Procrastination has certainly increased during the lockdown. Being at home with an uncertain future has made our lives bereft of schedules!
All the more, we might way piled away a lot of tasks just by thinking that I can do it altogether another day as I am at home itself.
Well, Procrastination is not to be confused with Laziness. Laziness is being inactive and not doing anything at all whereas Procrastination is pushing away tasks because you feel unpleasant or bored of doing them.
Procrastination can also lead one to have sleep disorders, stress on regrets of not having done the task which might lead to low self esteem and judging oneself of their capabilities.
With most of them working from home and being stuck inside the four walls may have caused a major upheaval for many. This isolation has caused a toll on the mental well-being. But it is especially during these times that we need to work on our inner well-being. With this in place we would be able to handle any situations which come by. Being productive even during these challenging times is possible.
Read more on ‘How to Increase Productivity during COVID-19 Pandemic’
Procrastination can be overcome and we can be productive if we have the right intent to work on it.
Let’s check out some Tips to overcome Procrastination especially during the lockdown-
1. Forgive yourself and accept-
The first step we need to address is to accept that we are procrastinating the tasks. We should not be guilty but accept that we had consciously put away some tasks just because they feel unpleasant or boring. Once we accept that we can now move ahead with awareness that the task needs to be completed.
2. Understand the Why-
The second step here is to come to terms with the fact or the fear of postponing a particular task. It could probably be due to an unpleasant feeling while doing a task, it may seem repetitive, boring, difficult or it might take a lot of time to do it.
- If it is unpleasant- Get to the root cause which makes you feel that way. Is it because of past memories / a person / negative results? It is all in the mind, once you get down to introspecting why you are feeling that way, you most probably will get out of it. Keep asking yourselves this question until you weed out all the negative perspectives about the job.
- If it is repetitive / boring- Try to make it more fun. e.g; Try to sweep the floor by listening to music, Do the laundry in record time-compete with yourself.
- If it is difficult- Try to break the tasks into specific chunks of time. This would help you to be realistic and achieve the results one step at a time and you would know you are making a progress.
3. A dedicated space-
Whenever you are working on a job / work, try to designate a place for that respective job. e.g; Make sure you get the vegetables only in the kitchen or dining table, Do your assignments only on your study table or find a comfortable corner to do so, Work on your tasks only at a specified airy environment and spend time on your hobbies in the other part of the home or corner. Most importantly use your bed only for sleeping.
By segregating the tasks into specific zones in the home helps you to focus better and also work on the tasks diligently.
4. Schedule and break the tasks-
Always putting up a schedule for your work, household chores, relaxation and hobbies helps you to sail through all the activities with utter ease. Block your time against respective tasks.
Personally, I start my day by finishing off the Important and Urgent tasks. With that put away I can concentrate on lesser priority but mandatory tasks.
Putting all the activities on a list and checking them off as and when you finish it gives a very gratifying feeling of joy and completion ofcourse.
5. Rewards-
Most important step, reward yourself when you finish a task which you have been struggling with for a long time. Even other wise you can treat yourself as per your completion of steps and targets.
This helps to be motivated and looking forward for the delayed gratification.
It is best to have a very valued reward so that the next time you are faced with a humongous task, you can always take it in your stride and reward yourself for the effort.
Well, lockdown or no lockdown, always look into yourself for you have all the inner strength to be successful in anything you do.
Procrastination cannot be avoided at times, the only way out is to ask yourself that question – ‘Why am I putting the task away?’ Once you get this answer I am sure you will work towards completing the tasks.
You can check here for Productivity Tips while working from home and Steps for a Productive routine.
