Procrastination is defined as deferring or postponing obligations until the last possible moment or after the deadline has gone. Procrastination may have a huge influence on your job, grades, and life, whether you’re putting off finishing a professional project, avoiding homework obligations, or ignoring family responsibilities.
Despite the fact that we have a lot of dreams, the majority of them are put on the “someday” list. Some of us establish a planning habit that we never shake. Some people prefer to learn rather than to do. Others offer reasons why certain activities should not be conducted at this time. These are all examples of procrastination.
Procrastination is a side effect of depression. Even the most fundamental tasks can be difficult to undertake due to hopelessness, powerlessness, and a lack of energy (and finish). Depression can be accompanied by self-doubt. It’s tempting to put off a project or focus on other things when you don’t know how to approach it or are doubtful of your abilities. Here are some great books that help you overcome procrastination.
- Eat that frog
- The procrastination equation
- The now habit
- Solving the procrastination puzzle
- The science of overcoming procrastination
1. Eat that frog:
Consider the scenario of having to eat a frog every day. The timing is completely under your control. You can eat whenever you choose, day or night, morning or evening. Tell me when you’ll be eating the frog. According to the author, he would eat that frog first thing in the morning. because it is the toughest work. It is essential that you complete it as soon as possible so that you can concentrate on other things. On the other hand, any work that makes you feel obligated should be done as soon as possible. Your stress level will inevitably rise if you put it off.
You have a responsibility to think about this task every hour, “I have to do this,” and your mind process will only think about this work. Assume you have to complete the following tasks: cooking, cleaning, and laundry. If doing laundry is a hassle for you, you must prioritize it. You may feel relieved after doing the laundry, and you can now focus on other tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Also, your willpower is high in the morning, so if you choose to perform the most difficult task first, you will be able to complete it quickly.
Have you ever wondered why you feel more at ease after completing a difficult task? Because your brain will produce the chemical endorphin, This gives you a good feeling. So try to make this your habit. As a result, your confidence will grow over time. Let me begin by describing the first approach in the book.
Setting the table: We sometimes put things off, not because they are difficult, but because we are unsure of what to do. We don’t know how clear the work is. So, how can you get clarity? The author outlines seven stages for gaining clarity regarding your work.
- Decide on a goal: Make a decision on what you want.
- Think on paper: Consider it on paper and write it down right now. So that it will register in your mind and prompt you to get to work right away.
- Set deadlines: assign a deadline to each task so that it is never postponed.
- Make a list: divide the tasks into sections and make a comprehensive list.
- Organize the list and build a plan. Thoroughly examine the list and devise a strategy.
- Take action on your plan: begin working on the tasks you’ve set out for yourself.
- Do things every day; never waste a single day.
Informative? Buy, read and stop procrastinating.
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2. The procrastination equation:
The decision-making process in the human brain is divided into two systems.
A. Limbic system: The Limbic system is the oldest and fastest in terms of decision-making. Because it is instinct-driven, it can be found in all species and is the source of impulsivity.
B. Prefrontal cortex: The prefrontal cortex is a newly evolved region of the brain that is in charge of planning the future.
Procrastination happens when the limbic system takes precedence over the prefrontal cortex’s decisions.
“Procrastination increases when our just acquired prefrontal cortex is compromised.
“As the prefrontal brain becomes less powerful, we become less patient.”
Some of the things that compromise the prefrontal cortex include:
- Stress
- Sleeplessness
- Resisting other temptations
Children’s prefrontal brains are not as developed as adults, so they are more likely to postpone. Impulsiveness has a genetic component since impulsive people are more likely to procreate early and therefore pass on their genes.
Procrastination is made up of three main elements:
• Expectancy: We put things off the majority of the time because we think negatively. Fear of failing an exam, for example, may cause you to postpone studying for it.
• Worth: If you didn’t enjoy the work, you could easily postpone it.
• Time: You postponed the task if it required more time. We chose efficient and speedy work since we like it.
According to the Expected Utility Theory, people make decisions by multiplying Expectancy and Value. However, other aspects of human behavior are ignored in this idea, such as the length of the delay; the longer the delay, the lesser the incentive.
A new equation, the Matching Law, comes close to explaining why people procrastinate, but it ignores our sensitivity to delay. The more sensitive we are, the longer we delay. Because procrastination would be impossible without impulsiveness, the preceding equation becomes:
The procrastination equation describes every significant procrastination finding.
For example, if a student is assigned a tedious project, it may take him longer to do it. He will be less motivated to finish the project because of his impulsive attitude toward it. Due to the fact that impulsivity accentuates the effects of delay, the impulsive student will be acutely aware of the effects of time.
Informative? Buy, read and stop procrastinating.
You may like: 7 Psychology books for a better and happy life
3. The now habit:
Procrastination is something that no one is fully free of. There are always things that we take part in with zeal.
Habits are developed when an activity is rapidly followed by a reward. Procrastination is rewarding since it temporarily relieves our stress and anxiety. We use procrastination to achieve three specific objectives:
- Express dissatisfaction
- Fear of failure
- Fear of success.
People who delay finding a job frequently find themselves trapped in a vicious circle. They procrastinate due to apprehensions or nervousness. They become increasingly anxious as they procrastinate, and they criticize themselves and lose confidence as a result. This fuels the desire to delay even more. The pattern continues until they have labeled themselves as procrastinators and are unable to enjoy their free time without feeling guilty.
To assist us to overcome these unpleasant sensations and break free from the difficult moments, Neil Fiore offers a six-step technique for dealing with fears and generating safety. These six quick questions can help you reclaim your focus and finish the task at hand:
- What is the most dreadful scenario you can think of? If you go ahead with it, consider the worst-case scenario.
- In the worst-case scenario, what would I do? I’m quite aware of how terrible it is. What will you do, though, if the worst-case scenario occurs? In this case, what is the best course of action? Who do you go to when you need help? Make a backup plan in case something goes wrong.
- How would I alleviate the pain and maintain as much happiness as possible if the worst were to happen? It’s okay to be duped. Be prepared for failure. We can never expect to be successful. Furthermore, failures teach valuable life lessons. So, be prepared to accept failure.
- What other options do I have? Prepare a backup plan. It would make you feel better. If you lose your job, have another source of income ready. Interesting? Read the book for the remaining.
Informative? Buy, read and stop procrastinating.
4. Solving the procrastination puzzle:
- Procrastination:
The purposeful postponing of planned action is known as procrastination. The confusing issue is that we put off doing things we want to do. We need to study for the exam. Every day, we desire to work out. Before we retire, we’d like to save some money. For whatever reason, we are unwilling to do the things we know we should be doing. When we are unable to overcome our hesitation, we engage in procrastination. The book’s purpose is to help us better understand procrastination and offer strategies for overcoming it.
- What it is:
Procrastination is a sort of self-control, willpower, or whatever you choose to call it. You want to do something, but you don’t have the motivation to do it.bWhen you are resisting a task, you will require a specific level of willpower to do it. The more reluctance you feel towards a task, the more willpower you’ll need.
- Some tasks are more difficult for procrastinators to complete than others. (This could be due to a fear of failing.)
- Procrastinators have less self-control than others. (Their willpower is weak.)
- Why it is:
Our procrastination problem is caused by negative feelings.
Jobs that make us feel concerned, bored, frustrated, angry, or any other negative emotion are the ones we put off. Furthermore, we are more likely to postpone when we are already in a foul mood. Even if a task isn’t extremely unpleasant, when we’re in a bad mood, we’re more prone to putting it off.
If we are serious about overcoming procrastination, we must improve our ability to recognize, interpret, and regulate our emotions.
- How to handle:
In an hour, how many times do you succumb to distractions? When was the last time you checked your email, went on social media, read the news, or unlock your phone?
We may not realize it, but our constant checking-in, task switching, multitasking, and distractions are draining our productivity.
You’ll need to figure out how to cope with distractions if you’re serious about overcoming procrastination and finishing important chores. You can restrict access to specific websites and apps on your phone. No more than twice a day, check your email. Allow yourself to go for long periods of time without using the internet. Whatever you have to do, turn off those distractions.
Informative? Buy, read and stop procrastinating.
5. The Science of Overcoming Procrastination
In the short but action-packed book, The Science of Overcoming Procrastination, Patrick King writes about the science behind procrastination and the mindset shifts, tactics, and strategies we need to overcome procrastination.
When it comes to overcoming procrastination, having a solid strategy in place is half the battle. Procrastination can be avoided by properly planning your activities and organizing your assignment. You may structure things to set yourself up for productivity, efficiency, and achievement rather than postponing the start of a project, straying off task, or being seduced into engaging in unnecessary, inconsequential duties.
10-10-10 method:
Take some time to imagine how you’ll feel in 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days if you give in to temptation. It works because it forces you to consider your future self and how your decisions will affect you, for better or worse, in the future.
40-70 is a rule of thumb that can be applied to any situation:
Colin Powell, the former United States Secretary of State, has a rule of thumb for arriving at a decision point. When presented with a difficult decision, he believes that you should have no less than 40% and no more than 70% of the information you need to make that decision.
Banish excuses:
To protect us from our problems, our minds create excuses. This isn’t the right moment. There is no such thing as the ideal timing for anything. There are good and bad times, but there are very few perfect times. Stop putting constraints on your ability to do your work.
Many of us wish we had more control over when things happen to us, but the reality is that we rarely do. However, we do have some influence over how we behave. If you’re on the fence about it, now is the time to take action.
Informative? Buy, read and stop procrastinating.