Reduce Procrastination

Reduce Procrastination
The seasons are changing and the leaves are turning. In some places from green to brown, but in others, it’s the other way around. Nonetheless, it’s a time of year when the days can blur into one another and we lose track of how quickly time has passed. Before this happens, let’s remind ourselves of this month’s goal: to reduce procrastination! We often procrastinate things because they are unpleasant, but other times, we’ll procrastinate things we actually look forward to, simply because our priorities seem less important than others. For those of us who are parents, this may look like putting a favourite hobby aside to focus more on the household.

This month, we resolve to do something we’ve been avoiding or putting off. Perhaps it is an actual responsibility, or maybe it is something like we mentioned above, a favourite hobby. Perhaps we can carve some time out for ourselves to do this, or maybe we can find creative ways to include that which served as an impediment to completing our activity. We may, in the end, benefit by bringing something we love to the people we love.

Perhaps we’ve been procrastinating something with a bit higher stakes. The reason we procrastinate is because we find that work expands or shrinks to fill the time allotted. And since we’ve all faced the feeling of panic because we’ve left something to the last minute, only to find that everything was done properly and was fine anyway, we reinforce the desire and habit of procrastination. Perhaps meditate on the feeling of panic and stress that comes with procrastination. Is that feeling really worth it? If we genuinely ruminate on this question and find that yes, it is worth it, good for you. But in the vast majority of cases, people are likely to prefer not being stressed and in a state of sweaty uncertainty. Let yourself relive this feeling and remember that it is a choice not to have to feel panicked. This may not have seemed like an option to many, but it is in fact a choice.

While we focus on reducing procrastination this month, an important thing to remember if whether we’re putting ourselves through undue stress even when it’s not necessary. Do we have a tendency to worry about things outside of our control? Do we get anxious over the idea of starting a project when there’s no need to? Being in touch with our emotions may help us differentiate between our self inflicted stress due to procrastination or a deeper emotional issue we may need to tackle.