Procrastination: 10 Ways to Start Taking Action

How do you become a person who constantly puts off decisions and tasks? And why do you tend to procrastinate? The answers to these questions revolve around three words. Perfectionism : notice, the procrastinator is someone who always strives to do the best he can, and inevitably something goes wrong. He doesn't succeed, but in the meantime, he always takes his time. The second word is laziness . Procrastination can also be a sign of indolence, a lack of desire to commit and make an effort. The idea that doing something costs money, but doesn't yield much in the way of results. So, it's better to just put it off. The third word: indifference . Or its synonym, disinterest. The procrastinator, generally, isn't fired by the fire of passion; he views life with a certain detachment , without drive. And he always tends to postpone whatever might, out of necessity, awaken him from this lethargy.

Index of topics

How to Stop Procrastinating

In America, it's a business . How to escape the procrastination trap. With the illusion of online courses (for $400-500), of a coach supposedly curing the brain of its tendency to accumulate doubts , with time management apps , programmed to plan the day and avoid, at least on paper, wasting time. In reality, the modern procrastinator is a figure who shares, with the same person, another pathology: the tendency to not recognize limits in life . Hence, the refusal to choose, deluding ourselves that the results will show us the right path. Procrastination thus becomes a disguised fear, in an era that pushes towards indecision , towards a lack of desire, even towards fear, of freedom.

Who is affected by procrastination?

Procrastination, the tendency to continually put off things that should be done, is now a virus affecting approximately 70 percent of young people, while the phenomenon is more limited among adults (20 percent). Nearly half of Italian university students are affected by procrastination.

The tendency to procrastinate cuts across age, gender, and social group. But the latest research on the topic shows that this tendency is increasingly prevalent among young people and the very young. Piers Steel, a motivational psychologist, believes that a vast majority of students, between 80 and 95 percent, have the tendency to procrastinate occasionally. But one in two does so with a frequency that is described as "pathological."

As for adults, the most up-to-date statistics estimate that one in five people postpones their commitments, whether professional, family, or private.

When does a person always procrastinate?

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today . It seems easy to ignore an ancient saying, but in reality we are increasingly tempted to procrastinate , to put things off, to avoid making decisions at the right time, when timing can truly make the difference. A correct choice made at the wrong time is useless , and even counterproductive. Just as time wasted through procrastination, inconsistency, fear, or guilt is simply wasted. Wasted. The Roman writer Pubilius Syrus wrote something very lucid about the relationship between eternal postponement and fear: "When you act, courage grows. When you put things off, fear grows." And there will be no way to recover lost time and opportunities, so it's best to equip ourselves, even psychologically, to avoid the morass of eternal postponement, of the reassuring (but it's only apparent...) decision to move the hands of time forward . Which, instead, is dangerously running out.

Cause

Procrastination is becoming increasingly popular, especially among young people . For what reasons? The best scientific research identifies three, and they are all on the rise. The first is fear , even terror, of others' judgment . Behind a veneer of precision and zeal, the serial procrastinator hides insecurity, and therefore the terror that others' judgment of the things done will be negative. Better to be considered lazy or late than incompetent: this subtle paradigm lies in the procrastinator's unconscious. Second, in the age of haste—which, remember, derives from the Latin fregare and refers to a man cheated by a compulsive and wasteful use of time, in this age of impulses, many people think they do things best when they're truly under pressure. Last minute, at the last minute, on the verge of repeated delay . It's a pious illusion. Reaching the brink at the last minute, and then sliding into the abyss of chronic delay, is a direct way of not doing things well, or perhaps of never doing them at all.

Methods to quit

Among the methods psychologists suggest for stopping procrastination, two are the most interesting. Both begin with a diagnosis that evokes a person's fear of not being able to complete something, and hence the anxiety, stress, and perpetual procrastination. The first method is self-indulgence: reducing self-criticism leads to greater serenity and a feeling of greater confidence in one's abilities. And more determination certainly means more action. The second method is strategic indulgence: inserting moments of levity and distraction throughout the day , even to defuse upcoming deadlines. With the breaks the procrastinator needs, one is able to tackle a problem without anxiety and with greater determination. And thus, one is led not to procrastinate. Finally, especially for younger people, the web has so distorted the concept of time that we often become lost between the real and the virtual . What seems quick and immediate on the web isn't necessarily the same in reality. And when a young person slips into an inability to examine reality, they become paralyzed, scared, and enter the vicious cycle of procrastinators. An example illustrates this well. The web tells us that organizing a trip is quick and easy: it's just a matter of surfing the internet and making the best choice. In reality, things are different, and travel is also made longer by the downtime: getting the car, getting to the station, parking, getting to the platform, boarding the train. Add it all up, and if you don't calculate it carefully with a reality check, you're more than likely to miss your train.

You put off today, put off tomorrow, perhaps with the idea of always doing everything to the best of your ability, trying to chase a hypothetical perfection, and the effects are truly counterproductive . They run counter to the goal. Things fray, lose intensity, and even a virtual perfection becomes utterly useless (another waste of energy) and performance declines. A useful method to stop procrastinating is to break down the upcoming commitment. That is, no longer consider it a single whole, but break it into multiple tasks, less cumbersome and therefore easier to complete within a reasonable timeframe. Procrastination, a sign of uncertainty and weakness not to be confused with the usefulness of doubt, is also a defense against sloth. It is no coincidence that the Greek poet Hesiod, in 800 BC, compared the procrastinator (from pro , forward, and cras, tomorrow) to the slothful man, considering them two synonyms. And by putting it off, we only accumulate anxiety, guilt, boredom , and self-pity . Enough to make us miserable.

The damages

The harms of procrastination , or of constant procrastination, are varied . It creates the effect of wasted time , of losing, in the total uncertainty that paralyzes us, the right dimension between things and the clock that dictates the right timing. Another waste is the serious probability of missing opportunities, chances, and moments . Here lies the secret of proper timing: something that is possible today, within reach, postponed until tomorrow becomes unattainable. It fades away. Procrastination consigns us, making us prisoners, to a dimension of a sulphurous future, devoid of vitality and energy: thus, the true face of things and contact with reality escapes us.

Synonyms of procrastinate

Procrastination has several synonyms, and each one carries its own risks. Delaying: with the danger of making a decision only when it's too late. Procrastinating: can, in some cases, be the most pointless thing in the world. Deferring: one postponement after another doesn't solve the problem. Postponing: the habit of those who tend to bury their heads in the sand.

Famous quotes

Life is lost in procrastination. (Epicurus)

Another way of saying that time flies, like life. And so the needless procrastinator is in serious danger.

There is only a moment between too early and too late. (Alma Mahler)

The difference between too early and too late is truly a matter of milliseconds. Often, the right solutions need time to mature, but in other cases, the solution fades if it's put off too long. Our skill lies in seizing time in its proper dimension, without being overwhelmed by its pressures, but without letting it slide into indifference either.

You may procrastinate, but time will not. (Benjamin Franklin)

A postponement, if justified, has its good reasons. But if it becomes self-defense, self-fear, or a lack of willingness to take responsibility, then time, inexorably, will do the talking.

When you postpone the harvest, the fruits rot. But when you postpone problems, they certainly don't stop growing. (Paulo Coelho)

Problems, by broad category, can be divided into two groups: solvable and unsolvable. In both cases, the solution isn't procrastination, which only makes them worse. Rather, in the case of unsolvable problems, it's managing them.

Procrastination: Life is wasted with procrastination