Procrastination

Procrastination is something that plagues a lot of people. While the severity of it might depend from person to person, I think procrastination hits us at our most vunerable areas. It lets us not be the versions of us that we want to be and can be detrimental to our well being. I have researched a decent amount about the various facets of procrastination and how to overcome them. Below is the summary of the same.

If you suffer from chronic procrastination, and need help, please reach out to me. I would love to talk. ♡

How to overcome procrastination:

• Have a plan for yourself There is no way you can overcome procrastination if you don't plan. At minimum, plan a few hours ahead. Ideally, plan a day or a few days in advance. Will power works best when it doesnt work, make predecisions on what you are going to do when and stick to it.
• Mindfulness If you procastinate chronically, its possible that you make a decision to do something and then forget. How do you remember yourself of a decision that you made throughout the day ? I only know of mindfulness making a difference here. Being mindful of what you are doing through the day is important. That way you can recalibrate yourself if you stray off. I recommend practicing mindfulness dedicatedly so that you can train your mind and then use it here.
• Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban [video] - Link A great introduction into the facets of mind at play while we procastinate along with reasons as to why we do it and how evolution has a part to play in how our minds are primed to procastinate.
• Teaching Talk: Helping Students Who Procrastinate (Tim Pychyl) [Video] - Link Timothy Pychyl is one of the foremost experts on procrastination and this talk of his really breaks it down. He goes over what procrastination is, what are the factors and conditions that lead to it and how you can shield yourself from those. Someone who is a full time researcher and psychologist working exclusively on procrastination is someone worth listening to. This talk cant be recommended enough if you really want a good depthful introduction to procrastination.
• Why Procrastinators Procrastinate [Article] - Link A much more detailed post on the same lines as the talk given by Tim Urban. The follow up post is also a great read for how you can overcome procrastination. Follow up post.
• Solving the Procrastination Puzzle [Book] - Link This book is consice and does a great job of working on the strategies for change for someone who procastinates. It teaches you about the all important concept of "implementation intention" which is the single best strategy that I have found in overcoming procastiantion.