5 Foolproof Ways To Beat Procrastination and Get Uplift

Procrastination derives from the Latin word procrastinate, which means an action of delaying something. Simply put, procrastination is like barriers blocking your way. It is natural human behaviour for a fleeting moment. You surely have one question, why is this happening and how do we get over it?

According to the two Harvard professors, The reason why we procrastinate is because our mind wants an immediate benefit. If you can find a way to make the benefits of good long-term choices more immediate, then it becomes easier to avoid procrastination.

Believe me or not, when you do not pay full attention to your body and mind, get easily trapped in procrastination. Habits are vital to be aware of so that you can break the barrier and be free from them.

According to research that asked people what their biggest regret was when they lost a loved one, procrastination regrets ranked the highest; the things they didn't do with them while they were alive.

So why do we do it?

Relax!

Research shows that procrastination is connected to mental health, a lack of confidence, and self-doubt in your ability to follow through on what you set out to do. But there are steps you can take based on science to overcome procrastination and get closer to the life you want. Here you can follow these:

1. Lean into the discomfort (be present)

Have you ever felt drained or had a sense of dread doing something you are not comfortable with? This is the true statement, in order to grow and learn, you have to be comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. When people begin to procrastinate, they choose instant gratification like a pain killer but, it is no longer effective. All you need to listen, identify and figure out the situation. Later, you will get comfortable.

Another bonus point is if you want to overcome procrastination, sit for a while, identify the negative emotions, thoughts that are arising in you and jot each of them on a paper. Once, you know them keep interrogating yourself, why are you feeling demotivated? why are the bad ideas hovering over your head?

What's the root?

Clear your WHY then you will not need instant motivation or anything to drag you out from this behaviour. The more you deal with discomfort, the more your self-control builds and you will see a positive change in you. This is the root.

2. Choose the emotion you want to focus on

We often ignore our emotions and it pays a cost. Might be feeling annoyed or stressed when we sit down to work on a task, there are other emotions that we are experiencing as well. We might have the desire to learn something new and become more proficient at something or get promoted at work; no matter how small this desire is, it is still there.

We all have an inner landscape of emotions that we are feeling at any given time, and we can choose which emotion from this inner landscape we want to focus on. So instead of thinking about how much we despise work, we still tap into the wish to enrich ourselves mentally or professionally. This not only makes it easier to engage, but it makes doing the work more meaningful as we are connecting with our values and motives.

3. Call yourself perfectly imperfect

Perfection is something you can't control or change, on the flip side, you can work differently and enhance in your regularly.

This not only applies to work, but anytime you have to decide life. Allow yourself to do anything imperfectly to make it easier to follow through then you can distil it later. If you this technique, you will start to notice that your hateful work inevitably changes into excitement and ease.

Stop following perfection especially, when you start doing something for the first time. Chasing perfection may feel paralysed to start working on something because you think that it needs to be done perfectly or that you can't begin because you are underestimating your capabilities and are not confident enough, so you hang in there.

Perfection is a myth.

― Leo Tolstoy

4. Act now and motivation will follow

At the heart of procrastination is the thinking that tomorrow, we will feel like it more. But studies show that we’re very bad at predicting how we will feel in the future. You know how it is: you decide to give up caffeine for example, but before you do this, you treat yourself one last time. And right after you’ve had your fix, you think that it won’t be so hard to stick to your plan, but as soon as temptation hits, you’re back to where you started. We often think that the way we’re feeling now will be the way we will be feeling in the future. When it comes to procrastination, we’re happy now because we’ve put off doing something, so we believe that these positive emotions will also be there tomorrow when we come back to the task. But this is never the case.

Human life is not run by motivation, for this you must have a purpose, meaning, and devotion to achieve something. To achieve, you go through thousands of emotions, spikes, and barriers to get anything in life.

For instance, you decide to give up caffeine but before you do this, you treat yourself one last time. And right after you have had your fix, you think that it won't be so hard to stick to your plan, but as soon as temptation hits, you are back to where you started.

Knowing that we are not able to predict our emotions makes it easier to act now because it can allow you to start on a task even though, you are not motivated. For making yourself feel stimulated, you watch motivational videos, listen to podcasts, etcetera. People erroneously think that they need to feel like it or be motivated before doing something, but it is the opposite.

5. Stop daydreaming. Start execution

In the process of reducing the amount of time you spend procrastinating, cut back on overthinking and daydreaming. We drain our energy thinking about something else that doesn't matter to us or mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds. But research shows that people who spend much of their time daydreaming have a harder time getting back to their goals and sustaining attention.

It is also addictive—the more you daydream, the harder it becomes to control, and it's even tied to depression. Often when we daydream, we direct our attention towards the self, unrealised goals, or think about an idealised self that doesn't match up to how we are now.