How to deal with procrastination?

The term procrastination comes from the Latin crastinus (meaning tomorrow) and pro (which means the particle “on”). The second variant of the appearance of this word suggests that it comes from the English procrastination, which means "postponement", or "delay".

Before we fight procrastination, let's figure out what kind of ailment it is and whether it is possible to cope with it. Remember the student years, when many of us, instead of starting in advance to prepare a thesis or term paper, ran to a disco or a date, and left everything for later. This is perhaps the clearest and most understandable example of procrastination. Although in a more adult life, it is not so easy to discern the onset of the disease. And there are several types of this insidious disease.

• Academic - the one when we put off studying and doing homework, writing a term paper and a diploma for later.
• Neurotic - when, out of fear and unwillingness to take responsibility, we avoid making any decisions in life. Perhaps the guy does not want to go to the registry office, not because he does not love the girl, but because he is procrastinating.
• Behavioral - it seems to us that to do all the housework and household chores, as well as other things that require our daily efforts, next time we will definitely succeed better than today.
• Working - we are dragging on until the last with some difficult, painstaking or simply unpleasant business for us.
• Complex - bringing together all of the above species or some of them together.

Sometimes we just don't notice how we put off important things, because we constantly find replacements for them. We come up with a lot of reasons and deeds so as not to sit down for something important or difficult to accomplish... And in return we take both other work and other little things in life. Three times in an hour we pour coffee, every ten minutes we run to the next office, refinish all the pencils in the office, wipe the dust even where there is none, and in the evening, going to bed, we understand that we have not done what we have planned, and this is so wanted and almost tried.

And all would be fine, because there will still be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and so on. But then again we find a lot of excuses not to start the annual report, for example. But then the problems begin. Firstly, sooner or later, the work will still have to be done, and time will be short, and we will perform it already in an emergency mode, which, as a rule, entails mistakes, and what is even worse - stress and even depression. We begin to reproach ourselves for not spending this time earlier, colleagues and management are also not happy with our actions.

And for a start, it's worth understanding the causes of your disease. There may be several of them, it is easy to get rid of some, and it is much more difficult to get rid of others:

• you are an idle and irresponsible person in life;
• you feel that by setting a time frame for you, leadership is limiting your personal freedom;
• you are afraid that you will not be able to complete the task assigned to you;
• you are "lost" in time and do not understand that minutes, hours and days pass, it seems to you that they are endless;
• you do not need a salary, there is no financial motivation;
• you believe that tomorrow you will be better than yesterday;
• you have already failed in this field, and it seems to you that it will always be so.

If any of the above about you and what is happening do not suit you, it's time to start a fight. You need to admit to yourself that you are sick. Go to the mirror and tell yourself honestly and honestly that you are not only charming and attractive, but also procrastinated. And then proceed to the step-by-step solution of the problem.

• Write down your priorities. In the morning, make a list of the things you have planned. Highlight the most important and difficult, and start with this, leave the rest for "dessert". At lunch, you eat the main course first, and only then the dessert. So let the small tasks remain for the "sweet".
• Plan. Give yourself a clear framework for what you should do and when. Write the plan down on paper and hang it in front of you. Follow it as instructions.
• Don't be afraid of failure. Don't be discouraged if something didn't work out right away. It is much easier to redo, complete, fix than to start from scratch. Repair is not a construction project.
• Observe the regime. Do not try to do everything at once. Rest is essential.

To stop procrastinating, it's also important to understand the reasons. To defeat the enemy, you need to know him by sight. The reasons may be as follows.

• Work does not suit you, it does not bring either moral or material satisfaction. Start looking for a new one, otherwise you will remain in prostration, that is, in procrastination.
• Remove phrases like “I must” or “I must” in relation to work, replace them with “I can”, “I want”. Agree, this sounds more pleasant, and it will help us, freedom-loving people, to overcome the psychological barrier.
• Try to understand why you do not want to take on this particular case, try to start it from the other end. Don't wait to get scolded for outstanding work. Instead of a stick, buy yourself a gingerbread as an advance payment for the work ahead. Please yourself with something. With a good mood, things will go more fun.After you finish the job, walk boldly, buy yourself at least a chocolate bar as a reward.
• Find helpers for yourself. Together we are a force that helps to get out of even the most difficult situations!

As such, there are no specific exercises to combat procrastination. In addition, of course, daily walks in the fresh air and sports, morning exercises are also considered. Both will help deliver oxygen to our brains, which will make our head work faster and better. There are a number of other steps you can take to help you deal with the problem.

• Introduce procrastination into your work schedule. That is, provide yourself time for doing nothing. Just don't overdo it. You can think about the children, call them and find out how they are doing.
• Organize your desktop. Remove any unnecessary things that might distract you. You have to work at work. But don't forget about the breaks.
• Set yourself a clear lunch time. Then you won't be tempted to start it 15 minutes early and finish it half an hour later.

• To overcome your reluctance to do something, remember what dividends you will receive after completing the work. (a good fee, respect from colleagues, a prize, "thank you", in the end, a kind word, as you know, and the cat is pleased).
• You cannot avoid procrastination on your own, find a person among your colleagues who can give you a motivational kick., at the moment when you once again dream, looking at the landscape outside the window.
• Once and for all forget the word "later", it is better to do some of the work in advance.
• To avoid delays, “Shut yourself off” from the outside world for the duration of the work. Forget about social media, promotions and sales sites. Tell your coworkers and family members that you're gone for the next two to three hours. On the occasion of your return, promise a holiday to both them and yourself. Ideally, the phone should also be turned off, well, unless you are waiting for a very important call, of course.
• Write yourself a memo with an algorithm for completing the task. Remember - first there was the word.
• Make routine work a fun process. Start writing each next sheet of the report, for example, with a new pen, with a different ink color, for example. When creating computer documents, this is also possible.
• Make it a rule not only to make a plan for the day, but also to summarize it. What we did and what we didn't, and why. Perhaps tomorrow you will drink not 10 cups of coffee, but one.
• Don't set yourself impossible tasks... Be smart about your scheduling. Think carefully about what you will have time to do in order to praise yourself in the evening, and not scold.
• Remember that you cannot easily pull a fish out of a pond. Yes, your task is difficult, but worth it. Over time, things will go better, you need to be patient and move towards your goal gradually, albeit in small steps.
• Our best friends are our own feelings and reflexes. As soon as you feel that an attack of procrastination begins, stop it urgently. Take a cold shower, it will invigorate you perfectly. Go for a run, guaranteed energy. You can just limit yourself to light charging. The main thing is to do something.
• In the work schedule, consider not weeks or months, but days. “There are still three weeks until the end of October” does not sound as specific as “a deadline that expires in 21 days,” but it’s not so scary. The same goes for a specific day.

Time is running inexorably. And besides work (or household chores), there is still so much to do. In your daily routine, remember to delight yourself. The fact that you will have the time and energy for this will also spur you on to clearly fulfill your duties, which, of course, cannot always bring only positive emotions. You must deliver them to yourself by coming out of the situation as a winner and being able to overcome all obstacles, including procrastination.