“Whatever you do in life, be good at it, be a professional, understand it thoroughly.”
A tiny guide to “Stop Simple Procrastination.”
I have over 12 tabs open on two different browsers. It’s evening and it’s gloomy outside, my cat is sleeping on the chair next to me meanwhile I have a video playing in the background. I made several videos of my cat today after I browsed my phone for a picture-worthy enough to be uploaded on Instagram. People loved these. I also wrote an article on pets.
Are you a photographer or a blogger? Well, no!
Do you have a full-time job? Well, no!
Are you lazy? Definitely NOT.
Just because I am a procrastinator doesn’t mean I’m not productive, it’s the opposite. I woke up at 4 am just so that I could work out & go for a run outside in time to avoid the crowd. I attended my Master’s class online which began at 6:30 am, I had breakfast & caught up with the news before most of the people woke up.
So what’s the problem?
Well, the problem began after this. After being outraged at the news, social media, and people walking without masks outside, the inner turmoil began. I had scheduled everything, it's picture-perfect and well managed+timed.
I don’t get it?!
Neither do I, I guess. The main task and the hanging deadline are for my Programming course which is due soon and I’m not a coder (or even close to that field), and till now I did everything productive but that. This is procrastination and it can be done even while being uber-productive.
If in the end, you get the job done, so there is no loss?
I wish I could agree, even after being productive and even taking time to relax the burden of the deadline would be hovering over my head. I’d push till the last minute to finish it, whatever it takes it’ll be done. The loss would be in terms of peace and missed opportunity. The time could have been used for searching for jobs or being a better writer or improving on the other skills/hobbies I desire.
You know the problem and even the solution, so why do we need to read this pointless rant?
Because this is procrastinating. And after all, I am a professional procrastinator — I can still make the most out of it. But I shall FOCUS. Multitasking is a myth, it slows the brain and extends the time of completing a task, efficiently and effectively. I have read multiple solutions for procrastination and I have applied every single one of the above.
What’s missing then? Is there a KEY?
Yes, every problem can be solved in most cases if you find it’s the root cause.
Why do we procrastinate?
Because at times we find a larger task overwhelming over doing small tasks. The key is confidence and holding yourself accountable. I shall finish the task in question before the deadline because I can, but I’ll take good enough time to do this task which was allocated to it, instead of wasting this time on activities which aren’t as important. I need to prioritize. I need to put weights on the task and complete them in that order. Moreover, I need to be self-motivated and self-confident (KEY) that even though programming hasn’t been my field, I can still develop my skills in it, after all, it has been smooth sailing till now. I can understand it well. I will even be able to teach it in the future. I need to stop worrying about being scared of the outcomes without giving it my 100% RN.
The key to procrastination beyond time management is self-reliance. You aren’t a procrastinator. It’s not an actual profession, stop being so good at it. You decide when to stop and start.
This was written in May during the lockdown. I wanted to put this article as a live example to depict how one can have internal conversations and end up being productively unproductive.
Read more on: https://akankshakhera.com/blog/
