Procrastination, we’ve all done it
What is procrastination? I will start at 10 a.m. I told myself. Then I’ll finish a few pages of a report due tomorrow before lunch.
So, instead, I have just sat down to write at 1:55 p.m.
Why was I procrastinating? I’m sure I’m not alone in procrastinating. It’s something we’ve all done.
But, we act as if this were a desirable state of being; procrastination is something we think is okay.
Rather than performing the task needed, we find ourselves putting it off.
For example, you may have to submit a report, but you end up cleaning the kitchen, taking out the garbage, doing the laundry, or completing a hundred other tasks.
Procrastination has plagued people since the dawn of time. It becomes a self-sabotaging behaviour that isn’t always easy to break.
Here’s a poem written by the Ming Dynasty poet and painter Wen Jia:
Watching the Work Pile Up (1501-1583)
Today follows today, how few todays one has!
If he doesn’t do today, when can it be done!
How many todays one will have for a hundred years of life? What a pity if there is no action today!
If you say just wait until tomorrow, you will have something else for tomorrow.
I’m writing the Poem of Today for you. Please just working hard from today.
One who wastes time in aimlessness and delays work is today’s procrastinator.
Mark Csabai
Procrastination is easy.
We can put off the task until later.
But unfortunately, it has been shown that 80 to 95 per cent of college students frequently procrastinate, especially regarding coursework and assignments.
Students are not the only ones who put things off.
According to Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology, approximately 20 per cent of adults in the U.S. are chronic procrastinators.
They delay doing things at home, work, school or in relationships.
(Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x)
So what is procrastination, anyway?
In procrastination, something is delayed or postponed.
Suppose, for example, that you need to buy food but decide to wait until tomorrow.
Alternatively, you scroll through social media, file paperwork, or organise your computer folders instead of completing a project due at work.
Many people are chronic procrastinators without even knowing it.
It’s just become a habit of putting things off until later. Usually, procrastinators are afraid of failure or bored with the task.
However, those are just a few reasons why we procrastinate. This article shows you why we procrastinate and how it affects our lives.
In this article, you will also learn how procrastinators differ from non-procrastinators.
In the following pages, you’ll learn how to identify your procrastination habits and avoid them to become more productive.
My hope is that you will learn to make productivity a lifelong habit.
Secrets to Good habits – eBook
This guide helps you to create good habits. Whether you wish to remove a bad habit or desire to practice a healthy or good habit.
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”
Wayne Gretzky