Why we postpone our important & daily work and how to stop procrastination.

 *Procrastination*

 Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. It is one of the major hurdles to success. 

🔹 Even minor episodes of procrastination can derail your dream project, particularly in education. It can lead to a missed opportunity of a few chapters and causes us to miss out on achieving your dream goal. 

🔹 Procrastinator may be trying to avoid stress, this approach can ironically cause more stress in the long-term. 

🔹 If you procrastinate over a long period, you can become disillusioned with work which can lead to depression. 

 *In short...* Procrastination makes easy thing hard, hard things harder 

🔴 *Forgive yourself* 

This is the most important step if you want to overcome procrastination. Maximum students regret not doing things than the things have done. Also, feelings of missed opportunity tend to stay with you much longer. 

The first thing, forgive yourself for procrastination you had done till now because shame is toxic

🔹 Admit you messed up

Maximum students usually use denial as a way to protect ourselves but it never helps. So admit in front of The God or parents or anyone who cares about you. 

🔹 Resolve to live by giving the best

Success is not a destination but a pathway so start now and try to give your best.

 *Remember...* 

When you forgive, you heal

When you let go, you heal

🔴 *Is laziness is the same as procrastination*

Answer is NO. Procrastination is an active process... You tend to something easy which makes you happy instead of the important task that you know you should be doing. Laziness means unwillingness to act. 

🔴 *Causes of procrastination* 

🔹 Priority confusion 

🔹 Poor organization 

🔹 Unable to see long-term goal 

🔹 Task is too difficult. 

🔹 Perfectionism 

🔹 Lag time 

 *In short...* Too things too long about doing a thing often become it's 

🔴 *How to overcome procrastination?* 

❇️ Priority confusion 

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Making career choices is a very difficult task. If you choose a career against your wish due to parental or peer pressure then it can cause procrastination ultimately leading to failure. 

🔹 Always follow passion 

It makes work playful and prevents stress. Your passion is the reason you wake up in the morning and just thinking of it can keep you excited  late at night. Passion is quite a feeling of satisfaction knowing you are leaving life on your terms.

Read my blog, "Goal setting " on Facebook... Positive parenting or watch my video on YouTube... Dr Ashish Agrawal 

🔹 You have two options if you feel that you are on the wrong track.....

# Change your career 

# If not possible, give priority to job on-hand. Sometimes we have passion, and we are forced to do something else than try to finish that job at its best. We can always follow our passion later.

 *In short...* Allow your passion to become purpose and it will one day become your profession 

❇️ Poor organization skills 

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Organization skills are not just about keeping your room neat and clean. It is also about proper planning, managing time and finishing tasks within the time limit. 

🔹 Read my blog, "Planning” and “Time management” on Facebook or watch video on YouTube. 

 *In short...* A bad system will beat talented students Every time. 

❇️ Unable to see long-term result

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If your main exam is after 1 year, you will get distracted by a lot of things because our mind wants immediate gratification in spite of knowing long-term losses. (Read my blog on Facebook or watch videos on YouTube.... “Subconscious mind”)

Whenever you feel like procrastinating an important routine task, try to follow one of the techniques...

🔳 Immediate action

🔹 Take deep breaths and get started 

🔹 Say 123 and get started 

🔳 The 2 minute rules

Just tell yourself that you will continue to study for 2 minutes more. It works... As you read for 2 minutes then you feel like continuing for more time.

 *In short...* Always tell yourself Live now Do

🔳 Adopt anti procrastination strategies 

Procrastination is a habit you have acquired over a long period so you probably can't break overnight. So try as many as strategies given below as it gives the best chance of succeeding. 

🔹 Focus on your why? 

Procrastination focuses on short term pleasure as opposed to long-term results. If you feel like procrastinating, ask yourself why you are doing?  What are the benefits of completing tasks? 

🔹 Reward yourself 

If you finish a difficult task or complete a planned task for 7 days, reward yourself with treat like your favorite ice-cream. 

🔹 Make consequence of procrastination immediately

▪️Make a group 

You can make rules for your group with common consensus. 

Example: You have to pay immediately Rs 10/- if you are not able to complete the task on time or get fewer marks. All of you can celebrate after your major exam. 

️ Ask someone to monitor you can ask someone like parents or sibling or teacher to monitor your time or task or mark.

 *In short...* At the end of the day, we are accountable to ourselves. Our success is a result of what we do

❇️ Task is too difficult

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Accomplishing anything which is worth in life is not an easy task for your dream. If you find a task too difficult, don't procrastinate, eventually leading to failure. 

🔹 Acknowledged the fact

First step is to recognize and admit the reality of not doing well. 

🔹 Develop the plan

There are dreamers and there are planners; the planners make their dreams come true. Brainstorm to develop a plan on how to deal with it. You will have more options than you might think. 

🔹 Seek the help

To ask for help is sign of strength not weakness 

🔹 Change what you can

If you got fewer marks in the exam, don't waste time dwelling on it, rather it will be for the next exam. 

🔹 Identity what you can't change

Don't waste time and energy on what you can't change either... 

▪️Change your dream 

▪️ Accept the less so, you can follow 80-20 rule 

🔹 Focus on what you can get

Even if you don't get an IIT computer in the upcoming exam, focus on what you can get like Bits Pillani if you study hard in this exam. 

 *In short...* Difficult road often lead to beautiful destination

❇️ Avoid perfectionism

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Everyone knows procrastination is bad, perfection is good.... Wrong both are equally bad and go together. Perfectionists fear tasks won't be perfectly finished, so they procrastinate the task. 

Read my blog, "Perfectionism” on Facebook or watch videos on YouTube. 

 *In short...* Strive for continuous improvement instead of perfection

❇️ Lag time 

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It means getting bad results in spite of hard work. And students get discourage and start procrastinating the task

 *In short..* There is no elevator to success, you have taken the stairs

🔳 Don't during lag time

🔹 Don't be anxious

Anxiety prevents you from working to your potential.  The most successful students makes a lot of mistakes, but they do not give up, so they are successful 

🔹 Avoid negative people around you

When others around you make you feel bad, it not only affects your confidence but prevents you from giving your best. 

 *In short....* Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm

🔳 Keep going during lag time

🔹 Be patience

Don't give up and keep going (Hard work)

🔹 focus on lead action

It means focus on your daily hard work rather than results 

🔹 Monitor only lead action not result

Monitor your hard work, not result. If you are able to pass this phase without procrastination, it will lead to success in the future. 

 *In short...* When there is to climb, don't think waiting will make smaller

🙏🏻🙏🏻 *If* *you* *like* *this* *blog* , *please* *share with other friends and classmates* 

 *Remember...* Have you something to do tomorrow?

Do it today

Dr Ashish Agrawal, Pediatrician and expert in child behavior, education and developmental problems.

Ph: 8888126037, 7057551985

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