Mastering Time: Tips to Avoid Procrastination

Procrastination refers to a phenomenon where we tend to pass over our tasks for a later period. It is one of the apparent barriers for students when they move towards the path of success. Students realise that there are a series of steps that they need to take to accomplish their goals. However, they ended up doing things that were not necessary during that period and found a great deal of time loss. This is especially in the case of academics when we decide to complete a particular target for a say but ultimately find ourselves scrolling thousands of reels on Instagram or other social media platforms 

This is a matter of urgent concern as some data such as a US survey of over 22,000 employees shows that participants who said they regularly procrastinated had lower annual incomes and less job stability. For every one-point increase on a measure of chronic procrastination, salary decreased by US$15,000 (£12,450). 

Thus along with the personal loss, it leads to loss at a macroeconomic level as well. Thus it becomes necessary to apply certain strategies to avoid procrastination in our daily lives. 

Tips to avoid procrastination 

Keep the goals clear:-

We must be clear with the ‘ why’ of our goal. If we are clear about the reason for our desire for a particular goal, then we tend to avoid procrastination. We can resonate with our actions and can work in a flow. Thus we must write the goals somewhere and a planned series of steps required to bring crystal clarity in our mind. 

Break tasks into smaller parts:-

The difficulty is our goal, and more is the time required. Thus we must break the broader tasks into smaller parts and multiple sub-goals towards one direction. Thus this can help to take breaks in between. It will also help us to get a calculated clarity to spend time in a particular direction. 

Fix the screen time:-

We must fix a particular period to spend on the screen. The screen is one of the biggest distractors for us. In particular short videos such as reels or YouTube shorts have not only reduced our attention period but also pushed us towards dopamine addiction through it. One research states that on average a teen spends 4.8 hours every day on social media. Thus it is high time that we learn to fix time here to prevent procrastination. 

Use positive reinforcement: –

We end up doing unnecessary things because those provide us with an immediate push. If we provide some rewards to ourselves for completing a particular task, over time we can find ourselves doing things more effectively. Once we start to enjoy the tasks, this necessity for providing rewards will automatically vanish. 

Set deadlines:-

Once we have decided that we have to complete a particular task in a fixed period, it will create pressure on us for its completion. The pressure created will help us to avoid the distraction and take action. In the end, it will be proved as an essential tool to avoid procrastination 

Seek accountability:-

In case of failure to accomplish particular tasks, we must learn to answer somewhere. It depends on person to person whether one chooses a person for it or uses journaling as a tool. Once we are accountable, it will also force us to take action for accomplishments on time and avoid unnecessary distractions. 

Practice self-discipline:-

We tend to force discipline on us it will create unnecessary pressure on us. Forced discipline is barely proven as a viable option. However, if we start to practice self-discipline, then we will be accountable to ourselves. Self-accountability is the skill that makes us avoid distractors and engage ourselves towards our goal.  

Address underlying issues:-  

Introspection plays a vital role in avoiding procrastination. We must find the accurate causes behind our distraction and should work on it. Everyone pursues a different lifestyle and thus everybody has different kinds of reasons for procrastination. Thus if we are procrastination, we must find the causes of this behavior 

Stop rationalization:-

Sometimes we end up procrastination with arguments that act as an excuse for not completing our tasks. Thus if we fail in any sphere, we must admit it honestly. Unnecessary rationalization will act as a barrier towards our path to success. 

Thus, in a nutshell, we shall conclude that we must have a systematic strategy to help ourselves to direct towards our goals. Only we can have the solutions to our problem, the requirement is just the implementation

References

Pexels

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/silenthustler/procrastination-53001/