remember.
As I entered, I saw sitting on the floor, a bucket of water with my towel in it. I remembered then that I had soaked my towel the previous night. I immediately washed the towel, then went ahead to scrub the bathroom floor, when I poured the rinsing water away.
It was only then that I realised that I had been doing a lot of work. I, the same person who didn’t have enough strength 30 minutes ago, now had strength to do all this? It was then that I told myself I had an idea for a blog- I was going to write about procrastination.
I have been reading around why people procrastinate. What I have found include many reasons some of which I tend to think are too far-fetched and others very much applicable. I see that usually we sacrifice the future long-term gain for a short-term gain that is why we often procrastinate. In my case, not exercising meant not doing anything and just sitting there, but taking the pain to exercise meant a future healthier me. Therefore, discomfort is one of the reasons people procrastinate.
The fear of failure also makes people procrastinate. I can see why that applies because often if we think the task is too difficult, we tend to do what we think we are capable of, leaving the other difficult tasks for when we have ample time, which never happens.
Also, a common reason for many young people who procrastinate, is just plain boredom and a lack of urgency. I think that this one gets many of you. We think somethings are more fun and we are triggered to do them immediately. We never tarry to watch our favourite TV show or watch our favourite football team play. But what happens when we have to read our lecture notes, talk less of that book we promised to read.
The funny part of this is that, when we procrastinate, we pile up activities, then the feeling of overwhelm overtakes us. Then we become stressed. So, what can you do to stop you from procrastinating? There are various theories on this one including the need for a person to be organised, set deadline for tasks and get rid of distractions (often useless things that take out time). For me, I see that it all boils down to having discipline to do what you need to do even if you don’t want to do them.
I learned from my experience, which sure is not exclusive to me, is that, when we want to undertake any activity, we should just do it.
Just taking an action, the first step helps you to get ahead.
This is just the simple answer- Just do it. No overthinking, No over-rationalising.
Just do it!