Procrastination - How to overcome it!
Procrastination as per the dictionary is an act of delaying or postponing something. Procrastination is something we all have in common, this article discusses about the science behind Procrastination and advises ways to overcome it. While Procrastination can be felt in various stages of life, occasional occurrences may seem harmless but prolonged delays in work may hinder your chances of being successful. Failure, Lack of motivation, and perfectionism may be the reason for procrastination, overcoming it on time before it takes away a lot from you is the key.
Motivation = (Expectancy X Value)/(Impulsiveness X Delay)
Where, motivation is the willingness to do work, which is the opposite of Procrastination.
Expectancy is how much you expect to succeed at doing the task and getting the anticipated reward. The more you expect to be successful the less you procrastinate.
Value is how much you enjoy doing a task and how much you are going to enjoy the reward. The more value you expect to get, the more you get to work.
Impulsiveness is your tendency to get distracted to other things. High impulsivity attracts you to social media and to spend time on your mobile.
Delay refers to the time lapse until you get a reward. More Procrastination, More delay in getting the expected result.
We need to maximize expectancy and value, as they are directly proportional to motivation. We also want to minimize impulsiveness and delay as they are inversely proportional.
How to use this formula to use it for our advantage and overcome Procrastination?
1 Break it down
If you are working on a project or studying, break down the whole process into smaller steps. Doing so will increase expectancy in our Procrastination equation, as smaller tasks are easier to complete than major projects. Being specific for timelines can be very helpful.
If you have an exam the next week and you need to cover the syllabus, we need to break it down to each day as to how many chapters are you going to study each day so that the entire portion is completed on time.
Figure out what works best for you, write down the subjects chapter wise and mention how much time it takes to complete it. Break it down into daily tasks to complete. Break down the daily tasks into hours.
2. Keep the task small
The hardest part of getting work done is just starting. Well begun is half done? Create 25 mins block each separated by 5 mins break. During small blocks, you focus on just one small task. This increases expectancy.
If you sat down and decided that you need to study for 6 hours, you will be definitely distracted very quickly. If you tell yourself you only need to study for the next 25 mins it becomes much easier to convince your mind. Not only do you start studying but also focus much on the process.
3. Set the bar low
This will increase the expectancy in the equation, and set the goal lower than what you are capable of. By lowering the bar, you will be consistent in what you do and don’t get exhausted either. You always tend to exceed the limit when you set lower goals.
4. Enjoy what you do
Ever felt studying is boring? Try this; give yourself a reward for completing the task. A tasty meal, hanging out with friends, only after you finish your set goals for the day. You can enhance the experience of work. Consider mixing up your study environments. Listen to music.
5 Parkinson’s Law
The feeling that you can complete the work later can kill the productive intention itself. “Work expands to fill the time allotted to it”. If you have only 30 minutes of work to do, but if you allow 2 hours to do it, you end up spending the entire 2 hours. Fix deadlines that will force you to do the work efficiently. These deadlines decrease the delay in the motivation equation and decrease the likelihood of Procrastination.
Do not be too aggressive with your timeline, it can lead to stress and you will feel exhausted. With time you will get an idea of how long a task will take and how to use the law to best fit yourself.
6. Be deliberate with your study environment
Distractions are the killers of productivity. Avoiding distractions only by willpower will not be possible in the long term, you will give up. Create a work environment that minimizes distractions. You will be decreasing impulsivity in the equation by doing so. Stay away from your phone, stay away from your laptop, and go full swing on the work at hand. If working from home distracts you then go for a library or a coffee shop. Make sure you minimize your digital distractions. No other distraction affects you more than your digital distractions.
7. Understand your personality type
One suggestion can work wonders for one individual but not for others. The above-mentioned steps will work for most but try to apply what suits your personality.
Conclusion
Procrastination is a common human tendency but it will hinder your chances of growth and being successful. Taking action to some of it will decide your chances of being efficient and goal-oriented.
Read further on Procrastination by clicking the below links:
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