If you have ever in your life put off any work to do later, then congrats!! You have fallen in the vortex for “procrastination”. This word might sound a little fancy for day to day use but it is way more common than one might think. From students to working professionals, everyone around us procrastinates on certain levels. Though many of us are doing all the jobs assigned to us at the last moment very perfectly, this habit is not very ideal. Well some might even say “Oh but I perform better under pressure”. But the question is why do we need to work under pressure, when we could do it beforehand in a more relaxed way. Let’s dive into that!
Why do we Procrastinate?
We have all, at least once in our lives, completed the whole course syllabus by pulling an all-nighter (and maybe even excelled) in our exams. But have you ever thought about the reason behind this human nature? Have you ever questioned yourself why you always work on the brink of the deadline? The reason behind it is scientific and simple. When we are under intense pressure, a hormone called “adrenaline” is released by the adrenal glands of our brain. This is similar to when we do something exciting like intense sports or doing drugs. Believe it or not our body loves this adrenal rush in our blood. That is the reason why we tend to delay doing our work subconsciously to feel this rush in our body and mind. Another cause for procrastination is low dopamine levels when we have time in our hand. This causes boredom, lack of enthusiasm and mental fatigue. Due to this when our deadline is not near, we feel bored. On the other hand when we don’t have much time left in our hands, our dopamine levels rise and we feel pumped to get the job done.
Why Procrastination is not Good?
Now a simple question might arise, why is procrastination considered to be a bad thing? If I can get my job done on time, then who cares if I did that on the last moment? There is a simple answer to this, that is, lack of professionalism. As a dutiful person, be it a student or a practitioner, one should know time management. Nothing should be left to be done on the night before. First of all, any accident might happen at that time which can lead to the job being undone although we had enough time. Moreover and most importantly, a task done quickly is not perfect. In order to bring perfection, one needs to provide enough time to a project. Otherwise it is filled with flaws. Completing a task beforehand provides the time to recheck. When you thoroughly inspect something over and over again, you can do corrections and edit to make it better.
How to Stop Procrastination?
Though Procrastination happens subconsciously, we can easily trick our brains from doing that.
Set a fake deadline: We can set the deadline a few days prior to the actual to trick our brain. It will work spontaneously although there is a lot of time left.
Breaking tasks into smaller chunks: Sometimes we get scared to start a very big project. The best thing to do in this case is to break the projects into smaller sections and complete all the tasks gradually.
Tracking your progress: We can keep a record of the progress of the work we are doing. This will keep us alarmed on how much time we are wasting.
Rewarding system: We should treat ourselves after finishing a chunk of work. This will keep us motivated to do more work.
We all hate the stress of procrastination. By following these little steps, procrastination can be overcome within a matter of time. Let us all be emotionally strong and productive in every sphere of our lives.
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Writer
Rifah Zakiah
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE