I CAN JUST DO IT TOMORROW

Hello everyone. How are we all doing? It is Monday ooo, the most dreaded day of the week for some people sha ooo because I understand that some people are workaholics; which is understandable (please take it easy on yourselves though). Now to the business of the day: What exactly is procrastination? Is it actually what we think it is? Is it as a result of laziness or a carefree attitude? Is it good to procrastinate? What actually makes us procrastinate? Sit back or lie down or stand up or stay put in whatever position that you are right now, relax as we go on this journey of discovery together. If you are supposed to be doing something else right now and you are reading this post, na procrastination ooo but I’m sure after reading this post, you should be pumped enough to get to work.

What is procrastination? As you know na, me too I am trying to learn and because of that, we will be doing this thing together this week [hope I get supporters sha (thinking aloud)]. We would explore different definitions of this word and try to break it down in such a way that we would get a vivid picture of what it really means and not what immediately comes to mind when we hear the word.       

Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. This one, you know that you really need to get this task done but one spirit just keeps you from doing it. In fact, you understand that if you don’t do it, there would be consequences or it could lead to you having even a more strenuous task. Instead of getting your hands on it, you just find yourself doing something else that is unnecessary like sleeping, watching TV, chatting or playing games. One very good example of myself that I will like to share is how much I hate sweeping the house and keep procrastinating doing it even when I know that I will still end up being the one to sweep. By the time I finally get to accomplish this task, most times, it is usually double the work because the house would have been so dirty.

“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.” ~ Olin Miller

Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones. You can imagine this definition. Normally, it is expected that you carry out more urgent tasks before you go ahead with the less urgent ones but for a procrastinator, if the more urgent task is boring or stressful or cost effective, he/she would prefer to go on with the less urgent task. For instance, some people believe that they work best under pressure and so, they deliberately push forward the task.

“Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret. Today’s duties put off until tomorrow gives us a double burden to bear; the best way is to do them in their proper time.” ~ Ida Scott Taylor

“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

What mood is that? Last-minute panic?”– Bill Watterson

Let us now look into what exactly makes us procrastinate. I have classified the reasons why we find ourselves in a situation where we have to procrastinate, into 5.

• Avoidance: Where we avoid the location or situation where the task takes place. For instance, we might sit down and watch TV instead of cleaning our bedroom.
• Distraction: Where we engage in or immerse ourselves in other behaviors or actions to prevent awareness of the task (e.g., Surfing the Net, reading blogs or articles, planning something for the evening, socializing with others close by)
• Trivialization: We convince ourselves that the intended task is not that important (e.g. “I’m putting off cleaning my room for the moment because I really need to eat something”).
• Comparisons: We compare our situation with those even worse (e.g., “Sure I have not managed to wash my plates this morning, but Shade’s corner smells so bad.”).
• Denial: Pretending that you’re not procrastinating, because the task you are doing is actually more important than the avoided one.

Procrastination is not so much an effect of laziness- it is a higher trait influence of avoiding what we consider as boredom. Most of us can recognize when we are procrastinating, we are able to reflect on what we need or intend to do and then justify to ourselves why we are not taking action. Procrastination is more likely to occur when we fail to have control on our impulsive behavior and lack the discipline to get ourselves back to the tasks at hand.

Tomorrow is another day to learn more. However, I would like to learn from you as well. In the comment box, drop your experiences of procrastination. Thank you and more blessing.

Much love,

KanyinWrites