procrastination

Procrastination!

The word that should always end with an exclamation!

To it, there is no greater pleasure

Than watch you with plans as mere intentions;

Daring you to take action.

Each day you wake up with a strong determination

You promise yourself, “Nothing can alter this decision.”

Minutes later you utter the words of delusion;

“I will still do it” Oh what a wrong notion!

Like magic the day ends with no realization

And you are left with nothing but frustration

You feel jaded; this wasn’t your initial intention

Procrastination, a synonym for destruction.

If you asked me I’d say it’s capable of ruining a whole nation

So if you perceive this word, pick a race, run, and call yourself to attention

Because it is powerful enough to turn a vision into a mere illusion.

Procrastination, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary is the act of delaying something that you should do, usually because you do not want to do it.

How many dreams have been halted? How many goals have been left unachieved? All in the name of the destructive phrase, “May be later…but not now”. They sure are uncountable!

If only we knew just how tremendous the effect of procrastination is in our lives, maybe majority of us wouldn’t take it so lightly after all, just maybe. Maybe we would have abolished it from our dictionary a long time ago. But worry not, it’s not too late, you still can.

“Procrastination is not only the thief of time but it is the thief of life.”

– Brian Tracy

Procrastination only steals from you. It never adds nor does it give. It takes from you your most valuable gift- your time- and hence, your life.

Just take a look back at some of your “un-achieved” goals in the past, what were the major reasons that constituted to their lack of achievement? I bet you’re appointing blames and giving excuses now. Excuses that you could have taken care of or avoided in the first place and just gone right ahead to achieve your goals.

Now, think back again, this time if you’re sincere and honest about your answer, you’ll realize that it was mostly due to your lack of readiness, your lack of will, and your procrastinating attitude. We’ve all been through this at one point in our lives at least, so no judgment here.

How many times have you made promises and not fulfilled them, even to yourself? You promised to check on your loved ones. Unfortunately that was two weeks ago because you kept on postponing and you never did.

You promised to apply for that scholarship but something always came up, and you never applied till the closing date. Remember that assignment given last week, you never opened it because you kept on telling yourself that you still had time, until the day of submission came and it was already too late.

You promised to lose those few extra pounds last year but you never got up early enough to go to the gym or join your next door neighbor for the morning jog. There are always excuses involved in your defence for not doing the needful. It’s either your alarm didn’t go off, or your neighbor didn’t care enough to wake you up.

There is always something or someone to blame, except you of course. Worry not, this was not written to make you feel bad; virtually all of us are guilty of this.

Consequences of procrastination are unlimited, and cannot simply be over emphasized. Ranging from feelings of dissatisfaction, to frustration, to disorderliness, to mention a few.

The most Paramount of all is disorderliness. In fact, it would be wise to say disorderliness, brought about as a result of procrastination, is one of the root causes of frustration. It leaves you confused and irritated. You are overwhelmed and have no clue where to begin from. It’s all just too much, and nothing seems to be working right. Yes, that’s the work of procrastination.

The good news is that, procrastination is not an inborn error that cannot be changed. It is something you very much have power and control over. But it all depends on you. Are you ready to do what it takes to annihilate procrastination? Or you want to keep watching it control your life? The choice is yours.

In order to stop procrastination, you need to inculcate one important trait – Discipline. I was raised by a well disciplined woman – my mother. And the most profound lesson I have learnt from her and still learning till today is that of discipline and its tremendous effects in an individual’s life.

She didn’t need to sit me down to teach me about discipline but the fact that she simply exuded it was enough, and she still does up till today. She made me realize that through discipline you can conquer any form of addiction. Discipline is having in you the power to control yourself, to control your mind and not have it otherwise. To tell yourself this is exactly what you want to do and stick to it. Never to find excuses as to why you can’t do it.

Discipline is strong will, it’s making a decision and following through. And I can say boldly that my mother is a real definition of this discipline. Whatever she fixes her mind on she does it, no story told and no excuses given. She finds a way to do it – diligently. And till today she is by far the most disciplined person I’ve come across on this planet.

Trust me when I tell you that you never want to underestimate the power of discipline and its significant effect in your lives.

Here’s an interesting principle I came across while reading one of Brian Tracy’s books – Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life. It’s called the “Pareto Principle”, written by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in the year 1895 in Switzerland.

I found the principle so intriguing, that I went ahead to read more about it online. Then I realized that there seems to be a form of relationship with this principle and procrastination.

Here’s what the principle says; “80 percent of your results will come from 20 percent of your input.”

Brian Tracy explains it better; he says that if you make a list of 10 tasks that you have to do in the coming day, two of those items will be worth more than the other eight items put together.

However, those two items are usually more challenging and difficult while the other eight often appear easy. And as humans, you have a natural tendency to do the easy things, even though they are not particularly valuable or important.

Brian Tracy suggested further that, “To get the most done and the greatest results from every minute invested, you must resist the temptation to clear up the first thing first. You must discipline yourself to keep your energies focused on the one or two things that you can do that are more important and valuable than anything else.”

Decide today to put procrastination to shame. Decide to lock its room in your life and throw away its key, never for it to gain access into your life again. Embrace discipline – the mother of strong will. And you will be amazed at how much better your life will turn around to be. Things will start falling into place (much easier than before) for you.

You will find that your life and everything around you are becoming orderly. Results will start coming out positively. It may not happen overnight, but it will definitely happen, and you will see the results in no time. Just discipline yourself!

Start saying goodbye to procrastination by doing the little things such as cleaning up your plates immediately after meal (this is definitely an area we’re all guilty of), waking up to do that quick press up you have been meaning to. These things may seem trivial but they are the basics. Just give it a try.

Refrain from making excuses and appointing blames. Take responsibility for your action and just do it. No “later”, no “tomorrow”. Do it now. Do it today!

Learn more on the significance and importance of time by reading this article THE SEED OF TIME

I believe you learned something from this post. Don’t forget to share with a friend. Also remember to drop your comment in the box. Are you one of the few that have overcome the misery of procrastination? How did you do it? Share your technique with us and let us learn from you too.