Tipskey - Stop Procrastination

Posted: 2008-01-15; updated: 2008-10-09

Stop Procrastination

Whenever I receive a task, I do it immediately because I know myself: I tend to procrastinate when time goes. Be it a task given by my superior or a follow up with my property agent. When we start to procrastinate, it seems to be no deadline. We should never put it down if we have not finished it yet. The more we delay it, the more difficult to start doing it, not only because of mental resistance, but also due to the accumulation of work. Procrastination is always associated with lateness. How many things we have screwed up due to procrastination?

If you do not do it now, ask yourself why. Mostly the excuse is not solid. It is amazing to know that people procrastinate for no apparent reason. Perhaps there is a voice in our head: Nah, it has been delayed this long and nothing happens, so it should be OK if it is delayed for another day...

If you do it immediately, then most probably you will not even remember you have done it. Is that not good?

Anyway, I think the only things we should procrastinate are entertainment and buying unnecessary things. I bet we know which are the things we must do first so just follow the conscience.

If you say you do not have time to do it now, then there is big chance less time available to do it later. With technology coming in, life is not simple anymore and we are always busy and overloaded with information. If we do not do it now, then there will be big possibility that you forget to do it later.

The disadvantage of procrastination
Stress builds due to the recurrence of unfinished task in mind. In my case it brings impact even to my sleep in which I have many dreams. When a soldier marches into a battlefield with no activity, he feels stressed out. He rather wants to start fighting (and die) immediately than to wait for the moment. That no-action moment is just spooky. Such passive situation decreases the soldier's morale. Soldiers feel good when they actively scout for enemies. That means they are in control of the situation and they decide when to strike. You feel you are the master of everything if you take the initiative. You will feel like a lowly slave if you let the situation reminds you to do the things that you have been procrastinating.

You will regret for the things that you cannot accomplish at all because it is too late.

Sometimes the situation does not allow you to do it at a later time. For example there is a
blackout / system down or you fall sick. You are not always that lucky.

You do not have time to refine your work even you suddenly have the idea. Things done in haste is generally of poorer quality. Or you discover mistake but you do not have time to rectify it.

There may be some specific things that you need in order to accomplish the task but you may not realize until you start doing the tasks. If you start late, then when you realize that you need to get those things there may be no time already to get them.

Accumulated work has bigger amount and to finish big amount of work of same nature is ineffective and there will be mistakes. Do not wait until the work overwhelms you. If you want to learn vocabulary, it is better to learn one word a day then to learn 20 in a day.

You will mostly have untidy place because you never put the thing at the right place immediately when it leaves your hand.

For life-long action, if you do not do it now then you may not be able to do it later due to
natural body weakening or accident. For example if you do not start doing exercise now, then time flies so fast that you discover yourself become unable to do it anymore. And that worsens the already poor health (exercise slows down aging). A vicious cycle.

Some examples of stopping procrastination
When you attend a class I you should try understand the subject in the class itself. Never tell yourself that you can try understand it later. Never walk out of the class with doubt in head.

When you open an email, act on it immediately before closing it. If it is meant to be deleted, delete it right away.

Take shower immediately after reaching home when there is still water supply. You do not know there will be water disruption later at night.

Spring up immediately when you become awake at the time that you should be awake.

Wash the dish immediately after having a meal. Unwashed dishes become really dirty after a few days and you feel even more reluctant to touch them. And the image of dishes keeps flashing in your mind. You rather want to have something more important to flash in your mind instead.

If you tell yourself that it is compulsory for you to do something daily, e.g. push-up exercise, then you do it early in the morning so that you do not have to think of it again for the rest of the day. Plus you may not know what will happen to you physically that hinders you from doing the routine. I sprained my arm once in an early morning basketball game but I already did my push-up routine before that.

Visit a friend quickly when you come to think of him or her. If you delay the visit, he or she may move to other place already.

Last words
Live today colorfully, for tomorrow may never come.

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